oturmak vs yaşamak
Turkish word comparison
Listen to oturmak
Listen to yaşamak
| oturmak | yaşamak |
|---|---|
/o-tur-MAK/ verb | /yah-SHAH-mak/ verb |
| to sit; to live/reside (in a place); to stay in a position | to live; to experience life; to reside (emphasizing life or conditions) |
How they differ
Yaşamak often emphasizes the experience or condition of living (being alive, lifestyle, quality of life) and can express residence, while oturmak focuses on occupying a place (or sitting) without the same emphasis on life experience.
When to use each
When to use oturmak: Use oturmak when you mean to sit down or when casually stating where someone lives as a matter of location.
When to use yaşamak: Use yaşamak when referring to living in the sense of life, lifestyle, or general living conditions, or when you want to stress the experience of living somewhere.
Side-by-side examples
- Bu şehirde uzun zamandır oturuyoruz.
(We've been living in this city for a long time.) - Bu şehirde uzun zamandır yaşıyoruz.
(We've been living in this city for a long time.)
Register & nuance: Yaşamak is neutral and widely used in spoken and written Turkish; it is less about residence-as-location and more about life/living.