değil

Saying Something Is Not

Level 1

In Turkish, you don't use verb suffixes to negate nouns or adjectives. Instead, you use the word değil (not) followed by the personal ending.

How It Works

Turkish sentences that describe a state or identity (like 'I am happy' or 'He is a doctor') are called nominal sentences. To make these negative, you follow these rules:

Placement: Place değil after the noun or adjective.
Personal Endings: The personal endings (like -im or -sin) attach to değil, not the noun. Note that the third person singular (o) takes no ending.
Vowel Harmony: The word değil itself never changes. Because it ends in 'i', the suffixes attached to it always follow front-vowel harmony: the 'i' version for four-way harmony (e.g., -im, -sin, -iz, -siniz) and the 'e' version for two-way harmony (e.g., -ler).
No Buffer Needed: Since değil ends in a consonant (l), you don't need a buffer letter before suffixes starting with a vowel.
Questions: In negative questions, the question word follows değil (e.g., Mutlu değil misin? - Aren't you happy?). Note: For the third person plural, the suffix attaches to değil (e.g., Mutlu değiller mi? - Aren't they happy?). This is different from affirmative questions where the plural suffix usually stays on the noun/adjective.
Not X, but Y: You can use değil to contrast two things, meaning 'not this, but that' (e.g., Elma değil, armut istiyorum - I want a pear, not an apple).
Tag Questions: The phrase değil mi? is used at the end of sentences to mean 'right?' or 'isn't it?'.
Past Tense: To say something 'was not', you add the past tense suffix to get değildi.

Formal Usage: In very formal contexts, you might see değildir. This uses the suffix -dir to state a fact emphatically.

Examples (5)

Ben öğretmen değilim.
I am not a teacher.
Word by Word: I teacher not-am.
The personal ending for 'I' (-im) attaches to 'değil'.
Bu yemek lezzetli değil.
This food is not delicious.
Word by Word: This food delicious not.
For the third person (it/he/she), no personal ending is needed after 'değil'.
Biz yorgun değiliz.
We are not tired.
Word by Word: We tired not-are.
Even though 'yorgun' has back vowels, 'değil' stays the same and takes the 'i' harmony suffix '-iz'.
Sen hasta değilsin.
You are not sick.
Word by Word: You sick not-are.
A simple negation of a state (being sick).
Onlar evde değiller.
They are not at home.
Word by Word: They home-at not-plural.
The plural suffix -ler attaches to 'değil'.

Common Mistakes

Using 'yok' instead of 'değil' to negate an adjective.
Ben mutlu yok.
Ben mutlu değilim.
'Yok' means 'there is not' or 'to not have'. To say 'I am not [adjective]', you must use 'değil'.
Attaching the personal ending to the noun instead of 'değil'.
Öğrenciyim değil.
Öğrenci değilim.
In a negative sentence, the 'identity' marker moves from the noun to the word 'değil'.
Changing 'değil' to match vowel harmony.
Yorgun değul.
Yorgun değil.
'Değil' is an invariant word; it never changes its own vowels regardless of the word before it.

How It Connects

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değilLevel 1Saying Something Is Not

Learn This First

To understand 'değil', you first need to know how to form basic positive nominal sentences using personal endings. Since 'değil' acts as the predicate and carries these endings, familiarity with the Four-Way Vowel Harmony (which determines the form of the personal suffixes) and the general structure of sentences without verbs is necessary.

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