Questions & Answers about Karpuz büyük, çilek küçük.
Why are there no words for "the" or "is" in this sentence?
Turkish doesn't have a direct translation for the word "the". Additionally, for simple descriptive statements like this, there is no separate verb for "is". Placing the adjective right after the noun (Karpuz büyük) is enough to mean "The watermelon is big."
Could this sentence also mean "Watermelons are big, strawberries are small"?
Yes! Because Turkish doesn't use "the", a naked singular noun like karpuz can be used to talk about watermelons in general, or one specific watermelon. The context of the conversation tells you which one it is.
Since this lesson is about counting, do I make çilek plural if I want to say "three strawberries"?
No, and this is a very important rule! In Turkish, whenever you use a number before a noun, the noun must stay singular. "Three strawberries" is üç çilek, never üç çilekler.
Learn Karpuz büyük, çilek küçük 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