Sonra

Sonra is a Turkish adverb meaning after or later. It is used to indicate sequence in time, marking what happens following a preceding event or moment. In Turkish, sonra can stand alone to connect clauses, much like the English word then, or it can form part of a larger noun phrase when used with the ablative suffix, as in okuldan sonra (after school).

In practice, sonra appears in several common patterns. It can link two clauses: “X oldu, sonra Y yaptı” (X happened, then Y did). It can also follow a noun with -den/-dan to specify the time after which something occurs: “okuldan sonra” means “after school.” The word is frequent in everyday speech, journalism, and literature, often used for simple sequencing, narration, or instruction. For emphasis or sequence, Turkish often contrasts sonra with önce (before).

Related forms include ardından and sonrasında, which more explicitly translate to afterward or subsequently and can carry a formal or narrative tone. While sonra is versatile, it is most natural in informal speech and straightforward narration as a temporal connective.

Etymologically, sonra is a native Turkish word with a long-standing presence in the language and its literature. It remains a core part of basic temporal vocabulary, taught early in language learning for indicating order and timing.

See also: önce, ardından, sonrasında.