Learn Turkish: Burnun kapalı, sıcak bir çorba içmelisin. - Your nose is blocked, you should drink a hot soup.

Burnun kapalı, sıcak bir çorba içmelisin.

Your nose is blocked, you should drink a hot soup.

Breakdown of Burnun kapalı, sıcak bir çorba içmelisin.

bir

a / an

kapalı

closed / off (switched off)

Questions & Answers about Burnun kapalı, sıcak bir çorba içmelisin.

How does içmelisin break down to mean "you should drink"?

It starts with the verb root iç- (to drink). We add the obligation suffix -meli (should/must) which follows e-type vowel harmony. Finally, the "you" personal ending -sin is added. Together, iç-meli-sin means "you should drink".

Why is it spelled burnun? Isn't the word for nose burun?

Yes, the root word is burun. However, many two-syllable body parts in Turkish drop their second vowel when a suffix starting with a vowel is added. When we add the possessive suffix -un (your), burun + -un loses its middle 'u' and becomes burnun.

I thought kapalı meant "closed". Does it also mean "blocked"?

Exactly! The literal translation is "Your nose is closed." In Turkish, when referring to a stuffy or blocked nose, you use the word kapalı (closed).

Why is the word order sıcak bir çorba instead of bir sıcak çorba?

In English we say "a hot soup", putting "a" before the adjective. In Turkish, when you have an adjective and bir together, the adjective usually comes first. It translates literally as "hot a soup".