What is the difference between the words ”nerede”, ”nereden” and ”nereye” in Turkish?
What is the difference between the words ”nerede”, ”nereden” and ”nereye” in Turkish?
Turkish Gramer Book📚
Turkish grammar explanations💬
Question: What is the difference between Nereden?, Nereye?, and Nerede? in Turkish? What does nere mean, and what do the suffixes -den, -de, and -ye signify?
Answer:
In Turkish, “nere” means “where”, but it is rarely used alone. Instead, it takes suffixes to form different question words:
| 🟢 | 🔤 Question Word | 📌 Meaning & Function | ❓ Example Question | ✅ Example Answer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nerede? ( -de suffix) |
“Where (at)?” Indicates location (Locative Case). |
Kitap nerede? (Where is the book?) |
Kitap masada. (The book is on the table.) |
| 2 | Nereye? ( -ye/-a suffix) |
“Where to?” Indicates direction (movement towards a place – Dative Case). |
Tatil için nereye gidiyorsun? (Where are you going for vacation?) |
İtalya’ya gidiyorum. (I’m going to Italy.) |
| 3 | Nereden? ( -den/-dan suffix) |
“Where from?” Indicates origin/source (movement from a place – Ablative Case). |
Bu hediye nereden? (Where is this gift from?) |
Arkadaşımdan. (From my friend.) |
📍 Key Points Summary:
| Suffix | Function | Question Word |
|---|---|---|
-de |
Location (static) | Nerede? (Where?) |
-ye/-a |
Direction (movement to) | Nereye? (Where to?) |
-den/-dan |
Origin (movement from) | Nereden? (Where from?) |
How to use ‘de’ ‘e’ den and ‘da’ ‘a’ ‘dan’ suffix in Turkish?
| Turkish Sentence | English Translation | Grammar Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| Ben evde kalıyorum. | I am staying at home. | Uses -de because last vowel in “ev” is ‘e’ (front vowel) – indicates location. |
| Ben eve gidiyorum. | I am going to the house. | Uses -e because last vowel ‘e’ is front vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Ben evden geliyorum. | I am coming from the house. | Uses -den because last vowel ‘e’ is front vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Araba garajda. | The car is in the garage. | Uses -da because last vowel in “garaj” is ‘a’ (back vowel) – indicates location. |
| Arabayı garaja soktum. | I put the car into the garage. | Uses -a because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Arabayı garajdan çıkardım. | I took the car out of the garage. | Uses -dan because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Öğrenci okulda. | The student is at school. | Uses -da because last vowel in “okul” is ‘u’ (back vowel) – indicates location. |
| Öğrenci okula gidiyor. | The student is going to school. | Uses -a because last vowel ‘u’ is back vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Öğrenci okuldan dönüyor. | The student is returning from school. | Uses -dan because last vowel ‘u’ is back vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Annem işte. | My mother is at work. | Uses -te because last vowel in “iş” is ‘i’ (front vowel) – indicates location. |
| Annem işe gitti. | My mother went to work. | Uses -e because last vowel ‘i’ is front vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Annem işten geldi. | My mother came from work. | Uses -ten because last vowel ‘i’ is front vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Kedi ağaçta. | The cat is in the tree. | Uses -ta because last vowel in “ağaç” is ‘a’ (back vowel) – indicates location. |
| Kedi ağaca tırmandı. | The cat climbed onto the tree. | Uses -a because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Kedi ağaçtan atladı. | The cat jumped from the tree. | Uses -tan because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Defter çantada. | The notebook is in the bag. | Uses -ta because last vowel in “çanta” is ‘a’ (back vowel) – indicates location. |
| Defteri çantaya koydum. | I put the notebook into the bag. | Uses -a because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Defteri çantadan çıkardım. | I took the notebook out of the bag. | Uses -tan because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Top bahçede. | The ball is in the garden. | Uses -de because last vowel in “bahçe” is ‘e’ (front vowel) – indicates location. |
| Topu bahçeye attım. | I threw the ball to the garden. | Uses -e because last vowel ‘e’ is front vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Topu bahçeden getirdim. | I brought the ball from the garden. | Uses -den because last vowel ‘e’ is front vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Çocuk parkta. | The child is at the park. | Uses -ta because last vowel in “park” is back vowel – indicates location. |
| Çocuk parka koştu. | The child ran to the park. | Uses -a because last vowel is back vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Çocuk parktan döndü. | The child returned from the park. | Uses -tan because last vowel is back vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Kitap kütüphanede. | The book is in the library. | Uses -de because last vowel in “kütüphane” is ‘e’ (front vowel) – indicates location. |
| Kitabı kütüphaneye götürdüm. | I took the book to the library. | Uses -e because last vowel ‘e’ is front vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Kitabı kütüphaneden aldım. | I got the book from the library. | Uses -den because last vowel ‘e’ is front vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |
| Yemek masada. | The food is on the table. | Uses -da because last vowel in “masa” is ‘a’ (back vowel) – indicates location. |
| Yemeği masaya koydu. | He put the food on the table. | Uses -a because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates direction (dative case). |
| Yemeği masadan kaldırdı. | He removed the food from the table. | Uses -dan because last vowel ‘a’ is back vowel – indicates origin (ablative case). |