Diminutive Adjectives
If you want to tone down an adjective so that it's meaning is less intense, then you'll revert to appending a suffix to it.(Oh, well. It was nice while it lasted, wasn't it?)
For example, if you want to diminish the intensity of meaning expressed by the adjective pahalI (expensive), then you add the suffix -ca to make pahalIca (somewhat expensive).
Diminutive Adjectives with -ca (-ce) suffixes
Ordinary adjective
Diminished
Example
English meaning
güzel(pretty)
güzelce
güzelce bir resim
a fairly pretty picture
temiz(clean)
temizce
temizce bir gömlek
a rather clean shirt
yesil(green)
yesilce
yesilce bir gölcük
a greenish pond
Sample sentences... Meryl Streep güzelce bir kadIndIr. Meryl Streep is a fairly good looking woman.
Dün gece gittigimiz striptiz pahalIca, degil mi?The striptease show we went to last night was somewhat expensive, wasn't it?
Benjamin temizce sakalar söyler -- annesinin önünde! Benjamin tells rather clean jokes -- in front of his mother!
Ekmekte yesilce noktalar hos degildir. The greenish mold on the bread is unappetizing.
Diminutive Adjectives with -cik (-cIk, cük, cuk) suffixes
ufak(small)
ufacIk
ufacIk bungalov
a rather small bungalow
bir(one)
biricik
biricik firsat
a one-of-a-kind opportunity
küçük(little)
küçücük
küçücük böcek
a tiny insect
yavru(young animal, child)
yavrucuk
yavrucuk (You're not seeing things. By adding the suffix -cuk, we've constructed a diminutive noun -- which stands alone.)
a sweet little thing, a sweet little darling
Sample sentences... UfacIk bir kanyagI siddetli bir bas agrIsIna tercih ederim. I'd rather have a very small cognac than a very strong headache.
Sen benim biricik yaslI enayimsin. You are my one and only old fool.(An old fool is unique.)
O küçücük çocuk at gibi yer! That wee child eats like a horse!
HypatianIn buruncugu en iyi özelligi. Hypatia's cute little nose is her best feature.
Diminutive Adjectives with-msI (-ImsI, -imsi, -umsu) suffixes
Note: Diminutive adjective suffixes shown in this panel and the next panel are used sparingly in Turkish. Furthermore, they are mostly used for adjectives of color and taste...
sarI(yellow, blond)
archaii