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Questions & Answers about Bu bir çocuk.
Which question word would I use to prompt the answer Bu bir çocuk?
Because a child is a human, you would ask Bu kim? (Who is this?). In Turkish, kim (who) is strictly for people, while ne (what) is used for animals and inanimate objects.
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
In Turkish, there is no separate word for 'is' in basic 'he/she/it/this' statements. You simply put the subject (Bu) and the noun (bir çocuk) side by side. It literally reads as 'This a child'.
Does bir just mean the number 'one' here?
It means 'a' or 'an' in this context. While bir is indeed the number one, it also acts as the indefinite article. It is important here because if you take it out, Bu çocuk just means the phrase 'This child' rather than the full sentence 'This is a child'.
Does çocuk mean a boy or a girl?
Çocuk is gender-neutral and just means 'child' or 'kid'. If you need to specify, a boy is erkek çocuk and a girl is kız çocuk (or often just kız).