The Beauty of the Verbs: "çık-"

After writing about can (soul, life) and bil- (to know), I couldn’t resist talking about one of the most action-packed verbs in Turkish: çık-. At first, it seems simple, it means to go out, to exit. But don’t let its simplicity fool you. According to the Turkish Language Association (TDK), çık- has 54 different meanings, making it the Turkish verb with the most meanings. No wonder you see it everywhere in daily life.

Think of the word çıkış (exit). Even if you’re new to Turkish, you’ve probably already spotted it on a door, in the metro, or at the airport. It’s one of those words that learners immediately recognize in real life, and that’s what makes it powerful: it’s not just grammar, it’s part of your everyday surroundings.

The basic meaning of çık- is about leaving or going out:

• Çıkıyorum – I’m going out.

• Çıkış kapısı – exit door.

• Yangın çıkışı – fire exit.

But from there, it expands into dozens of directions. A cat can climb/go up "çıkmak" on a tree, results can come out "çıkmak", newspapers can be published "çıkmak", and a street can even be a "çıkmaz" which means  "a dead end". Suddenly, a single verb connects climbing mountains (dağa çıkmak), taking out your wallet (cüzdanını çıkarmak), and describing someone’s personal interest (çıkar).

More Words from Çık-

Here are a few easy and useful ones:

Word	Meaning
çık-	to exit, go out, climb up
çıkış	exit
çıkar	interest, benefit
çıkık	dislocation
çıkmaz	dead end
çıkıntı	bump, protrusion
çıkıntılı	bumpy, protruding
çıkıntısız	ledgeless, unribbed
çıktı	printout, result
çıkışlı	graduate
çıkıl-	passive form of çık-
çıkar- / çıkart-	to take out, remove (causitive form)
çıkarma	extraction
çıkartma	sticker, extraction
çıkarcı	self-seeker, calculating
çıkarım	deduction
çıkış-	to snap, storm (reciprocative form)

What makes çık- especially fun for learners is that it grows with you. As a beginner, you might only notice it on exit signs. Later, you’ll hear it in everyday conversations, such as dışarı çıkmak (to go outside). And the more advanced you get, the more you’ll encounter its abstract uses, like çıkar çatışması (conflict of interest).

That’s why çık- is a perfect example of the beauty of Turkish. A small verb with a simple core meaning can branch into dozens of new words, some concrete, some abstract, all built from the same root. Once you learn to spot it, you’ll realize you already know more than you thought.

So next time you see a çıkış sign, remember: you’re not just leaving a place — you’re stepping into one of the richest word families in Turkish, with 54 meanings waiting to be discovered.