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Rhythmic reduplications: word pairs that add flavor to your speech
In Turkish, you’ll often hear pairs of words that sound alike—like “çoluk çocuk” or “tekme tokat”—joined together to add color, emphasis, or otherwise slightly alter the connotations of what is said. This phenomenon is one type of reduplication, which is a term in linguistics for when a word or part of a word is repeated or combined with a similar-sounding word to create a catchy, rhythmic expression1. The English language does a similar thing with phrases like “flip flop” and “super duper.”
There are only a few dozen phrases in Turkish that follow this pattern of near repetition. In each case, the meaning of the phrase is almost equivalent to the meaning of one of the words, but the nuance is altered slightly. In some of these cases, the added word is only used in this set phrase in Modern Turkish. Many of these words, like “çoluk,” were used independently in older times but have since become obsolete except for in its set-in-stone word pair. Some of these phrases have been frozen in time for so long that the original meaning of the added word is unknown. It is likely that some of these words were created as a variant of the other word in order to form this word pair.
Noun pairs: “all of them”
These pairs bundle together two words for things or people of the same kind, usually to give a meaning of “any” or “every single one.”
| Pair | What It Literally Says | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| çoluk çocuk | shepherd boy (obsolete term), kid | the whole family, children |
| evli barklı | with house, with house (obsolete) | married with children |
| eş dost | companion, friend | any and all friends and relations |
| soy sop | “lineage, stock (obsolete), stock” | every relative; the whole family line |
| konu komşu | neighbor (obsolete), neighbor | all the neighbors |
| iş güç | work, tasks | every chore or job |
| mal mülk | goods, property | all possessions |
| araç gereç | vehicle, tool | miscellaneous equipment |
| kazma kürek | pick, shovel | various tools for working the ground |
| fakir fukara | poor, pauper | poor people, the poor |
| yalan dolan | lie, trick (obsolete) | all kinds of falsehoods |
| tekme tokat | kick, slap | a sound beating |
| toz toprak | dust, dirt | all sorts of dust and dirt |
| börtü böcek | (unknown), bug | all sorts of bugs and critters |
| dere tepe | “stream, hill” | everywhere, far and wide |
Adjective pairs: intensifying meaning
The same thing can be done with two adjectives that have both a similar sound and a related meaning. In this case, the effect is usually to intensify the meaning or give it a slightly different nuance.
| Pair | What It Literally Says | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| ufak tefek | tiny, tiny (obsolete) | little, insignificant things |
| tek tük | single, (unknown) | only a few, here and there |
| sisli puslu | foggy, hazy | thick fog, hard to see |
| süslü püslü | decorated, (unknown) | overly fancy or showy |
| sus pus olmak | to be quiet, motionless | to be completely quiet and submissive |
| tatsız tuzsuz | without taste, without salt | tasteless and/or joyless |
| delik deşik | holed, pierced | full of holes |
| derme çatma | gathered, put together | makeshift, poorly built |
| saçma sapan | absurd, deviant | utter nonsense |
| falan filan | so‑and‑so, so-and-so | and so on, etc. |
| antin kuntin | (unknown origin) | ridiculous gibberish |
| zar zor | pitiful (obsolete), hard | with great difficulty |
| eciş bücüş | crooked (obsolete), (from eciş) | irregular, misshapen |
| çarpık çurpuk | crooked, (from çarpık) | crooked, jagged, all askew |
| eğri büğrü | bent, winding | twisted, zig‑zagged |
| eski püskü | old, (from eski) | worn‑out, shabby |
| salkım saçak | cluster, tassel | dangling |
| süklüm püklüm | (origin unknown) | downcast, dejected |
| yarım yamalak | half, patchy | half‑done, shoddy |
Verb pairs: repeated or long-continuing actions
There are a few pairs of verbs that have both a similar sound and similar meaning, and when put together they have the effect of intensifying the action. The change in meaning is usually to emphasize how long something happened (as in “düşündüm taşındım”) or to indicate a repeated action.
In some cases, verb pairs can be put together with the same tense ending (past, present or future). In other cases, the pair of verbs is connected with the -ıp/ip/üp/up ending on the first verb or by putting the -(y)a/e ending on both verbs to turn the phrase into an adverb (as in the case of “hoplaya zıplaya”).
| Pair | What It Literally Says | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| düşündüm taşındım | I thought, I moved | I thought long and hard |
| bağırdı çağırdı | he shouted, he called | He shouted (repeatedly and/or loudly) |
| dönüp dolaşmak | to turn and wander | to wander around aimlessly |
| geziyor tozuyor | roaming, kicking up dust | wandring, exploring all over |
| hoplaya zıplaya | hopping, jumping | skipping and hopping along |
| yana yakıla | “burning, being burned” | desperately, in great anguish |
| sere serpe | spread flat, spread wide | sprawled out |
Sound‑Imitating Pairs
These imitate real sounds—rustling, water flowing, rain pattering—by echoing similar syllables.
| Pair | Meaning / Typical Use |
|---|---|
| faşır fuşur | rustling leaves; noisy eating |
| cart curt | trivial or crude talk |
| zart zurt | trivial or crude talk |
| pılı pırtı | odds and ends, random belongings |
| abur cubur | junk food, snacks of little substance |
| ıvır zıvır | miscellaneous odds and ends |
| paldır küldür | crash‑bang, helter‑skelter, in great haste |
| çat pat | occasional cracking / broken speech |
| şakır şukur | loud pounding or splashing (rain, water, metal) |
| Hapur hupur | noisy gulping or slurping while eating/drinking |
| Şapur şupur | wet smacking sounds |
| tambur tumbur | hollow booming / gurgling, things rumbling about |
| dambır dumbur | heavy thudding or crashing noises |
| şangır şungur | loud clanging of metal objects |
| gıvış gavuş | indistinct murmuring; muddled chatter |
| tak tuk | light taps, clicks, or knocks |
| cambul cumbul | jumbled or careless movement |
| tıngır mıngır | soft tinkling or gentle rattling sounds |
| çar çur | tearing / squandering (as in çarçur etmek, to waste) |