Çünki

çünki is a conjunction used in Turkic languages to mean because. In Azerbaijani, çünki is the standard spelling and is used similarly to how because is used in English. In Turkish, the standard form today is çünkü; çünki is considered an older or dialectal variant and is far less common in contemporary Turkish writing.

Etymology and forms: The word is formed from the components for for and that (often traced back to a compound like çün ki or çün + ki). Over time, Turkish evolved toward the contracted form çünkü, while çünki persisted as a regional or historical variant, and remains standard in Azerbaijani. The two languages share a related meaning and function, with slight orthographic and phonetic differences reflecting their separate standardizations.

Usage: çünki introduces a clause that gives the reason for the action in the main clause. It typically appears in the middle of a sentence and is followed by the main clause, often separated by a comma in Azerbaijani. In Turkish, çünkü is far more common in everyday writing and speech, while çünki appears mainly in older texts, literary contexts, or regional dialects. Both forms serve the same logical role: to explain or justify the statement that follows.

Examples:

- Turkish (standard): Dışarı çıkmak istemiyorum çünkü yağmur yağıyor.

- Azerbaijani: Dışarı çıxmaq istəmirəm, çünki yağış yağır.

See also: diğer Turkish conjunctions for cause (zira, bu səbəbdən, bu səbəbdən). Etymology notes: çünki derives from a compound of for/on account of (çün) and that (ki); Turkish orthography today favors çünkü, while çünki remains recognized as a variant in some dialects and Azerbaijani usage.