Genitive (-in)

The Genitive case (Tamlayan Hali / İlgi Hali) is used to show possession or a relationship between two nouns. It typically translates to "of" or the English possessive 's (apostrophe s). The noun in the genitive case is the "possessor."

The genitive case marks the first noun in a two-part noun phrase construction called "isim tamlaması" (noun compound), where the second noun (the "possessed") takes a possessive suffix.

Suffixes:

The genitive suffix follows I-Type vowel harmony:

• If the last vowel of the noun is a or ı, add -ın.
• If the last vowel of the noun is e or i, add -in.
• If the last vowel of the noun is o or u, add -un.
• If the last vowel of the noun is ö or ü, add -ün.

If the noun ends in a vowel, the buffer consonant 'n' is inserted before the suffix (e.g., -nın, -nin, -nun, -nün). Proper nouns take an apostrophe (Ali'nin, Ayşe'nin), and words ending in p, ç, t, k usually soften (kitap → kitabın).

Personal Pronouns

Note the irregular forms for 'my' and 'our': benim (my), senin (your), onun (his/her/its), bizim (our), sizin (your), onların (their). The word su (water) is also irregular: suyun.

Examples (showing the genitive noun only):

• evin... (of the house... / the house's...) (ev + -in)
• okulun... (of the school... / the school's...) (okul + -un)
• Ali'nin... (of Ali... / Ali's...) (Ali + -nin)
• arabanın... (of the car... / the car's...) (araba + -nın)
• kapının... (of the door... / the door's...) (kapı + -nın)
• gözlüğün... (of the glasses... / the glasses'...) (gözlük + -ün, k→ğ)

Note: The genitive usually appears with a second noun that takes a possessive suffix. It can also stand alone as a predicate: Bu kitap Ali'nin. (This book is Ali's.), Bu çanta benim. (This bag is mine.) For full possessive phrases, see "Compound Nouns (İsim Tamlamaları)" and "Possessive Suffixes."
Example of full phrase: evin kapısı (the house's door).

Common Mistakes

• ✗ benin, bizin → ✓ benim, bizim
• ✗ arabayın → ✓ arabanın (genitive uses buffer n, not y)
• ✗ Ali'in → ✓ Ali'nin
• ✗ evin kapı → ✓ evin kapısı (the possessed noun needs a possessive suffix)