The Beauty of the Verbs: "al-"

After exploring bil- (to know), çık- (to go out), and gir- (to enter), it is time to meet the verb that quietly shapes everyday Turkish: al-, meaning to take, to get, or to receive.

At first glance, it looks simple. But the number of words that grow from al- is truly incredible. This root expands in almost every direction: shopping, communication, emotions, habits, perception, visuals, and even economic vocabulary. Many teachers, including myself, consider almak the number one verb every learner should master. Once you understand al-, an entire world of Turkish vocabulary becomes easier to recognize and guess.

Bonus fact: al- is a rare verb that can take all the case markers in Turkish.

Ahmet Ayşe'yle Kadıköy'de marketten köpeğine bu mamayı aldı.

Subject + Instr. + Locative + Ablative + Dative + Accusative + Verb

Literally;

Ahmet with Ayşe in Kadıköy from the market to his dog this dog food he bought.

"Bir kilo elma alabilir miyim?"

The basic meaning of al- is "to take," but Turkish uses it in many situations

• Bir kahve alayım. (I will have a coffee.)

• Maili aldım. (I received the email.)

• Ödül aldı. (She received an award.)

• Telefonunu alabilir miyim? (Can I take your phone?)

• Duş almak (to take a shower)

• Nefes almak (to breathe)

• Not almak (to take notes)

• Sipariş almak (to take an order)

With a single root, Turkish expresses buying, receiving, collecting, absorbing, adapting, capturing, mentioning, learning, and getting used to something. This flexibility is exactly why almak is so essential.

A Closer Look at the al- Family

Here is a longer list to show how widely this root spreads:

Word	Meaning
al-	to take, receive, buy
alım	attraction/purchase (n.)
alımlı	attractive/charming
alımsız	unattractive
alım gücü	purchasing power
algı	perception
algıla-	to perceive or to understand
alış	act of purchase
alma	act of taking/buying (gerund)
alıcı	receiver/buyer
alsat	buy&sell / trading
alım satım	buying and selling or trading
alışveriş	shopping
alavere	passing from hand to hand/confusion
alavere dalavere	hustle/flimflam
alacak	debt/money that's to be taken
alacaklı	deptee/payee/creditor
albeni	charm/attractiveness (lit. buy/take me)
albenili	eye-catching or visually appealing
alıcı gözle bakmak	to look attentively or with interest
alıkoy-	to detain/withhold
alış-	to get used to (reciprocative)
alışma	getting used to (gerund)
alıştırma	exercise/drill
alışık	accustomed/familiar
alışkın	accustomed/familiar
alışkanlık	habit
alışılmış	accustomed/common/ordinary
alın-	to be taken/to be offended (passive)
alıntı	quotation/taken word
alıngan	easily offended
aldır-	to care/take offense/mind/abort(baby) (causitive)
aldırış	attention
aldırmadan	regardless

This list can continue for much longer. The root al- appears in idioms, formal vocabulary, daily speech, emotional expressions, and even slang. Once you start noticing it, you realize how often you have been using it without even thinking about it.

The beauty of al- is that learners start using it from their very first days of Turkish. Whenever you want to buy something, you already depend on this root: “Almak istiyorum” (I want to buy it) or “Alabilir miyim?” (Can I have it?) or even “Şunu alayım” (I’ll take this). Without realizing it, you use al- to express choosing, requesting, receiving, and buying. A simple verb becomes the foundation of so many daily interactions.

This is why almak is often considered the most important verb in Turkish. It is more than common. It is foundational. Once you know this root well, dozens of other words suddenly become easier to understand or at least easier to guess.

A tiny verb that opens so many doors is one of the best examples of the beauty of Turkish. That is why al- deserves its place in this series.