tümü

Tümü is a Turkish word that functions as both a determiner and a pronoun meaning “the whole” or “all of them.” It refers to the entirety of a previously mentioned group or set. It is relatively formal and more common in written Turkish; in everyday speech, words like hepsi or bütün are often used.

As a determiner, tüm precedes a noun to mean “all”: tüm insanlar (all people), tüm kitaplar (all books), tüm şehirler (all cities). As a pronoun, tümü can replace a plural antecedent: Sınavdaki soruların tümü yanlış çıktı (All of the questions on the exam turned out to be incorrect). The related forms include tümünü (accusative: all of it/them) and tümünün (genitive: of all of them). Tümüyle is an adverb meaning “completely” or “wholly.”

Tümü is derived from tüm “whole” with a suffix that yields a pronominal or emphatic sense. It is closely related to synonyms such as bütün and hepsi. The choice among these terms reflects tone and formality: tüm/tümü tends to be more formal or literary, hepsi more colloquial, and bütün can mark a sense of entirety as a unit.

See also: Turkish language pronouns; bütün; hepsi.