-leşmek / -lenmek

Verbs of Becoming

Level 5

The suffixes -leşmek and -lenmek are the primary tools in Turkish for creating verbs from nouns and adjectives. They generally describe a change in state or the acquisition of a quality.

How It Works

These suffixes follow two-way vowel harmony (-leş/-laş and -len/-lan).

1. -leşmek (Transformative, Reciprocal & Simulative)

  • Transformative: Used with adjectives to mean 'to become [adjective].' For example, güzelleşmek (to become beautiful) or zorlaşmak (to become difficult). Unlike the suffix -al/-l, the final -k of a root is preserved here (e.g., alçaklaşmak, küçükleşmek).
  • Reciprocal: When used with certain nouns, it indicates a mutual exchange. For example, mektuplaşmak (to exchange letters) or dertleşmek (to share troubles).
  • Simulative: Used with nouns to mean 'to act like' or 'to behave like.' For example, çocuklaşmak (to act like a child) or devleşmek (to become giant-like).

2. -lenmek (Acquisitive, Emotional & Passive/Reflexive)

  • Acquisitive: Used with nouns to mean 'to acquire' or 'to be provided with' that noun. For example, çiçeklenmek (to blossom/get flowers) or evlenmek (to get married).
  • Emotional/Physical State: Used to turn emotional or state-based nouns into verbs describing a change in feeling. For example, sinirlenmek (to get angry), neşelenmek (to cheer up), or hastalanmak (to get sick).
  • Passive/Reflexive: It acts as the reflexive form or the passive form for verbs ending in a vowel. When added to verbs ending in -le, it appears as -len. For example, temizlenmek (to be cleaned or to clean oneself) comes from temizlemek (to clean). Note: Verbs ending in -l take -in instead.

Examples (5)

  1. Hava kararınca sokaklar sessizleşti.

    When it got dark, the streets became quiet.

    Word by Word: Weather when-darkened streets became-quiet.

    Here, 'sessiz' (quiet) becomes a verb using -leşmek to show a change in state.

  2. Bahar gelince bütün ağaçlar çiçeklendi.

    When spring came, all the trees blossomed.

    Word by Word: Spring when-came all trees acquired-flowers.

    The noun 'çiçek' (flower) uses -lenmek to show the trees acquired flowers.

  3. Eski arkadaşımla saatlerce dertleştik.

    We shared our troubles with my old friend for hours.

    Word by Word: Old with-my-friend for-hours we-shared-troubles.

    This demonstrates the reciprocal use of -leşmek, meaning to share troubles mutually.

  4. Sınav yaklaştıkça sorular zorlaşıyor.

    As the exam approaches, the questions are becoming difficult.

    Word by Word: Exam as-it-approaches questions are-becoming-difficult.

    The adjective 'zor' (difficult) transforms into a verb of becoming using -laşmak.

  5. Çocuklar parkta neşeyle oyun oynarken canlandılar.

    The children livened up while playing happily in the park.

    Word by Word: Children in-park with-joy game while-playing they-became-lively.

    The noun 'can' (soul/life) becomes 'canlanmak' (to liven up/become animated).

Common Mistakes

  • Choosing 'olmak' (to be/become) when these suffixes sound more natural.

    Hava güzel oldu.
    Hava güzelleşti.

    'Hava güzel oldu' is grammatical and means the weather turned out nice. But 'güzelleşti' is much more natural for describing the process of becoming beautiful or better.

  • Confusing transformation (-leş) with acquisition (-len).

    Bahçe çiçekleşti.
    Bahçe çiçeklendi.

    'Çiçekleşmek' would imply the garden itself turned into a flower, whereas 'çiçeklenmek' correctly means the garden acquired flowers.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-leşmek / -lenmekLevel 5Verbs of Becoming

Learn This First

The suffixes -leşmek and -lenmek are used to derive verbs from nouns or adjectives, indicating a process of 'becoming' or 'acquiring' a quality. To use them, you must understand two-way vowel harmony to choose the correct suffix form and be familiar with the infinitive marker to treat the resulting word as a verb.

Words in This Pattern

-leş-len