Question Particle 'mı, mi, mü, mu'

01

Vowel Harmony Rules

The form of the question particle depends on the last vowel in the word that comes before it.

• If the last vowel is a or ı, use mı.

• Kapı açık mı?

  Is the door open?

• Hazır mısın?

  Are you ready?

• If the last vowel is e or i, use mi.

• Bu yeni mi?

  Is this new?

• Geldiler mi?

  Did they arrive?

• If the last vowel is o or u, use mu.

• Sorun bu mu?

  Is this the problem?

• Okul zor mu?

  Is school difficult?

• If the last vowel is ö or ü, use mü.

• Yönetmen o mu?

  Is he the director?

• Bugün döndü mü?

  Did he return today?

02

Questions with Verbs

In most verb tenses, the question particle comes after the verb, and any personal suffixes are attached to the particle itself. The buffer letter y is used if the personal suffix starts with a vowel.

Let's look at the present continuous tense of okumak (to read):

• Okuyor muyum? - Am I reading?
• Okuyor musun? - Are you reading?
• Okuyor mu? - Is he/she/it reading?
• Okuyor muyuz? - Are we reading?
• Okuyor musunuz? - Are you (plural/formal) reading?

Note that for the third-person plural (onlar), the plural suffix -lar/-ler stays on the verb.

• Çocuklar uyuyorlar mı?

  Are the children sleeping?

03

Exceptions: Past Tense and Conditional

With the definite past tense (using the -di suffix) and the conditional mood (using the -se suffix), the personal endings remain attached to the verb. The question particle follows the fully conjugated verb.

Definite Past Tense

• Sen filmi gördün mü?

  Did you see the movie?

• Biz kitabı bitirdik mi?

  Did we finish the book?

Conditional Mood

• Sinemaya gitsek mi?

  Should we go to the cinema?

• Biraz dinlensem mi?

  Should I rest a bit?

04

Changing the Focus of a Question

You can place the question particle after any word in a sentence to specifically question that piece of information. The rest of the sentence is then assumed to be true.

Compare the following sentences:

• Buse yarın Ankara'ya gidecek mi?

  Will Buse go to Ankara tomorrow? (A general yes/no question about the whole event.)

• Buse mi yarın Ankara'ya gidecek?

  Is it Buse who will go to Ankara tomorrow? (Not someone else?)

• Buse yarın mı Ankara'ya gidecek?

  Is it tomorrow that Buse will go to Ankara? (Not another day?)

• Buse yarın Ankara'ya mı gidecek?

  Is it to Ankara that Buse will go tomorrow? (Not to another city?)

05

Negative and Tag Questions

To ask a negative question, you can use the negative form of the verb.

• Daha başlamadın mı?

  Haven't you started yet?

• Beni duymuyor musun?

  Don't you hear me?

The phrase değil mi? is used at the end of a statement to seek confirmation, similar to "..., right?" or "..., isn't it?" in English.

• Hava çok sıcak, değil mi?

  The weather is very hot, isn't it?

• Bu elbise güzel, değil mi?

  This dress is beautiful, right?