what is it?
In Turkish, the word değil is the standard way to negate a nominal or copular predicate — that is, a sentence whose predicate is a noun, an adjective, or a locative phrase rather than a verb. It corresponds to not in constructions like "I am not a student" or "It is not cold." Unlike verbal negation (which uses the suffix -me/-ma), değil is a free-standing word that takes the same personal (copular) endings used in affirmative nominal sentences.
when to use it
Noun predicates. Use değil when saying that a subject is not a particular person or thing: "I am not a student," "She is not a doctor."
Adjective predicates. Use değil when saying that a subject does not have a particular quality: "The water is not cold," "This is not good."
Locative predicates. Use değil to negate a location expressed with the locative case (-de/-da): "I am not at home," "She is not at school."
Tag questions. The fixed phrase değil mi (literally "is it not?") functions as a tag question equivalent to "isn't it?" or "right?"
Do not use değil to negate the existence or presence of something. That role belongs to yok (e.g. "There is no water" → Su yok.).
formation
Place the predicate complement (noun, adjective, or locative phrase) before değil, then attach the appropriate personal ending directly to değil. The pattern is:
[Subject] + [complement] + değil + [personal ending]
The personal endings follow the same vowel harmony rules as affirmative copular sentences. The full set of present-tense forms:
| person | form | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ben (I) | değilim | I am not |
| sen (you, sg.) | değilsin | you are not |
| o (he/she/it) | değil | he/she/it is not |
| biz (we) | değiliz | we are not |
| siz (you, pl./formal) | değilsiniz | you are not |
| onlar (they) | değiller | they are not |
Third-person singular o takes no ending — değil stands alone. All other persons add an ending.
examples in context
common pitfalls
Using yok instead of değil. Yok expresses non-existence ("there is no…"). It cannot negate a nominal predicate. Do not say öğretmen yokum; say öğretmen değilim ("I am not a teacher").
Dropping the personal ending. Değil without an ending is only correct for third-person singular. Saying ben öğrenci değil is incomplete; the correct form is ben öğrenci değilim.
Placing değil before the complement. Değil must come after the complement it negates. Ben değil öğretmen is not a valid nominal negation sentence. The correct order is öğretmen değilim.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Siz susuz ___ , masada su var.
Fill in the blank with the correct form of "değil" to complete the sentence.