Question 1

How do we form the "as thin as" structure with kadar?

Accepted Answer

In Turkish, to say something is "as [adjective] as [noun]", you use the order: [noun] kadar [adjective]. Here, kâğıt (paper) comes first, followed by the postposition kadar (as much as), and finally the adjective ince (thin). So kâğıt kadar ince literally means "paper-amount thin".

Question 2

Why is there a little hat symbol on the 'a' in kâğıt?

Accepted Answer

That symbol is called a circumflex. In Turkish, it tells you to pronounce the preceding consonant softly. For kâğıt, it makes the 'k' sound softer, so it sounds a bit like "kya" rather than the hard "ka" you'd hear in a word like kapı (door).

Question 3

Where is the word for "is" in Bu kumaş kâğıt kadar ince?

Accepted Answer

The "is" is implied! In Turkish, the third-person singular "to be" suffix (like -dir or -tir) is usually dropped in everyday language unless you are stating a formal fact. So, ending the sentence with the adjective ince is perfectly complete to mean "is thin."

Question 4

Could Bu mean "This is" here, like "This is fabric as thin as paper"?

Accepted Answer

Not in this context. Because Bu is immediately followed by the noun kumaş (fabric) without a comma, they group together to mean "This fabric". If you wanted to say "This is a fabric as thin as paper", you would write: Bu, kâğıt kadar ince bir kumaş.

Bu kumaş kâğıt kadar ince.

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