Çalma

Çalma is a Turkish noun derived from the verb çalmak, which has several related meanings depending on context. It is used to refer to both the act of making music and the act of taking something unlawfully.

In the musical sense, çalma denotes the act of playing an instrument or performing music. It appears in phrases such as gitar çalma, meaning to play the guitar, or genel olarak çalma when referring to making music more broadly. This usage reflects everyday speech and written Turkish in discussions of music and performance.

In another sense, çalma means theft or the act of stealing. It is used to describe a crime or the action of taking someone else’s property without permission. For example, eşya çalındı translates to “the item was stolen.” This meaning is common in news reports, legal contexts, and ordinary conversation about theft.

Etymologically, çalma is the nominalized form of the verb çal-, with the suffix -ma, producing a versatile noun that can function across different grammatical constructions. The exact sense is determined by surrounding words and context, making it important to rely on accompanying terms to disambiguate meanings in Turkish.

See also: çalmak, çalıntı, theft, music terminology.