Common Turkish Spelling Mistakes and How a Turkish Spelling Checker Helps

CorrectNow Editorial Team · 6 min read

Turkish spelling is very regular, but a few rules are broken so often that native speakers joke about them. The most common involve small words that should be written separately: the conjunction de or da, the conjunction ki, and the question particle mi.

This guide explains these rules with short examples, along with the dotted and dotless i, which causes errors whenever people type without a Turkish keyboard. The rules follow the Turkish Language Association (TDK) spelling guide.

de/da: conjunction or locative suffix

The locative suffix -de, -da, -te or -ta means in, at or on. It is attached to the word: evde, okulda, kitapta. The conjunction de or da means also or too, and it is always written as a separate word: ben de, sen de, o da.

The test: remove the word. If the sentence still makes sense with a slightly different meaning, it was the conjunction and must be written separately. If the sentence breaks, it was the suffix. The conjunction only has the forms de and da; it never becomes te or ta.

• Incorrect: Bende geleceğim. – Correct: Ben de geleceğim. (Conjunction meaning I will come too: written separately.)
• Incorrect: Sende mi geliyorsun? – Correct: Sen de mi geliyorsun? (Conjunction meaning you too: written separately.)
• Incorrect: Ev de kimse yok. – Correct: Evde kimse yok. (Locative suffix meaning at home: joined.)

ki: conjunction or suffix

The conjunction ki links clauses and is written separately: Biliyorum ki gelecek. The suffix -ki, which forms adjectives and pronouns, is attached: evdeki, yarınki, seninki.

A small set of words with ki is written as one word by convention. The most common are belki, çünkü, sanki, halbuki, mademki and oysaki.

• Incorrect: Duydumki geliyormuş. – Correct: Duydum ki geliyormuş. (Conjunction ki is written separately.)
• Incorrect: Masa daki kitap – Correct: Masadaki kitap (The suffix -ki is attached.)
• Incorrect: Bel ki yarın gelir. – Correct: Belki yarın gelir. (Belki is written as one word.)

The question particle mi

The question particle mı, mi, mu or mü follows vowel harmony, but it is always written separately from the word before it. Personal endings that come after it are attached to the particle: geliyor musun, güzel mi, okudun mu.

Like de and da, the particle follows the last vowel of the word before it: mı after a or ı, mi after e or i, mu after o or u, and mü after ö or ü. So you write geldi mi, okudun mu and gördün mü.

• Incorrect: Geliyormusun? – Correct: Geliyor musun? (The particle is separate; -sun attaches to it.)
• Incorrect: Gelecekmi? – Correct: Gelecek mi? (The particle is written separately.)
• Incorrect: Bu doğrumu? – Correct: Bu doğru mu? (The particle follows vowel harmony and stands alone.)

Dotted i and dotless ı

Turkish has two different letters: i with a dot and ı without one. Their capitals are İ and I. They are separate vowels, and swapping them can produce a different word. For example, kır means countryside, while kir means dirt.

Typing without a Turkish keyboard is the main cause of these errors, along with missing ç, ğ, ö, ş and ü. Names of places need the dotted capital too: İstanbul, İzmir.

The reverse is also true: a word that starts with dotless ı is capitalised with a plain I, as in ırmak and Irmak. Swapping the capitals is a common error in titles and headings.

• Incorrect: istanbul – Correct: İstanbul (The capital of i is İ, with a dot.)
• Incorrect: isik – Correct: ışık (This word uses dotless ı and ş.)
• Incorrect: Gunaydin – Correct: Günaydın (Needs ü and dotless ı.)

Other frequent misspellings

Some everyday words are often written incorrectly, either joined when they should be separate or with letters in the wrong order. Her şey and bir şey are written as two words. The word for wrong is spelled yanlış.

• Incorrect: herşey – Correct: her şey (Written as two words.)
• Incorrect: birşey – Correct: bir şey (Written as two words.)
• Incorrect: yalnış – Correct: yanlış (The n comes before the l.)

How to proofread Turkish text

Search for every de, da, ki and mi and apply the tests. Then check i and ı, especially in capitals and in text typed on a non-Turkish keyboard.

A Turkish spelling checker handles this pass quickly. CorrectNow flags these errors, explains each correction and leaves the rest of your sentence as written. For legal or official documents, a final human review is still recommended.

Frequently asked questions

Why is de written separately in ben de?

Because it is a conjunction meaning too, not the locative suffix. If you remove it, ben geleceğim still works, which shows it is a separate word.

Is it de or da?

It follows vowel harmony with the last vowel of the word before it: ben de, sen de, o da, onlar da. It is never te or ta.

Is mi ever attached to the word before it?

No. The question particle is always written separately, though endings such as -sun or -yız attach to the particle itself.

Can a checker fix text typed without Turkish letters?

Yes. A Turkish spelling checker can restore letters such as ı, ş, ğ and ü in most words. Check names and unusual words yourself, since some letter swaps produce real words.

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