o
/o/feminine, masculine
The English phrase "she" is translated into Turkish as o.
The pronoun o refers to a person, but it is gender-neutral. While it can be used to mean "she", it is also the word for "he" and "it". Because o is gender-neutral, the gender of the person is often inferred from the context or the nouns used in the sentence.
Meaning: person (pron)
Which one should you use?
The Turkish word 'o' is gender-neutral and is used for he, she and it.
How does it change in a sentence?
The pronoun o does not change its form based on the gender of the person being referred to.
How do you pronounce it?
/o/
Did you know?
- Because o is gender-neutral, Turkish literature and poetry often keep a character's gender a secret for long periods, as the narrator can avoid using any gender-specific pronouns.
- The relationship between the modern o and the ancient form ol shows how Turkish pronouns evolved from demonstrative words meaning 'that'.
- In spoken Turkish, o can also function as a demonstrative pronoun meaning 'that person' or 'that thing', blending the roles of a personal pronoun and a pointer.
Examples in context
- O ne iş yapar?What does she do?This sentence shows how to use o when asking about someone's occupation.Tatoeba #1254817 by duran, translation #311873 by CK
- O bir dost mu?Is she a friend?This sentence uses o to ask if a person is a friend.Tatoeba #2690070 by Gulo_Luscus, translation #2684427 by CH
- O iyi öptü mü?Did she kiss well?This sentence uses o to ask about the quality of someone's kiss.Tatoeba #4650548 by duran, translation #1494208 by Spamster
- O, çok başarılı bir öğretmendir.She is a very successful teacher.
- O, çok iyi bir şarkıcıdır.She is a very good singer.
- Ayşe bugün pazara gitti.She went to the market today
- 13623 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emre and Zeynep are talking about a new colleague.
- EmreO bugün gelmedi mi?Didn't she come today?
- ZeynepEvet, o biraz hasta.Yes, she is a little sick.
- EmreO çok mu çalışkan?Is she very hardworking?
- ZeynepEvet, o gerçekten çok iyi.Yes, she is really very good.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “she” translations and entries o, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries o, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
