mısın / mıyım / mısınız

Question Word with Person Endings

Level 1

In Turkish, yes/no questions are formed by adding the particle mi (or its harmonized forms) followed by a personal ending. Unlike English, the word order doesn't flip; you just add the question word.

How It Works

To ask a question in a nominal sentence (a sentence describing what someone/something is or how they are), follow these steps:

  • Step 1: State the noun or adjective (e.g., hazır - ready).
  • Step 2: Add the question particle mı/mi/mu/mü as a separate word.
  • Step 3: For the 1st and 2nd person, attach the personal ending directly to the particle. For the 3rd person plural (they), the plural suffix usually attaches to the noun/adjective instead.

Vowel Harmony Table:
• After a, ı → mı (e.g., hazır mı?)
• After e, i → mi (e.g., iyi mi?)
• After o, u → mu (e.g., mutlu mu?)
• After ö, ü → mü (e.g., kötü mü?)

Personal Endings:
When you add 'I' or 'We' endings, you must use a buffer -y- because the particle ends in a vowel:
• mıyım / miyim / muyum / müyüm (Am I...?)
• mısın / misin / musun / müsün (Are you...?)
• mıyız / miyiz / muyuz / müyüz (Are we...?)
• mısınız / misiniz / musunuz / müsünüz (Are you [plural/formal]...?)

Word Stress:
In Turkish, the question particle is never stressed. The word stress falls on the syllable immediately before the particle (e.g., in Hazır mısın?, the stress is on the syllable -zır).

Third Person Plural (They):
For 'They', the plural suffix usually stays on the noun or adjective, and the question particle follows it (e.g., Hazırlar mı?). However, if you explicitly say the word onlar, the plural suffix is optional and often dropped in speech (e.g., Onlar hazır mı?).

Examples (5)

  1. Hazır mısın?

    Are you ready?

    Word by Word: Ready [question] you?

    The adjective 'hazır' ends in 'ı', so we use 'mı'. The ending '-sın' (you) attaches to the particle.

  2. Öğrenci miyim?

    Am I a student?

    Word by Word: Student [question] I?

    Because 'mi' ends in a vowel and '-im' starts with one, the buffer 'y' is used: mi + y + im.

  3. Yorgun musunuz?

    Are you (plural/formal) tired?

    Word by Word: Tired [question] you-all?

    The word 'yorgun' ends in 'u', so the particle becomes 'mu' to match.

  4. Bugün mutlu muyuz?

    Are we happy today?

    Word by Word: Today happy [question] we?

    The question particle follows the word 'mutlu' (happy) because that is the focus of the question.

  5. Doktor musun?

    Are you a doctor?

    Word by Word: Doctor [question] you?

    A simple question asking about someone's profession.

Common Mistakes

  • Writing the particle attached to the word.

    İyimisin?
    İyi misin?

    The question particle 'mi' must always be written as a separate word, even though it follows vowel harmony.

  • Using the wrong vowel harmony.

    Mutlu misin?
    Mutlu musun?

    The particle must match the last vowel of the preceding word. Since 'mutlu' ends in 'u', you must use 'mu'.

  • Attaching the plural suffix to the particle.

    Öğrenci miler?
    Öğrenciler mi?

    In the 3rd person plural, the '-ler/-lar' suffix stays on the noun, and the question particle follows it separately.

How It Connects

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mısın / mıyım / mısınızLevel 1Question Word with Person Endings

Learn This First

To form questions with person endings, you first need to understand the basic question particle 'mı' and how it follows four-way vowel harmony. Additionally, you must be familiar with the personal endings used in non-verbal sentences, as these are appended directly to the question particle.

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mısınmıyım