sehirli

Sehirli is the Turkish term commonly written as şehirli, meaning urban or city-dweller. It functions as both an adjective and a noun: as an adjective it describes something related to the city or urban life (şehirli yaşam, şehirli insanlar); as a noun it can refer to a person who comes from a city, i.e., a city dweller, though this usage is less common than city-specific demonyms.

Etymology: It is formed from şehir (city) plus the suffix -li, which in Turkish indicates belonging or being characterized by. The standard Turkish spelling uses the characters ş, ı, and other diacritics; in English transliteration it is often written sehirli.

Usage: In Turkish sociolinguistics and everyday speech, şehirli conveys ideas of urbanity, modernity, or cosmopolitan lifestyle, and it is often contrasted with rural identities such as köylü (villager). It is not tied to any particular city; rather, it can refer to urban people in general. In literature and journalism, şehirli may appear in discussions of urban culture, modernization, or social change.

See also: Turkish language, demonyms, urbanization, köylü, İstanbul (İstanbullu), Ankara (Ankaralı).

Notes: The term is largely neutral, but it can carry evaluative connotations depending on context, sometimes signaling social and cultural differences between urban and rural communities.