-(s)i (iyelik, 3. tekil)

His, Her, Its

Level 1

The 3rd person singular possessive suffix -(s)i shows that something belongs to 'him', 'her', or 'it'. Unlike English, the suffix is attached to the end of the noun.

How It Works

In Turkish, possession is marked on the object being owned. While you can use the pronoun onun (his/her/its), the suffix on the noun is mandatory.

1. Formation Rules:

  • After a Consonant: Add -ı, -i, -u, or -ü.
  • After a Vowel: Add -sı, -si, -su, or -sü.
  • The 'Su' Exception: The word su (water) uses a -y- bridge: suyu.

2. Consonant Softening & Vowel Dropping:

  • Nouns ending in p, ç, t, k usually soften (e.g., kitap → kitabı). Note: k becomes g after n (renk → rengi). One-syllable words (süt) and foreign words (hukuk) often do not soften.
  • Some two-syllable nouns drop their last vowel (e.g., ağız → ağzı, şehir → şehri).

3. The Pronominal 'n':
If you add any case suffix (Accusative, Dative, Locative, Ablative, or Genitive) after this possessive suffix, you must use the buffer letter -n- (e.g., arabası-n-da).

Examples (6)

  1. Onun arabası nerede?

    Where is his/her car?

    Word by Word: His car-its where?

    Since 'araba' ends in a vowel, we use the -sı suffix.

  2. Çiçeğin suyu bitmiş.

    The flower's water is finished.

    Word by Word: Flower-of water-its finished.

    The word 'su' (water) is an exception; it uses -y- instead of -s-, becoming 'suyu'.

  3. Onun arabasına bindik.

    We got into his/her car.

    Word by Word: His car-its-to we-got-in.

    When adding a case suffix like -a (to) after the possessive, we must use the 'pronominal n' buffer.

  4. Şehrin merkezi çok kalabalık.

    The city's center is very crowded.

    Word by Word: City-of center-its very crowded.

    The word 'şehir' (city) drops its last vowel when adding a suffix starting with a vowel, becoming 'şehri'.

  5. Onun rengi mavi.

    Its color is blue.

    Word by Word: Its color-its blue.

    In the word 'renk', the 'k' softens to 'g' instead of 'ğ' because it follows the letter 'n'.

  6. Sütü çok sıcak.

    His/her milk is very hot.

    Word by Word: Milk-its very hot.

    Most one-syllable words like 'süt' do not undergo consonant softening.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the wrong buffer letter after a vowel.

    Onun arabayı
    Onun arabası

    Learners often use -y- (the general buffer) instead of the specific -s- buffer required for 3rd person possession.

  • Forgetting the 'pronominal n' before case endings.

    Onun arabasıda
    Onun arabasında

    When adding any case suffix (like -da, -dan, -a, or -ı) after the 3rd person possessive, you must use the buffer letter -n-.

  • Applying softening to all words, including exceptions.

    Onun hukuğu
    Onun hukuku

    Many foreign loanwords (like hukuk) and short words (like süt) do not follow consonant softening rules.

How It Connects

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-(s)i (iyelik, 3. tekil)Level 1His, Her, Its

Learn This First

To learn the 3rd person possessive suffix, you must understand Four-Way Vowel Harmony to select the correct vowel, Consonant Softening for nouns ending in hard consonants, and the general concept of how Turkish attaches suffixes to indicate ownership.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

And 2 more in the full list.

Words in This Pattern

-i