Turkish Grammar › Question Forms
Soru Edatı (mI)
Question Particle
Level A1Question Forms
The rules for the question particle mı / mi / mu / mü, which turns a sentence into a yes-or-no question.
To turn a sentence into a question — usually one answered with «evet» (yes) or «hayır» (no) — Turkish uses the particle «mı / mi / mu / mü». The particle is always written SEPARATELY from the word before it, but any endings that follow it (such as personal endings) are attached to the particle itself.
The particle follows vowel harmony and takes four forms according to the vowel in the last syllable of the preceding word: after a or ı it is «mı», after e or i it is «mi», after o or u it is «mu», and after ö or ü it is «mü».
The particle emphasises and questions whichever word it follows. It is very common in patterns like «Öğrenci misin?» (Are you a student?), «Evde misin?» (Are you at home?) and «Bu kitap mı?» (Is this a book?).
Examples
- Bu kitap mı?Is this a book?
- Sen öğrenci misin?Are you a student?
- Bu okul mu?Is this a school?
- Bugün soğuk mu?Is it cold today?
- Siz Türk müsünüz?Are you Turkish?
- O doktor mu?Is he/she a doctor?