Breakdown of Bu ev tıpkı bizim ev gibi.
bu
this
ev
house
biz
we
gibi
like (similar to)
tıpkı
exactly like, just like
Questions & Answers about Bu ev tıpkı bizim ev gibi.
How does gibi work in this sentence?
gibi is a postposition meaning "like" or "similar to". Unlike English prepositions that come before a noun ("like our house"), Turkish postpositions come after the noun or noun phrase. Here, it follows bizim ev (our house) to mean "like our house".
What does tıpkı mean, and do I have to use it with gibi?
tıpkı means "exactly" or "just". It is very frequently paired with gibi to emphasize a similarity, creating the meaning "just like" or "exactly like". You don't have to use it—saying Bu ev bizim ev gibi still works and means "This house is like our house"—but adding tıpkı makes the comparison much stronger.
Why is it bizim ev instead of bizim evimiz?
This is a very common shortcut in everyday spoken Turkish! Formally, "our house" requires the possessive suffix on the noun: bizim evimiz. However, in conversation, when you already use the possessive pronoun bizim (our), the ownership is obvious. Because of this, speakers often drop the suffix on the noun to keep things short and say bizim ev.
Where is the word for "is" in this sentence?
The verb "is" is implied at the very end of the sentence. In present tense Turkish, the "to be" verb for "he/she/it is" is often completely invisible. You could add the formal suffix -dir to the end and say gibidir, but in regular conversational Turkish, leaving it off is completely normal and correct.
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