The Smallest Verbs in Turkish, and the Big Word Families They Build
Turkish is an agglutinative language: it builds meaning by stacking suffixes onto a root, layer after layer, like adding beads to a string. Nowhere is this more visible than with the language's shortest verb roots, just two letters long. Strip away the infinitive ending -mek or -mak, and you're left with a tiny root that has spent centuries quietly generating nouns, adjectives, and expressions all around it.
There are 29 of these two-letter verb stems in Turkish, one vowel and one consonant, in either order. Below is the full set, alphabetically, each with a meaning, one example sentence, and a small family of everyday words that grew out of the same root.
A quick note before we start: some of the "word family" connections below are historical and some are simplified for learners. Turkish etymology can get genuinely complicated, so treat the groupings as a memory aid rather than a strict etymological dictionary.
Two things to notice before you read the list
De- and ye- end in a vowel. They're the only two two-letter verbs like this, and when a suffix starting with a vowel follows, the e becomes i: diyor, yiyor, diyecek, yiyecek. Before a consonant, the stem stays put: dedim, yedin, der, yer.
Most take -ar/-er in the aorist, but three don't. Açar, iner, içer, öper follow the regular pattern. Alır, olur, ölür take -ır/-ur/-ür instead.
The List
aç- (açmak) : to open
Kapıyı aç. : Open the door. Word family: açık (open, also "clear" or "light" in color), açılış (an opening, inauguration), açıklama (an explanation)
ak- (akmak) : to flow, to leak
Burnum akıyor. : My nose is running. Word family: akış (a flow), akıntı (a current), akıcı (fluent, flowing)
al- (almak) : to take, to buy
Ekmek aldın mı? : Did you buy bread? Word family: alış (the act of buying, as in alışveriş, shopping), alıcı (buyer, receiver), alım (an intake, a purchase)
an- (anmak) : to commemorate, to mention
Atatürk'ü anıyoruz. : We are commemorating Atatürk. Word family: anı (a memory, a memoir), anıt (a monument), anma (a commemoration)
as- (asmak) : to hang
Ceketimi asar mısın? : Could you hang up my jacket? Word family: askı (a hanger, a suspension), asılı (hanging, suspended)
aş- (aşmak) : to exceed, to cross
Bütçeyi aştık. : We went over budget. Word family: aşırı (excessive), aşama (a stage, a phase)
at- (atmak) : to throw
Bana mesaj at. : Text me. Word family: atış (a throw, a shot), atıcı (a thrower, a shooter)
de- (demek) : to say
Ne dedin? : What did you say? Word family: deyim (an idiom, a set expression), demeç (an official statement)
eğ- (eğmek) : to bend, to lower
Başını eğdi. : He lowered his head. Word family: eğim (a slope, an incline), eğik (bent, slanted), eğri (crooked, curved)
ek- (ekmek) : to sow, to plant
Bahçeye domates ektik. : We planted tomatoes in the garden. Word family: ekin (a crop, a grain crop)
Fun aside: the noun ekmek (bread) looks identical to the infinitive of this verb, but most sources treat that as two words converging in form rather than bread growing directly out of "to sow."
em- (emmek) : to suck
Bebek parmağını emiyor. : The baby is sucking her thumb. Word family: emzik (a pacifier), emici (absorbent), emme (sucking, suction)
es- (esmek) : to blow (wind)
Bugün burası çok fena esiyor. : It's blowing really hard here today. Word family: esinti (a breeze), esin (inspiration, as in esin almak, "to be inspired by")
et- (etmek) : to do, to make
Teşekkür ederim. : Thank you. Word family: etki (an effect, an influence), etken (a factor, an active agent), etkili (effective)
Et- is also the workhorse behind hundreds of compound verbs that turn a borrowed noun into an action: teşekkür etmek (to thank), yardım etmek (to help), telefon etmek (to phone).
ez- (ezmek) : to crush, to mash
Sarımsağı ez. : Crush the garlic. Word family: ezik (crushed, bruised), ezme (a mash or paste, as in biber ezmesi, pepper paste), ezici (crushing, overwhelming)
iç- (içmek) : to drink
Çay içiyorum. : I'm drinking tea. Word family: içki (a drink, usually alcoholic), içecek (a beverage, something to drink)
in- (inmek) : to get off, to go down
Otobüsten indim. : I got off the bus. Word family: iniş (a descent, a landing), inik (let down, deflated)
it- (itmek) : to push
Beni itme! : Don't push me! Word family: itici (repulsive, propelling), itiş (a push, a shove, as in itiş kakış, "pushing and shoving")
ol- (olmak) : to be, to become, to happen
Ne oldu? : What happened? Word family: olay (an event), oluş (a becoming, a formation), olası (probable, likely), oluşum (a formation, a process)
ov- (ovmak) : to rub, to massage
Sırtımı ovar mısın? : Could you rub my back? Word family: ovma (rubbing); related to the everyday verb ovalamak (to rub or massage repeatedly)
öl- (ölmek) : to die
Dedem geçen yıl öldü. : My grandfather died last year. Word family: ölüm (death), ölü (a dead person, a corpse), ölümcül (fatal, deadly)
öp- (öpmek) : to kiss
Beni öptü. : He/She kissed me. Word family: öpücük (a kiss), öpüşme (kissing each other)
ör- (örmek) : to knit, to braid
Annem kazak örüyor. : My mother is knitting a sweater. Word family: örgü (knitting, knitwear), örücü (a knitter)
öt- (ötmek) : to sing, to chirp (birds)
Kuşlar ötüyor. : The birds are singing. Word family: ötücü kuş (songbird, literally "a bird that sings")
öv- (övmek) : to praise
Öğretmen beni övdü. : The teacher praised me. Word family: övgü (praise), övünme (boasting, self-praise)
uç- (uçmak) : to fly
Penguenler uçamaz. : Penguins can't fly. Word family: uçuş (a flight), uçak (an airplane, literally "the thing that flies"), uçucu (volatile, flighty)
um- (ummak) : to hope, to expect
Umarım gelir. : I hope he comes. Word family: umut (hope), umutsuz (hopeless)
uy- (uymak) : to comply, to fit, to suit
Kurallara uy. : Follow the rules. Word family: uygun (suitable, appropriate), uyum (harmony, compliance), uyumlu (compatible, harmonious)
üz- (üzmek) : to upset
Beni üzdün. : You upset me. Word family: üzüntü (sadness, sorrow), üzücü (upsetting)
ye- (yemek) : to eat
Akşam ne yiyeceğiz? : What are we eating tonight? Word family: yemek (the same word also means "meal" or "food"), yiyecek (food, something to eat)
Why this matters for learners
Once you can spot a two-letter root inside a longer word, the language starts to feel less like a wall of unfamiliar syllables and more like a set of familiar building blocks wearing different suffixes. Seeing aç- inside açık, açılış, and açıklama is a much faster way to remember all three than memorizing them as three unrelated words. And once you notice how many of these tiny roots you already know from everyday phrases (teşekkür ederim, rica ederim, ne oldu), the whole system starts to feel a lot less intimidating.
Here is a PDF that has more example sentences for each two-letter verb in Turkish. This is
perfect material for those who want to learn more Turkish vocabulary.
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