Reflexive Pronoun 'kendi' in Turkish

The word kendi serves two key grammatical functions in Turkish: as a reflexive pronoun ('myself, yourself, themselves') and as an emphatic / possessive modifier ('own, self').

When acting as a reflexive pronoun, kendi obligatorily takes personal possessive suffixes to reflect the subject: kendim (myself), kendin (yourself), kendi / kendisi (himself/herself/itself), kendimiz (ourselves), kendiniz (yourselves), and kendileri (themselves). These forms take standard case suffixes: kendime (to myself), kendini (yourself, acc.), kendinden (from oneself). When paired with a personal pronoun (ben kendim, sen kendin), it strongly emphasizes personal agency ('I did it all by myself').

When used as an adjective modifying a noun, uninflected kendi means 'own': kendi evim (my own house), kendi arabası (his own car), kendi hayatım (my own life). A common error is using kendi without possessive endings when a reflexive object is intended (saying kendi gördüm instead of kendimi gördüm).