Ways to say it
| Turkish | IPA |
|---|---|
| bütün | /byˈtyn/ |
| tüm | /tym/ |
In Turkish, these terms are used as determiners to refer to every individual of a given class. Related forms such as tamamen, bütünüyle and tümden can be used to express the adverbial meaning 'wholly'.
What does it mean word for word?
The word bütün literally means 'whole' or 'entire', which is why it is used to express 'all' when referring to a complete set or a duration.
Which one should you use?
While bütün and tüm are often interchangeable, bütün is slightly more common in standard speech and can also function as an adjective meaning 'whole' or 'entire'. In contrast, tüm is often perceived as more formal or literary and is frequently found in written texts or poetic contexts.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
Both bütün and tüm function as adjectives and do not change their form to agree with the gender or number of the noun they modify.
How do you pronounce it?
/byˈtyn/. The /b/ sound is like the [b] in 'about' and the /n/ sound is like the [n] in 'not'.
Did you know?
- The root of bütün relates to the idea of 'reaching an end' or 'completing a task', making the word 'all' conceptually linked to 'finished' in Turkish.
- If you want to say 'all of them' in Turkish, you often do not use bütün or tüm at all, but instead use the plural suffix on the noun itself to imply the entire group.
- While bütün means 'all', it can also describe a person who is 'complete' or 'sound' in a physical or moral sense.
Examples in context
- Tüm olan bu mu?Is that all there is?Tatoeba #5020772 by duran, translation #2891429 by CK
- O bütün gün uyudu.He slept all day.Tatoeba #1254757 by duran, translation #293809 by CK
- Bütün bu acele ne?What's all the hurry?Tatoeba #3026441 by duran, translation #2892684 by CK
- Herkes toplantıya katılacak mı?Will everyone attend the meeting?
- Hepsi burada bulunabilir.All of them can be found here.
- Hepimiz yarın pikniğe gideceğiz.We are all going on a picnic tomorrow.
- 5878 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Can and Merve are discussing their classmates at school.
- CanBütün sınıf bugün çok heyecanlı.All the class is very excited today.
- MerveEvet, Can, herkes bunu bekliyordu.Yes, Can, everyone was waiting for this.
- CanMerve, sence sınav nasıl geçecek?Merve, how do you think the exam will go?
- MerveBence bütün öğrenciler başarılı olacak.I think all the students will be successful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “all” translations and entries bütün, tüm, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bütün, tüm, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
