Merhaba, büyükanne
Hello, Grandmother
Before you read
Turkish often leaves out is and am entirely. Bu kafe küçük means This café is small, with no separate word for is. Bu kafe means This is a café. Just put the two words next to each other and the meaning appears.
burada means here. Add yım and it becomes buradayım, I am here, all in one word. You will meet this yım ending only on burada for now, in Elif's first words to her grandmother's photo.
The ending meaning in or at changes its vowel to match the word before it: kafede (front vowel e) but mutfakta (back vowel a, and it hardens after the k). Safranbolu'da uses da because Safranbolu ends in a back vowel. Say them out loud and the pattern becomes a rhythm.
değil says something is not so: Büyükanne burada değil, Grandmother is not here. var says something exists: Kafede masa var, There is a table in the café. Neither one needs a separate word for is.
Chapter 1 complete
Keep reading The Little Café in Safranbolu in Storyglot.
Continue the story in the app, save useful words, and pick up where you left off.
In the app, choose Turkish and look for Safranbolu'daki küçük kafe.
