Breakdown of Soğuk havadan kendini korumak için kalın giyinmek gerek.
soğuk
cold
giyinmek
to get dressed
için
for
hava
weather
Questions & Answers about Soğuk havadan kendini korumak için kalın giyinmek gerek.
Why does this sentence use the plain infinitive giyinmek gerek instead of a personal form like giyinmen gerek (you need to dress)?
The structure -mAk gerek (or -mAk lazım) expresses a general necessity, meaning "it is necessary to..." for anyone. If you wanted to specifically say "you need to dress warmly", you would use a personal ending: kalın giyinmen gerek. Because this sentence is giving general advice for anyone, it uses the plain infinitive giyinmek.
What is the difference between giymek and giyinmek here?
Giymek means "to put on" or "to wear" a specific item of clothing, like a coat or a hat. Giyinmek has a reflexive meaning: "to dress oneself" in a general sense. Since this sentence is about the general habit of getting dressed for cold weather rather than putting on a specific coat, giyinmek is used.
I thought kalın meant "thick". Why is it translated as "warmly"?
You are right, kalın literally means "thick". In Turkish, the standard phrase for "to dress warmly" is kalın giyinmek (literally "to dress thickly"). Turkish focuses on the thickness of the clothes rather than the temperature they provide.
Why is the ending -ni attached to kendi (self) to make kendini?