Verb Dossier

bilmek

to know

bilaorist + -yori

Quick facts

Infinitive
bilmek
Stem
bil
Last vowel
i
Tenses
Aorist + Present Continuous

Build plan

How to build the form for “Ben …”

Goal: say "I know" in Turkish.

Stem

bil

Aorist ending

ir

Person ending

im

Result

bilirim

Tip: The ending vowels change to match the last vowel of the stem. See verb endings for the full guide.

Usage

How this verb behaves in real use

‘bilmek’ is ‘to know’ (facts/knowledge). For ‘to know a person’, Turkish often uses ‘tanımak’.

bilmiyorum (I don’t know)

biliyor musun? (do you know?)

bilmek istemek (to want to know)

bunu bilmek (to know this)

bilmek lazım (it’s necessary to know)

Table 1

Aorist (simple present)

Use this for habits, general facts, and “I do X” statements.

PronounTürkçe
BenBen bilirim
SenSen bilirsin
OO bilir
BizBiz biliriz
SizSiz bilirsiniz
OnlarOnlar bilirler

Table 2

Present continuous (-iyor)

Use this for actions happening right now.

PronounTürkçe
BenBen biliyorum
SenSen biliyorsun
OO biliyor
BizBiz biliyoruz
SizSiz biliyorsunuz
OnlarOnlar biliyorlar

Examples

Real example sentences

Ben bunu bilirim.

I know this.

Şimdi bilmiyorum.

I don’t know right now.

Onlar gerçeği bilirler.

They know the truth.

Related verbs

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