Breakdown of O isim güzel değil mi?
o
that / he / she / it
güzel
beautiful / nice / good
değil
not
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
isim
name (first name)
Questions & Answers about O isim güzel değil mi?
I learned that o means 'he', 'she', or 'it'. Why does it mean 'that' here?
In Turkish, o is a very versatile word! When it stands alone, it usually means 'he', 'she', or 'it'. But when you put it directly in front of a noun like isim (name), it acts as a pointing word meaning 'that'. So o isim means 'that name'.
Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?
Turkish often leaves out the 'is' ending for the third person (he, she, it, or that) in the present tense. Saying O isim güzel literally translates as 'That name beautiful', but it is a perfectly complete sentence meaning 'That name is beautiful'.
How does değil mi work to mean 'isn't it?'
The word değil means 'not', and mi is the question word. When placed together at the end of a sentence, değil mi acts just like a tag question in English, such as 'isn't it?', 'aren't they?', or 'right?'. You can use it to ask for agreement after almost any statement.
Why is the question particle mi here, rather than mı?
The question particle changes to match the last vowel of the word before it, following 4-way vowel harmony. The word right before it is değil. Because the last vowel in değil is an i, the question particle must also use an i, making it mi.
Learn O isim güzel değil mi and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free