Learn Turkish: Başka hiçbir şey istemiyorum.

Başka hiçbir şey istemiyorum.

I do not want anything else.

Breakdown of Başka hiçbir şey istemiyorum.

istemek

to want / to require / to call for

şey

thing

hiçbir

no / not any (determiner)

başka

other / another / else

Questions & Answers about Başka hiçbir şey istemiyorum.

Wait, hiçbir şey means nothing, and istemiyorum means I don't want. Isn't that a double negative?

Yes, and that is exactly how Turkish works! When you use a negative pronoun like hiçbir şey, the verb must also be negative. You literally say I do not want nothing else, which is the correct way to express I do not want anything else.

In English we say anything else, but here başka comes first. Why?

In Turkish, başka acts as an adjective meaning other or additional. Because Turkish adjectives always come before the thing they describe, başka is placed right before hiçbir şey. You are literally saying other nothing.

Could I just say başka hiç şey istemiyorum?

No, you need hiçbir here. While hiç means none or never and usually modifies verbs, hiçbir translates to not one or not any and is used before nouns. Since it describes the noun şey, you must use hiçbir.

Why is hiçbir written as one word, but şey is separate?

This is a strict spelling rule in Turkish. The word şey is always written completely separately from the word before it, such as in her şey and bir şey. Meanwhile, hiçbir merged into a single word over time.