çok

Çok is a Turkish word that functions as an adverb and a determiner, meaning “much,” “a lot,” or “very.” It is used to intensify the meaning of the word it modifies, including adjectives, other adverbs, verbs, and, in many cases, nouns.

In practice, çok precedes adjectives and adverbs to indicate a high degree: çok güzel (very beautiful), çok hızlı (very fast), çok dikkatli (very careful). It also appears before verbs to express frequency or extent of action: çok çalışıyor (he works a lot/very much). When used with nouns, çok conveys quantity and can mean “many” or “a lot of,” as in çok insan (many people) or çok kitap (many books). Turkish grammar generally treats çok as invariable, not taking case endings or agreement markers on its own; the noun or adjective it accompanies carries the necessary inflection.

Çok has a broad, everyday range of use and often appears in both formal and informal speech. In more precise or formal contexts, speakers may choose words like fazla or epey to convey excess or a large amount, but çok remains the most common and flexible intensifier.

Etymologically, çok derives from a Turkic root reflected in several Turkic languages, including Azerbaijani and Kazakh, where cognates with similar meanings appear. The word is a fundamental part of Turkish vocabulary and is typically among the first quantifiers learners encounter.