Learn Turkish: Bu çorba sıcak mı? Sıcak çorba çok güzel kokar. - Is this soup hot? Hot soup smells very good.

The root of the verb 'to smell' is kok-. Because it is a single syllable ending in a consonant, it takes the -ar or -er form of the aorist (simple present) tense. Since kok- has the back vowel 'o', vowel harmony dictates it takes -ar, making it kokar.

Why use the aorist tense (kokar) here instead of the present continuous (kokuyor)?

The aorist tense is used for general facts, characteristics, and timeless truths. The speaker is not just saying this specific bowl of soup is smelling good right now, but making a general statement: hot soup always smells good. That makes the aorist the perfect fit.

'Güzel' usually means 'beautiful'. Why does the translation say the soup smells 'very good'?

In Turkish, güzel is commonly used where English speakers would say 'good' or 'nice' for sensory experiences like smells, tastes, or weather. If you want to say something smells good, you naturally say güzel kokar, rather than using the word for good, iyi.

Just to refresh, why is 'mı' written as a separate word in 'sıcak mı'?

The yes/no question particle mı is always written with a space before it, even though it acts like a suffix for vowel harmony. Because the last vowel in sıcak is an 'a', the particle harmonizes to become mı.