Like a Stone on My Chest

Lesson 1 | Listening Practice
-iyor mu

Now that we've learned the present tense in Lesson 1, I'd like to highlight some ways we can use it with question words.

To make a verb interrogative, simply add a -mi ending (conforms to vowel harmony) and a pronoun affix. For example, to make the verb "biliyorsun" or "you know" interrogative, change it to "biliyor musun" meaning "do you know".

Here is an example:

Declaritive	Meaning	Interrogative	Meaning
Ben biliyorum	I know	Biliyor muyum?	Do I know?
Sen biliyorsun	You know	Biliyor musun?	Do you know?
O biliyor	He/She/It knows	Biliyor mu?	Does he/she/it know?
Biz biliyoruz	We know	Biliyor muyuz?	Do we know?
Siz biliyorsunuz	You know	Biliyor musunuz?	Do you know?
Onlar biliyor(lar)	They know	Biliyor(lar) mı?	Do they know?

In this song, our singer Esmeray (to learn more, see Lesson 17) asks the one she admires a series of questions. Try to follow along to see how questions work and pick up some useful vocabulary along the way.

A comment on the titular phrase, "soruyor musun" which literally means "are you asking" or "do you ask". Of course, this doesn't make a lot of sense in English. For some reason, this ever so slightly idiomatic use of the verb "sormak (to ask)" eludes an easy translation. But the meaning she is trying to convey is something like "do you wonder?" or "do you care?" or even "just think about it". In other words, she is telling the guy something like don't you get it, don't you want to know, don't you care that she's interested in you? And by she I mean me.

Verbs

dilemek - to wish
bilmek - to know
görmek - to see
sormak - to ask
durmak - to stand, to stop

Rüyaların gerçekleşsin diliyor musun
Are you wishing that your dreams come true?
Onun da sevdiği sensin biliyor musun
Do you know that you're the one she loves too?

Seni gördüğünden beri uykusuzmuş geceleri
Her nights have been sleepless since she first saw you
Sana vurulmuş besbelli / soruyor musun
She's smitten with you, it's so clear, don't you want to know?
Seni gördüğünden beri uykusuzmuş geceleri
Her nights have been sleepless since she first saw you
Karasevda o besbelli / soruyor musun
It's so clear that she's hopelessly obsessed, don't you want to know?

"Karasevda" basically refers to a passionate but unrequited love that leads to depression.

Görüyormuş düşlerinde, haberin olsun
She saw [you] in her dreams, just so you know
Sen varsın gözyaşlarında / görmüyor musun?
You're inside her tears, don't you see?
Gözleri gel diyor sana, haydi durma koş yanına
Her eyes are saying "come" to you, don't just stand there, run to her
Çağırıyor da sen hala duruyor musun?
She's calling [you], are you still standing there?
Gözleri gel diyor sana, şaşkın şaşkın bakmasana
Her eyes are saying "come" to you, don't just look back dumbfounded
Çağırıyor da sen hala duruyor musun?

Biliyorum gideceksin gelmeyeceksin
I know, you will go, and you won't come back
İçimi bir bilsen böyle gülmeyeceksin
If only you knew what was inside me, you wouldn't laugh like that

Ne kadar gitse ağrıma, dayanırım kalp ağrıma
No matter how much it hurts, I will endure the pain in my heart
Taş bassam da ben bağrıma bilmeyeceksin
Even if [your absence] is like a stone on my chest, you will never know

Here the phrase "taş bağrına basmak" literally means "to press a stone on one's chest" or metaphorically to bear the feeling of longing due to someone's absence.

Ne kadar gitse ağrıma, dayanırım kalp ağrıma
Taş bassam da ben bağrıma bilmeyeceksin