yolu

Yolu is a Turkish noun meaning road or path. The base form yol denotes a physical route as well as a figurative sense of a way or method. Yolu is one of the inflected forms of yol, commonly appearing as the accusative form (the road) or in other grammatical contexts created by Turkish suffixes that mark case, possession, and direction. Other common forms of yol include yola (to the road), yolda (on the road), yolun (the road’s), and yolu (the road as a direct object).

Etymology and cognates: Yol comes from Turkic roots and has cognates across Turkic languages, such as Azerbaijani yol and Kazakh jol, all with related meanings related to travel, route, or path. The word is foundational in Turkish vocabulary for describing transport, travel, and metaphorical paths.

Usage and examples: Yol participates in many idioms and compounds. Examples include yol göstermek (to show the way), yolculuk (journey), yol ayrımı (crossroads), yola çıkmak (to set out), and yoldan çıkmak (to go off track). The locative form yolda means on the road, while yolun can mean the road’s or your road depending on context. The accusative form yolu occurs when the road is the direct object of a verb, such as görmek or geçmek.

See also: Turkish language, road, travel, idioms and expressions related to movement. The term yolu remains a common building block in everyday Turkish and in literature to convey movement, direction, and choice.