ertelemek

The Turkish verb ertelemek is an incredibly common and highly versatile word that translates directly to the English concepts of postponing, delaying, or putting something off until a later time or date. When you are learning Turkish, understanding how to use this verb is essential because it appears frequently in both everyday casual conversations and highly formal business or academic contexts. Whether you are talking about a minor change in your personal schedule, such as deciding to watch a movie later, or a major bureaucratic decision, such as a government delaying an election, the word you will reach for is almost always ertelemek. The root of the word comes from erte, which historically means 'the following day' or 'later', combined with the verbal suffix -le and the infinitive marker -mek. Therefore, the literal morphological translation is quite literally 'to make something for the next day' or 'to push something to later'. This linguistic background gives a fascinating insight into how Turkish conceptualizes time and scheduling. In modern usage, however, the word has lost its strict association with 'the very next day' and simply means to push an event, task, or decision to any future point in time, whether that is five minutes from now or five years from now. People use this word when they are procrastinating on their homework, when airlines announce that a flight has been delayed due to bad weather conditions, or when a doctor's office calls to reschedule an appointment. It is a transitive verb, meaning it takes a direct object, and in Turkish, this direct object must be in the accusative case if it is specific. For example, you wouldn't just say 'meeting postpone', you would say 'toplantıyı ertelemek' (to postpone the specific meeting). Understanding the nuances of this word will significantly elevate your conversational fluency.

Everyday Usage

In daily life, you will hear this word used when friends change plans, when students talk about studying, or when people discuss their habits of procrastination.

Business Context

In professional environments, it is the standard vocabulary for pushing back deadlines, rescheduling meetings, or delaying project launches.

Official Announcements

Airlines, train stations, and government bodies use the passive form (ertelendi) to announce delays to the general public.

Using ertelemek correctly in Turkish sentences requires an understanding of Turkish case markers and sentence structure. Because Turkish is an SOV (Subject-Object-Verb) language, the verb ertelemek will almost always appear at the very end of the sentence. The object that is being postponed comes before the verb, and the time to which it is postponed (if mentioned) usually takes the dative case (direction towards a time). For example, if you want to say 'We postponed the meeting to tomorrow', you would say 'Toplantıyı (the meeting - accusative) yarına (to tomorrow - dative) erteledik (we postponed)'. This structure is highly consistent across different tenses and contexts. Let us break down the grammatical components. First, identify what is being delayed. If it is a specific known entity, like 'the exam' (sınav), it becomes 'sınavı'. If it is 'the trip' (gezi), it becomes 'geziyi'. Then, identify the new target time, if applicable. 'Next week' (haftaya), 'later' (sonraya), 'another day' (başka bir güne). Finally, conjugate ertelemek according to the subject and the tense. If you are doing it right now, use the present continuous: 'erteliyorum'. If you did it in the past, use the definite past: 'erteledim'. If you will do it in the future, use the future tense: 'erteleyeceğim'. Furthermore, you can use it with modal verbs to express necessity or possibility. 'Ertelemeliyim' means 'I must postpone', while 'erteleyebilirim' means 'I can postpone'. The verb is also frequently used in its negative form to express that something should not or will not be delayed. 'Karar vermeyi erteleme' means 'Do not delay making a decision'. This negative imperative is a strong piece of advice. In professional correspondence, such as emails, you might write 'Toplantımızı ileri bir tarihe ertelemek zorundayız' (We have to postpone our meeting to a future date). Notice the use of 'zorundayız' (we have to/we are obliged to) paired with the infinitive 'ertelemek'. This is a very polite and standard way to communicate a delay. By mastering these patterns, you will be able to handle scheduling changes smoothly and naturally in Turkish.

Accusative Case

The object being postponed takes the accusative case (e.g., maçı, toplantıyı) because it is a specific, definite object affected by the verb.

Dative Case for Time

The new time or date to which the event is moved takes the dative case (e.g., yarına, haftaya, pazartesiye), indicating direction toward that time.

Passive Voice

By adding the passive suffix '-n', the verb becomes 'ertelenmek' (to be postponed), which is used when the person doing the postponing is unknown or unimportant.

The verb ertelemek is ubiquitous in modern Turkish society, and you will encounter it in a wide variety of settings, from the most intimate personal conversations to the most formal public broadcasts. One of the most common places you will hear this word is in airports, train stations, and bus terminals. When a transport service is delayed, the announcement will almost invariably use the passive form: 'Sayın yolcularımız, uçağımız iki saat ertelenmiştir' (Dear passengers, our flight has been delayed by two hours). This makes it a crucial survival word for travelers navigating Turkey. Another frequent context is the workplace. Office environments thrive on schedules, and schedules inevitably change. You will see ertelemek in countless professional emails, calendar invites, and team meetings. Phrases like 'Toplantıyı yarına erteleyebilir miyiz?' (Can we postpone the meeting to tomorrow?) are standard corporate communication. Beyond logistics, the word has a strong psychological and cultural presence. In educational settings, teachers and students frequently use it when discussing deadlines, exams, and the universal student habit of putting off assignments. Psychologists and self-help articles in Turkey frequently discuss 'erteleme hastalığı' or 'erteleme alışkanlığı', which are the Turkish equivalents of 'procrastination'. This shows how the word extends beyond mere scheduling to describe human behavior and psychological tendencies. You will also hear it in news broadcasts regarding politics and sports. If an election is delayed, or if a football match is postponed due to heavy snow, the news anchor will report that the event 'ertelendi'. In personal relationships, it is used when couples decide to delay major life events like weddings or buying a house due to financial reasons. The flexibility of the word means it fits perfectly into any context where time and scheduling are factors. By listening to Turkish podcasts, watching news channels, or simply paying attention to announcements in public spaces, you will quickly realize how deeply embedded ertelemek is in the daily rhythm of the language.

Travel and Transit

Used constantly in public announcements for delayed flights, trains, and buses, usually in the passive voice.

Corporate Environment

The standard verb for rescheduling meetings, pushing back project deadlines, and managing professional calendars.

Psychology and Self-Help

Used as the direct translation for procrastination, discussing the habit of delaying tasks and responsibilities.

When English speakers learn the Turkish verb ertelemek, they often encounter a few specific stumbling blocks that can lead to grammatical errors or unnatural-sounding sentences. The most frequent and prominent mistake involves the failure to use the accusative case for the object being postponed. In English, we simply say 'I postponed the meeting'. In Turkish, because 'the meeting' is a specific, definite object, it must take the accusative suffix. Beginners often say 'Toplantı erteledim', which sounds broken. The correct form is 'Toplantıyı erteledim'. The 'y' acts as a buffer letter, and the 'ı' is the accusative marker. Another common error is confusing the active and passive voices. English speakers might translate 'The flight was delayed' directly and try to construct a complex passive using auxiliary verbs, or they might mistakenly use the active form 'Uçuş erteledi' (which literally means the flight itself postponed something else). The correct approach is to use the dedicated passive verb form ertelenmek, resulting in 'Uçuş ertelendi'. Additionally, learners sometimes struggle with how to specify the new time or date. In English, we say 'postponed to Friday' or 'postponed until Friday'. In Turkish, the target time must take the dative case, indicating direction. Therefore, 'to Friday' becomes 'Cumaya'. Saying 'Cuma için erteledim' (postponed for Friday) is a direct translation from English and sounds unnatural to a native Turkish speaker. Furthermore, there is sometimes confusion between ertelemek (to postpone) and gecikmek (to be late). While both involve time and delays, they are fundamentally different in their agency. You actively postpone (ertelemek) an event, but a person or a train simply runs late (gecikmek). You cannot say 'I delayed the train' using gecikmek if you caused the delay; you would use a causative form. But for official rescheduling, ertelemek is the correct choice. Mastering these distinctions—the accusative object, the dative time target, and the correct passive form—will eliminate the vast majority of errors learners make with this verb.

Missing Accusative Case

Failing to add the specific object marker to the noun being delayed (saying 'sınav erteledim' instead of 'sınavı erteledim').

Active vs. Passive Confusion

Using the active verb when the subject is the thing being delayed, rather than the person doing the delaying (saying 'toplantı erteledi' instead of 'toplantı ertelendi').

Wrong Preposition for Time

Translating 'for tomorrow' directly as 'yarın için erteledim' instead of using the dative case 'yarına erteledim'.

The Turkish language offers several rich alternatives and synonyms for ertelemek, each carrying slightly different connotations, registers, and historical origins. Understanding these alternatives will not only expand your vocabulary but also allow you to express nuances in how and why something is being delayed. The most direct and formal synonym is tehir etmek. This is a compound verb of Arabic origin. While ertelemek is the modern, everyday Turkish equivalent, tehir etmek is often found in legal documents, highly formal bureaucratic communications, or historical texts. You might see it on official court notices or older railway announcements. Another very common phrase is sonraya bırakmak, which translates literally to 'to leave for later'. This is less formal than ertelemek and is perfect for casual, everyday situations. If you are deciding not to wash the dishes right now, you would say 'Bulaşıkları sonraya bıraktım' (I left the dishes for later). It implies a personal choice to delay a task rather than an official rescheduling. Another related verb is geciktirmek, which means 'to delay' or 'to cause to be late'. The difference here is subtle but important. Ertelemek implies a conscious decision to move an event to a new scheduled time. Geciktirmek often implies causing a delay, sometimes unintentionally or as a hindrance. For example, 'Trafik beni geciktirdi' (Traffic delayed me). You wouldn't use ertelemek here because the traffic didn't formally reschedule you. For the specific psychological habit of procrastination, Turkish uses the noun savsaklamak, which means to dawdle, shirk, or do something carelessly and slowly to avoid finishing it. If someone is intentionally dragging their feet on a project, they are savsaklıyor. Finally, in very informal or slang contexts, you might hear the verb sallamak used to mean putting something off or ignoring it. While sallamak literally means 'to shake' or 'to swing', colloquially it means to not care about something or to blow it off. Exploring these alternatives allows you to speak more like a native, choosing the exact word that fits the formality and intention of the delay.

Tehir Etmek

A formal, Arabic-origin synonym used mostly in legal, bureaucratic, or historical contexts. It means exactly the same as ertelemek but sounds much more official.

Sonraya Bırakmak

A casual, everyday phrase meaning 'to leave for later'. Ideal for personal chores, informal plans, and minor tasks.

Geciktirmek

Means to cause a delay or make something late. Unlike ertelemek, which is a conscious rescheduling, geciktirmek can be unintentional or obstructive.