Saying "His", "Her", and "Its"
To talk about something belonging to a third person (or thing), you use the third-person possessive suffix. Because Turkish does not use gendered pronouns, the same rules apply for "his," "her," and "its."
The word for "his," "her," or "its" is onun. Just like with "my" and "your," you can include it for emphasis or clarity, or leave it out entirely because the suffix on the noun already shows who the owner is.
Words Ending in a Vowel
If the noun ends in a vowel, you must use the special buffer letter s before adding the possessive vowel. You will add -sı, -si, -su, or -sü based on 4-way vowel harmony:
- koca (husband) becomes kocası (her husband)
- elbise (dress) becomes elbisesi (her dress)
- araba (car) becomes arabası (his/her car)
Words Ending in a Consonant
If the noun ends in a consonant, simply attach the vowel -ı, -i, -u, or -ü:
- yaş (age) becomes yaşı (his/her age)
- saç (hair) becomes saçı (his/her hair)
- boy (height) becomes boyu (his/her height)
Consonant Mutation
Remember that when a noun ends in a hard consonant like k, adding a suffix that starts with a vowel will often soften that consonant. Specifically, k usually changes to ğ (soft g):
- gözlük (glasses) becomes gözlüğü (his/her glasses)
- meslek (profession) becomes mesleği (his/her profession)