Turkish "Want To": -mek / -mak istemek Explained
How Turkish says "want to" — the wanted verb stays in its -mek / -mak infinitive and istemek carries the tense, person and negation. Covers the two-way harmony that picks -mek or -mak, verbs like sevmek that take an accusative verbal noun instead, and the different-subject form gelmeni istiyorum.
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To say you want to do something, keep the wanted verb in its plain infinitive and follow it with the verb for "want", which alone carries the tense, the person and any negation.
Wanting to do something
Turkish has no single word for "want to". You line up two verbs: the verb you want to do, left in its infinitive, and istemek "to want" right after it. gelmek istiyorum is "I want to come" — literally "to-come I-want". The infinitive never changes; everything that turns this into a real statement rides on istemek.
Because the first verb is frozen, tense, person and negation all land on istemek. Swap istiyorum "I want" for istemedi "s/he did not want" and the wanted verb stays put: görmek istemedi is "s/he did not want to see".
Choosing the infinitive ending
The infinitive ending holds one vowel, and it splits two ways. Front-vowel stems — those whose last vowel is e, i, ö or ü — take -mek, giving gelmek. Back-vowel stems — last vowel a, ı, o or u — take -mak, giving yapmak.
| Last stem vowel | Infinitive ending | Worked form |
|---|---|---|
| e · i · ö · ü | -mek | gelmek |
| a · ı · o · u | -mak | yapmak |
Only the front/back split of that last vowel counts; whether it is rounded plays no part. That is why the ending has two shapes rather than four — -mek after a front vowel and -mak after a back one.
Four worked sentences
Each line hangs a real tense and person on istemek while the first verb holds still. Read every one as the same two-verb frame with different endings on the second verb only.
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| gelmek istiyorum | gel + mek istiyorum | I want to come |
| gitmek istemiyorum | git + mek istemiyorum | I don't want to go |
| görmek istemedi | gör + mek istemedi | s/he didn't want to see |
| ne yapmak istiyorsun | ne yap + mak istiyorsun | what do you want to do? |
Liking an activity
Not every verb behaves like istemek. To say you like doing something, sevmek "to like, to love" refuses a bare infinitive. It reaches instead for a verbal noun — the shorter -me or -ma form — in the accusative: yüzmeyi severim is "I like swimming" and okumayı seviyorum is "I love reading".
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| yüzmeyi severim | yüz + me + yi severim | I like swimming |
| okumayı seviyorum | oku + ma + yı seviyorum | I love reading |
The pieces are in plain view: yüz "swim" gives the verbal noun yüzme, and the accusative on the front of severim yields yüzmeyi severim. The verb of liking carries the person; the activity sits before it as a case-marked noun, which is why it is yüzmeyi severim and never a bare infinitive.
The wanted verb never conjugates
The single most common slip is to conjugate the first verb. istiyorum already means "I want", so the verb in front of it must stay an infinitive. Stacking a finite "I am coming" onto "I want" as geliyorum istiyorum is not Turkish; the form is gelmek istiyorum.
- geliyorum istiyorum is wrong — a finite verb cannot follow istemek. The infinitive gives gelmek istiyorum.
- gelmak istiyorum is wrong — back-harmony -mak on a front stem. A front stem takes -mek, so it is gelmek istiyorum.
- yüzmek severim is wrong — sevmek wants a verbal noun in the accusative, so it is yüzmeyi severim.
When the two people differ
The infinitive frame works only when one person both wants and does the action. To want someone else to act, Turkish drops the infinitive and uses a verbal noun with a possessive ending that names the other person: gelmeni istiyorum is "I want you to come" — literally "your-coming I-want". That different-subject pattern belongs to the verbal-noun clauses and is only pointed at here.
| Turkish | Parts | English |
|---|---|---|
| gelmeni istiyorum | gel + me + n + i istiyorum | I want you to come |
Frequently asked questions
- How do you say "want to" in Turkish?
- Put the verb you want to do in its infinitive and follow it with istemek "to want", conjugated for the tense and person you need. gelmek istiyorum is "I want to come" and gitmek istemiyorum is "I don't want to go". The first verb stays an infinitive; only istemek changes.
- How do you say you want someone else to do something?
- Then the infinitive drops out. Turkish takes a verbal noun with a possessive that names the other person, plus the accusative: gelmeni istiyorum is "I want you to come". This different-subject pattern is part of the verbal-noun clauses, not the bare infinitive frame.
- Why can't I just say "I am coming, I want"?
- Because istemek governs an infinitive, not a full finite verb. geliyorum istiyorum stacks two finite verbs and is not Turkish; the wanted action must be the bare infinitive, as in gelmek istiyorum. Tense, person and negation all live on istemek.
- Is "want to" the same as "like doing" something?
- No — sevmek "to like" does not take a bare infinitive the way istemek does. It takes a verbal noun in the accusative: yüzmeyi severim is "I like swimming", and yüzmek severim with a bare infinitive is wrong. Keep the istemek frame for "want to" and the accusative verbal noun for "like doing".