The Turkish question particle: when to use mı, mi, mu, mü

Turkish has one tool for questions that ask “yes or no?”: the question particle. It has four forms, but you do not need to memorize them one by one. The word itself tells you which one comes next. In this article I explain how yes-no questions are formed, how the right form of the question particle is chosen and which four mistakes learners make most often.

1. The rule: look at the last vowel

The question particle follows the last vowel of the word before it:

Last vowel of the word	Question particle	Example
a, ı	mı	Elma mı? · Kapı mı?
e, i	mi	Ev mi? · Öğrenci mi?
o, u	mu	Okul mu? · Doktor mu?
ö, ü	mü	Gözlük mü? · Süt mü?

The last vowel of kitap is a, so we say “Kitap mı?” The first vowel of the word (i) does not matter; you always look at the last one.

2. The logic: Turkish suffixes follow vowel harmony

This rule is not special to the question particle. Most Turkish suffixes follow the vowel before them: evler, okullar; evde, okulda. The question particle follows the same vowel harmony, the four-way (major) vowel harmony. Once you understand this logic, you can find the right form of hundreds of suffixes yourself.

3. Spelling: written separately, but still in harmony

The question particle is always written separately from the word: “Ev mi?”, not “evmi”. Even though it is written separately, it follows vowel harmony; on paper it stands apart, in speech it is joined.

4. Personal endings attach to the particle

Endings that show the person usually go after the question particle. When two vowels meet, a y comes between them:

Statement	Question
Öğrenciyim.	Öğrenci miyim?
Öğrencisin.	Öğrenci misin?
Hastayız.	Hasta mıyız?
Geliyorsun.	Geliyor musun?
Gelecekler.	Gelecekler mi?

One exception: in the past tense (-dı) and with the conditional (-sa), the personal ending stays on the verb and the question particle comes last: “Geldin mi?”, “Gitsem mi?”

5. Its position decides what you are asking

The question asks about the word the particle follows:

• Ali mi dün geldi? → Was it Ali who came, or someone else?
• Ali dün mü geldi? → Was it yesterday, or another day?
• Ali dün geldi mi? → Did he come or not?

In a Turkish question, the stress moves to the syllable just before the particle. That is why your voice rises on “Ali” when you say “Ali mi?”

6. The four most common mistakes

1. Using it with a question word: “Nerede misin?” and “Ne zaman geliyor musun?” are wrong. Question words such as ne, nerede, ne zaman and kim already make a question, so you do not need the particle: “Neredesin?”, “Ne zaman geliyorsun?”
2. Writing it together: not “Okulmu?” but “Okul mu?”
3. Looking at the first vowel: not “Kitap mi?” but “Kitap mı?”
4. Leaving it out: “Geliyorsun?”, asked only with rising intonation, is heard in everyday speech, but the correct and complete form is “Geliyor musun?”

7. “Değil mi?”: asking for confirmation

“Değil mi?” at the end of a sentence asks for confirmation, like “isn’t it?” in English: “Bugün pazartesi, değil mi?” (It’s Monday today, isn’t it?)

Test yourself

5 questions

1. 01Okul ___?

   mımimumü

   Answer:mu. The last vowel of "okul" is u.

2. 02Çay ___?

   mımimumü

   Answer:mı. The last vowel of "çay" is a.

3. 03Öğretmen ___sin?

   mımimumü

   Answer:mi. The last vowel of "öğretmen" is e; the personal ending (-sin) attaches to the particle: Öğretmen misin?

4. 04Dün geldin ___?

   mımimumü

   Answer:mi. In the past tense the personal ending stays on the verb and the question particle comes last; the last vowel of "geldin" is i.

5. 05Which is correct: "Nerede misin?" or "Neredesin?"

   Nerede misin?Neredesin?

   Answer:Neredesin?. "Nerede" is already a question word, so no question particle is needed.

Now practise with the video

I explain this rule with examples in the video: watch the video. After the video, find your level and continue with the A1 lessons. If you get stuck, ask me.