Dönüşlü çatı (reflexive)
Turkish marks 'do something to oneself' with the same little -in / -ın / -un / -ün suffix that builds the passive — context decides which reading is meant. yıkamak = to wash → yıkanmak = to wash oneself. giymek = to wear/put on → giyinmek = to dress oneself. hazırlamak = to prepare → hazırlanmak = to get oneself ready.
Form
Stem + -(I)n (vowel by harmony) + tense. After consonants, a buffer vowel appears: giy- + -in- → giyinmek. After vowel-final stems, just -n: hazırla- + -n- → hazırlanmak. The reflexive almost always reduces the verb's argument count: the doer and the patient are the same person, so there's no extra object.
Reflexive vs passive — same shape, different sense
Both surface as -(I)n / -(I)l, and the line can be fuzzy. Yıkandı can mean 'he washed himself' (reflexive) or 'it was washed' (passive); kapı yıkandı is clearly passive (a door doesn't wash itself), çocuk yıkandı is reflexive. With many verbs Turkish has settled on one reading: giyinmek is reflexive only, bilinmek is passive only.
kendi(si) for emphasis
When you really need to say 'oneself' overtly, add kendi + possessive: kendimi yıkadım = 'I washed myself' (using transitive yıkamak + kendi), or just yıkandım with the reflexive verb. Use kendi when contrast matters: kendine bak = 'look at yourself'.
Common reflexive verbs
yıkanmak (wash up), giyinmek (get dressed), soyunmak (undress), taranmak (comb one's hair), traş olmak (shave — uses olmak), hazırlanmak (get ready), dinlenmek (rest oneself), eğlenmek (have fun), alışmak (get used to — itself reflexive in form), savunmak (defend, often oneself).
Daily routine — your bread and butter
Sabah erken kalkıyorum. I get up early. Yıkanıyorum. I wash up. Giyiniyorum. I get dressed. Hazırlanıyorum. I get ready. The whole morning routine in Turkish runs on these reflexive verbs — much tighter than the English 'wash myself / dress myself' wording.
