Orijinal

Orijinal is a Turkish adjective meaning original, authentic, genuine, or not a copy. It describes things that come from the source, predate alterations, or represent the first version of something. The term is used for objects, works of art, documents, products, software versions, ideas, and statements. In Turkish, orijinal is commonly found in phrases such as orijinal tablo, orijinal ürün, orijinal sürüm. It contrasts with kopya (copy), taklit (imitation), and sahte (fake).

Etymology and pronunciation: orijinal is borrowed from the French original, which itself derives from Latin originalis. In Turkish usage it is written with the letter j and pronounced with the /ʒ/ sound (similar to the "zh" in measure). The form was adopted into modern Turkish and has become a standard loanword across formal and informal registers.

Usage and nuance: orijinal emphasizes authenticity and provenance, rather than mere quality. It is often used in marketing, media, and everyday speech to distinguish genuine items from counterfeit or imitated ones. While synonyms such as özgün can convey a sense of originality or distinctiveness, orijinal is widely understood as authentic or not copied. The term is versatile, appearing before nouns (orijinal bir tablo) and after linking verbs (Bu tablo orijinaldir).

See also: Turkish vocabulary on authenticity and origin, such as özgün, hakiki, aslı, and taklit. The related noun orijin appears in Turkish to denote origin or source, though it is a separate term from orijinal.