Azerbaijani grammar uses specific suffixes to change the meaning and function of nouns.

These structural changes are known as noun cases.

There are exactly six distinct noun cases in the Azerbaijani language.

I’ll explain exactly how each case works and show you simple examples so you can start using them right away.

The role of vowel harmony

Before learning the cases, you must understand that Azerbaijani suffixes change based on vowel harmony.

The last vowel of the noun decides which version of the suffix you need to attach.

If a word ends in a hard back vowel (a, ı, o, u), it takes a hard suffix.

If it ends in a soft front vowel (e, ə, i, ö, ü), it takes a soft suffix.

You’ll see multiple suffix options listed for each noun case below because of this strict harmony rule.

Nominative case (adlıq hal)

The nominative case is the basic, dictionary form of a noun.

It doesn’t take any grammatical suffixes at all.

This case is used to represent the main subject of a sentence.

It simply answers the questions “who?” (kim?) or “what?” (nə?).

Genitive case (yiyəlik hal)

The genitive case shows possession, relationship, or ownership.

It translates to using an apostrophe “s” (‘s) or the word “of” in English.

The suffixes for this case are -ın, -in, -un, and -ün for words ending in consonants.

For words ending in vowels, you must add the buffer letter “n”, making the suffixes -nın, -nin, -nun, and -nün.

Dative case (yönlük hal)

The dative case indicates movement toward a destination or an action directed at someone.

It translates directly to “to” or “for” in English.

The suffixes are -a or -ə for words ending in consonants.

If the word ends in a vowel, you use the buffer letter “y”, resulting in the suffixes -ya or -yə.

Accusative case (təsirlik hal)

The accusative case marks the direct object of a sentence.

You only use these suffixes when the object is definite or specific.

You use it when you want to say “the book” instead of just “a book”.

The suffixes are -ı, -i, -u, and -ü for consonant endings.

For vowel endings, the suffixes become -nı, -ni, -nu, and -nü.

Locative case (yerlik hal)

The locative case shows where something is located or where an action is taking place.

It translates to “in”, “on”, or “at” in English.

The suffixes for this case are simply -da or -də.

Ablative case (çıxışlıq hal)

The ablative case describes movement away from a place or the origin point of something.

It translates almost exclusively to “from” in English.

The suffixes for this noun case are -dan or -dən.