dikçe

Dikçe is a Turkish grammatical suffix and adverbial particle that expresses gradual progression in a clause, roughly corresponding to the English phrases “the more …” or “as ….” It commonly surfaces as -dıkça or -dikçe, with the exact form determined by vowel harmony and the preceding consonant of the verb or adjective.

The construction attaches to a verb stem in various tenses to create a comparative clause that links a changing condition to a second change. This allows speakers to describe a relationship where one development coincides with or accelerates another. The form can appear in both spoken and written Turkish and is used across registers, from everyday speech to formal prose.

Examples illustrate its use in everyday Turkish. Gittikçe daha hızlı koşuyor. (He runs faster as he goes.) Çalıştıkça yetenekleri gelişti. (As they studied, their abilities developed.) These sentences show how dikçe expresses a proportional change between two events or states.

Notes on usage and variation: the exact spelling surfaces as -dıkça or -dikçe depending on the root, and occasional assimilation can occur when the preceding consonant is a k-sound or other phoneme. The construction is distinct from other comparative words and should not be confused with noun or adjective inflections that convey different grammatical meanings.

Dikçe is primarily encountered in Turkish grammar as a descriptive term for this specific comparative construction. In general Turkish usage, it provides a concise way to express that one change depends on or accompanies another. See also: Turkish grammar, -dıkça construction.