Breakdown of Bu bir abartı, ortada haksızlık yok ki!
bu
this
bir
a / an
yok
there is not / non-existent
orta
middle
ki
but ... (trailing particle of exasperation)
haksızlık
injustice / unfairness
abartı
exaggeration
Questions & Answers about Bu bir abartı, ortada haksızlık yok ki!
How does the trailing ki change the meaning of the second clause?
It adds a tone of exasperation or counter-expectation. Instead of just stating a neutral fact, the speaker is reacting defensively, implying 'but there isn't any injustice (so why are you acting like there is?)'. It gives the sentence a protesting tone.
The English translation uses 'but', but there is no ama or fakat in the Turkish sentence. Where does it come from?
The 'but' feeling is generated by the trailing ki! Because ki at the end of a sentence expresses a contrast to what someone else thinks or expects, it naturally bridges the two clauses with a contrasting feeling in English, making an explicit ama unnecessary.
Why is ortada used to mean 'here' instead of a location word like burada?
While burada literally means 'here' in a physical sense, ortada literally means 'in the middle'. In Turkish, it is used idiomatically to mean 'in plain sight', 'around', or 'in this situation'. So, ortada haksızlık yok means there is no obvious injustice going on in the current situation.
Can you break down the suffixes in the word haksızlık?
It starts with the root word hak (right, justice, or one's due). The suffix -sız means 'without', making the adjective haksız (unjust or in the wrong). Finally, the noun-forming suffix -lık turns it into the abstract noun haksızlık (injustice or unfairness).
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