Learn Turkish: Affedersiniz, burası açık mı? - Excuse me, is this place open?

Affedersiniz is used to get someone's attention politely, like before asking a question or asking someone to move. Özür dilerim means "I apologize" and is used when you have actually made a mistake and want to say you are sorry.

Why does the sentence use burası instead of just bu or burada?

Bu just means "this" (usually pointing to an object, like "this table"), and burada means "at this place" or "here" (for location). Burası means "this place" as the main subject of a sentence. Since you are talking about "this place" being open, you use burası.

Why is the question particle mı instead of mi?

Turkish question particles change to match the last vowel of the word right before them. This is called vowel harmony. Because the last vowel in açık is an undotted ı, the question particle must also use an undotted ı, making it mı.

Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?

In Turkish, there is no separate word for "is" or "are" in simple sentences like this. The "is" is simply understood from the word order. You just place the subject (burası) and the adjective (açık) together, and the "is" happens automatically.