Tasavvurlar

Tasavvurlar is in Turkish the plural form of tasavvur, a noun meaning perception, imagination, notion, or concept. The term broadly refers to mental images or ideas formed in the mind, as well as the content of those images or concepts. It can denote both concrete representations (how someone envisions a person, object, or event) and abstract notions (theoretical concepts or beliefs about how things ought to be).

Etymologically, tasavvur derives from Arabic tasawwur (تصوّر), meaning imagining or conceiving, adapted into Turkish with the standard plural suffix -lar. In Turkish usage, tasavvur operates at several levels: everyday language describing personal impressions, academic discourse analyzing cognitive representation, and literary or rhetorical contexts invoking imagery and imagination.

In practice, tasavvurlar appears in phrases such as tasavvur etmek (to imagine, to conceive), tasavvur edilen (imagined, envisioned), and tasavvurla ilgili (related to conception or perception). In literature and art, it can signal imaginative or visionary elements within a work, while in philosophy or cognitive science it relates to mental representations and how individuals form concepts of the world.

The term is common across formal and informal registers, reflecting the interplay between perception, thought, and belief. It is distinct from tasavuf, which refers to Sufism, though both share a Turkish root related to inner understanding and contemplation. Overall, tasavvurlar captures the manifold ways people form and discuss ideas about reality.