Learn Turkish: Pis bir koku var. - There is a nasty smell.

Pis bir koku var.

There is a nasty smell.

Breakdown of Pis bir koku var.

Questions & Answers about Pis bir koku var.

Why is it pis bir koku and not bir pis koku?

In Turkish, when you have an adjective and the word bir (a/an) describing a noun, the adjective usually comes first! So, 'a nasty smell' becomes pis (nasty) bir (a) koku (smell).

If I wanted to say 'There is a very nasty smell', where would I put çok in this sentence?

You would put it right before the adjective it modifies. To say 'a very nasty smell', you would say çok pis bir koku. The full sentence becomes Çok pis bir koku var. Similarly, to say 'a slightly nasty smell' using biraz (a little), you would say Biraz pis bir koku var.

Does var literally translate to 'is'?

Not exactly. Var specifically means 'there is' or 'there exists'. While English uses a dummy subject 'there' plus the verb 'is', Turkish simply places the existence word var at the very end of the sentence.

Is koku always a bad smell?

No, koku is simply the noun for 'smell', 'scent', or 'odor'. It can be good or bad depending on the adjective you use. That is why we need the word pis (nasty or dirty) here to clarify that it is a bad smell!