Breakdown of Kalkıp o lafı söyleyemezsin; haddini bil!
o
that / he / she / it
bilmek
to know
söylemek
to say, to sing
kalkıp
up and / unexpectedly (converb)
had
one's place / bounds
laf
remark / word (spoken remark, chat)
Questions & Answers about Kalkıp o lafı söyleyemezsin; haddini bil!
Does kalkıp mean the person literally has to stand up before speaking?
Can you break down the suffixes in söyleyemezsin? It looks like it has an extra -ye- in the middle.
It comes from the verb root söyle- (to say/tell). The breakdown is söyle + -y- (buffer letter) + -e- (marker of inability/impossibility) + -mez (negative aorist tense) + -sin (you). That subtle -y-e- combination is what changes "you don't say" (söylemezsin) into "you cannot say" (söyleyemezsin).
What does haddini bil literally translate to, and why is there a double "d"?
It literally means "know your limit". The root word is had (limit, boundary, or proper place). Because it is an Arabic loanword, the final consonant doubles when a vowel suffix is added. It becomes haddi (your limit) + -ni (accusative case marker, because it is the specific direct object of bil).
Why use lafı instead of sözü or kelimeyi for "remark" here?
Kelime strictly means a single "word", which doesn't fit the context of making a remark. Both söz and laf mean "remark" or "statement", but laf is often used for casual, thoughtless, or provocative comments. In an angry or scolding sentence like this, o lafı carries a perfectly dismissive or negative tone ("that kind of talk").
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