Biçim

Biçim is a Turkish noun meaning form, shape, appearance, design, or format. It is used across domains to refer to the outward organization or arrangement of something, including its structure, style, or method. In everyday language, people speak of “biçimini değiştirmek” to change the form or presentation of something, and “dosya biçimi” to indicate file format.

In linguistics and grammar, biçim denotes the morphological or syntactic form of a word or sentence, such as its tense, mood, number, or voice, and is often discussed in relation to meaning. In literature and the arts, the term is used to discuss formal properties of a work—the arrangement of elements, rhythm, and overall shape—either focusing on form as an organizing principle or on style.

In philosophy, especially in discussions of form versus matter, “biçim” is the Turkish equivalent of form in the classical sense, referring to the organizing principle that shapes matter into objects or experiences. In contemporary usage, biçim also appears in technical contexts, such as “belge biçimi” (document format) or “görsel biçim” (visual form), and in information technology as “dosya biçimi” (file format) and “biçimlendirme” (formatting).

Biçim thus functions as a versatile term bridging language, art, philosophy, and technology, illustrating Turkish speakers’ capacity to group diverse ideas under a single concept of form.