Breakdown of Bütün mesaimiz asabi insanlardan azar işitmekten ibaret.
insan
person
mesai
shift / working hours
bütün
all, whole
ibaret
composed of / consisting of
Questions & Answers about Bütün mesaimiz asabi insanlardan azar işitmekten ibaret.
Why is the ablative suffix -ten attached to the verb işitmek here?
The word ibaret (meaning 'consists of' or 'is made up of') always requires the ablative case (-den/-dan/-ten/-tan) on the noun or verbal noun that precedes it. Since the shift consists of an action, the infinitive işitmek takes the ablative suffix to become işitmekten.
The translation says 'getting scolded', but doesn't işitmek mean 'to hear'?
Yes, işitmek literally means 'to hear', and azar means 'a scolding' or 'reprimand'. In Turkish, the standard fixed phrase for 'getting scolded' or 'being told off' is azar işitmek—literally 'to hear a scolding'.
I've often heard mesai used to mean 'overtime'. How do we know it means 'shift' here?
Mesai broadly refers to 'working hours' or a 'shift'. While the common phrase mesaiye kalmak specifically means 'to stay for overtime', the word itself just refers to your scheduled time at work. Here, bütün mesaimiz simply means 'our entire working hours' or 'our whole shift'.
Why doesn't the sentence end with the 'to be' suffix, making it ibarettir?
In Turkish, the third-person 'to be' suffix (-dır/-dir/-tır/-tir) is frequently dropped in everyday speech and standard writing when stating a general fact. The sentence is perfectly complete with just ibaret, as the 'is' is understood.