Turkish Demonstratives: bu, şu, o Explained
How the Turkish demonstratives work — the three degrees bu, şu and o, why the same word never changes before a noun but takes case when it stands alone, and the buffer n that appears before every case and plural ending (bunu, buna, bunlar).
Ekle ·
Turkish has three demonstratives, not two — one for what is near the speaker, one for something just pointed out, and one for what is far off — and each can stand before a noun or alone in its place.
What the demonstratives do
Where English makes do with "this" and "that", Turkish has three pointing words: bu for something near the speaker, şu for something being pointed out for the first time, and o for something further away. That same o is also the everyday word for "he", "she" and "it".
Each of the three plays two roles. Placed in front of a noun it works as a determiner and never changes shape: bu kitap is "this book", şu masa is "that table", o ev is "that house". Standing on its own in place of a noun, it becomes a pronoun and takes whatever case ending the sentence needs.
The buffer n
A case or plural ending never attaches straight onto a bare demonstrative. An -n- slides in first: to make bu the object of a verb you build bu + -n- + -u, which comes out as bunu, "this one". That same -n- then carries every case and the plural — buna "to this one", bunda "in this one", the plural bunlar "these".
| Demonstrative | With the buffer | Accusative |
|---|---|---|
| bu | bu + n + u | bunu |
| şu | şu + n + u | şunu |
| o | o + n + u | onu |
Leave the -n- out and two vowels crash into shapes no one says: buu for bunu, bua for buna. The buffer is there to keep the ending and the demonstrative's own vowel apart.
Five forms, one buffer
Each of these is a demonstrative standing on its own with a case ending, and each shows the -n- holding the ending on. Read the case off the gloss.
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| bunu | bu + n + u | this one (as object) |
| buna | bu + n + a | to this one |
| bunda | bu + n + da | in this one |
| şunu | şu + n + u | that one (as object) |
| onu | o + n + u | him, her, it |
Before a noun or standing alone
The line to hold is whether the demonstrative sits in front of a noun or replaces one. In front of a noun it is a determiner and stays bare, and any case ending lands on the noun instead: bu kitap is "this book", and to say "this book" as an object you mark the noun, not bu.
Take the noun away and the demonstrative has to carry the case itself. That is when the buffer appears: on its own, "this one" as an object is bunu, "to this one" is buna, "that one" is şunu. So bu in bu kitap stays put, while bunu on its own is fully inflected.
Near, pointed out, and far
- bu — near the speaker, or something already in view. "This."
- şu — something pointed out for the first time, often with a glance or a gesture. "This one, right here."
- o — something further off, and the everyday word for "he", "she" and "it".
The middle one, şu, is the one English has no single match for. It draws the listener's attention to something new — the bowl you are just now reaching for, or a statement you are about to make — where bu points to something already in play.
The plural forms
The plural works the same way: the -n- goes in before -lar, never onto the bare demonstrative. So bu gives bunlar "these", şu gives şunlar "those", and o gives onlar.
Because o doubles as "he", "she" and "it", its plural onlar is also the everyday word for "they" — one form covers both "those" and "they", and the sentence decides which.
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| bunlar | bu + n + lar | these |
| şunlar | şu + n + lar | those |
| onlar | o + n + lar | they, those |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between bu, şu and o?
- All three point, at different distances. bu is for something near the speaker, o for something far off, and şu for something the speaker is drawing attention to for the first time, usually with a gesture. o is also the ordinary word for "he", "she" and "it".
- Why is it bunu and not buu?
- Because a case ending cannot attach straight to a bare demonstrative. A buffer -n- slides in between them, so bu plus the accusative comes out as bunu, not buu. The same -n- carries the plural, giving bunlar.
- Does the demonstrative change form before a noun?
- No. In front of a noun it is a determiner and stays bare — bu kitap is "this book", and the case ending goes on the noun. It only inflects when it stands on its own in place of a noun, and that is when the buffer appears: bunu, buna.
- Is o also the word for he and she?
- Yes. o is both the far demonstrative "that (one)" and the third-person pronoun "he", "she", "it". Its plural onlar likewise means both "those" and "they". The sentence tells the two apart.