Vowel Harmony: Front and Back

Level 1

Turkish vowels are split into two groups: Back (a, ı, o, u) and Front (e, i, ö, ü). Most suffixes match the group of the word's last vowel.

How It Works

Büyük Ünlü Uyumu (Two-Way Vowel Harmony) is the most fundamental rule in Turkish. It ensures that words have a consistent 'sound' by grouping vowels based on where they are produced in the mouth.

1. The Two Groups:

  • Back Vowels (Kalın): a, ı, o, u. These sound 'deeper' or 'harder'.
  • Front Vowels (İnce): e, i, ö, ü. These sound 'lighter' or 'softer'.

2. The Rule of Two:
When you add a suffix that contains an 'A' or 'E' (like the plural -lar/-ler), you look at the last vowel of the word:

  • Last vowel is a, ı, o, u → Use -a (e.g., araba-lar)
  • Last vowel is e, i, ö, ü → Use -e (e.g., ev-ler)

3. Where it applies:
This rule governs many common suffixes, including:

4. Exceptions:

  • Internal Harmony: While suffixes usually follow harmony, some native words like anne (mother) or elma (apple) and loanwords like kitap (book) mix front and back vowels internally.
  • Compound Words: Words made of two parts, like bilgisayar (computer) or başöğretmen (headteacher), do not follow harmony internally. However, any suffix you add will still follow the final vowel of the whole word.
  • Loanword Suffixes: Some loanwords (e.g., saat, kalp, alkol) take front-vowel suffixes (saatler, kalpler) despite having a back vowel.
  • Fixed Suffixes: A few suffixes have 'fixed' vowels. The 'o' in -iyor never changes, though the vowel immediately before it follows Four-Way Harmony (e.g., bak-ı-yor vs gel-i-yor). The suffix -ki is also usually fixed, except in the common words bugünkü (today's) and dünkü (yesterday's) where it harmonizes. The suffix -ken also remains fixed.

Examples (4)

  1. Çocuklar okulda.

    The children are at school.

    Word by Word: Child-plural school-at.

    'Çocuk' and 'okul' both end in back vowels (u), so they take the '-lar' and '-da' forms.

  2. Kediler evde.

    The cats are at home.

    Word by Word: Cat-plural house-at.

    'Kedi' and 'ev' both end in front vowels (i, e), so they take the '-ler' and '-de' forms.

  3. İstanbul'dan geliyorum.

    I am coming from Istanbul.

    Word by Word: Istanbul-from come-ing-I.

    Even though 'İstanbul' has both front and back vowels, the last vowel 'u' is back, so we use '-dan'.

  4. Kitaplar masada.

    The books are on the table.

    Word by Word: Book-plural table-on.

    'Kitap' is a loanword with mixed vowels (i, a). Since 'a' is the last vowel, it takes '-lar'.

Common Mistakes

  • Looking at the first vowel instead of the last vowel.

    İstanbul'den
    İstanbul'dan

    Always look at the very last vowel of the word to decide the suffix harmony, regardless of what the first vowel was.

  • Confusing the front vowel 'i' with the back vowel 'ı'.

    Kapıler
    Kapılar

    The dotless 'ı' is a back vowel and must be followed by 'a'. The dotted 'i' is a front vowel and must be followed by 'e'.

  • Applying harmony to certain loanwords that take front-vowel suffixes.

    Saatlar
    Saatler

    A small group of loanwords (like 'saat', 'kalp', or 'alkol') take front-vowel suffixes even though their last vowel is a back vowel.

How It Connects

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

Vowel Harmony: Front and BackLevel 1

Learn This First

To learn Two-Way Vowel Harmony, you first need to be comfortable with the Turkish alphabet and specifically the distinction between the dotted 'i' and dotless 'ı', as these form the basis for categorizing vowels into front and back groups.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.