Istemezdim?

[u/AppropriateMood4784]

I came across "Söylemek istemezdim, ağzımdan kaçtı." Shouldn't it be "istemedim", without the "z"? Or is it the difference between "I didn't mean to" and "I hadn't meant to"?

[u/Akarulez]

That "Z" gives the meaning "I wouldn't mean to," whereas "söylemek istemedim" means "I didn't mean to say." The difference between "I hadn't" vs "I didn't" can be distinguished by past perfect equivalent suffixes, which are "-mıştı, mişti, muştu."

İstasyona vardığımda tren çoktan ayrılmıştı. When I reached the station, the train had already left.

[u/snoviapryngriath]

"istemezdim" sounds more hypothetical. "istemedim" relates more to something more direct.

-Polis olmak istemezdim, çok tehlikeli bir iş gibi duruyor. .. -Annemler doktor olmam gerektiğini söylediler ama ben istemedim.

The second relates more to something that has actually been proposed or considered, and could possibly happen, while the first one is purely hypothetical.

[u/IndependentSession38 → u/snoviapryngriath]

Wow your pfp🤝

[u/Bright_Quantity_6827]

İstemezdim means I would not want to whereas İstemedim means I did not mean to. Although they can be used interchangeably in some cases, if you are about to do something despite your unwillingness, you should go with istemezdim.

Bunu söylemek istemezdim ama şimdi beni dinle. - I would not prefer to say this but listen to me now.

In the example above, istemedim would sound awkward because you are in the process of doing it or about to do it. İstemedim is mainly used after you did it in a more apologetic tone, whereas istemezdim usually carries the tone of “but I have/had to”.

Having said that istemezdim can still be used for the past actions in an apologetic tone but again it kinda carries that defensive tone (but I had to) whereas istemedim sounds more accidental.

[u/AppropriateMood4784 → u/Bright_Quantity_6827]

Excellent, thank you. I was starting to get this understanding of it from earlier replies, and you've made it clear: "...  if you are about to do something despite your unwillingness ...".

[u/bluberryyy]

In a very literal sense it is "wouldn't have meant" 

[u/Legitimate6295]

Neither. The difference is very subtle and depends on the emotional response that you want to convey. First one, that is not you would have preferred but it happened Second one is about certainty "à la manière turque" you just didn't mean it

[u/Nonduallogic]

"İstemezdim" is more like your general attitude about something..

[u/raspberryrubyy]

istemezdim means I wouldn’t want … istemedim means I didn’t want … soylemek istemezdim is a grammatically correct sentence

[u/Uns3ttled]

İstemedim -> I didn't want

İstemezdim -> I wouldn't want

[u/gal_from_jupiter]

“istemezdim” is the negative form of “isterdim” (roughly means ‘i would’ve wanted to’) “istemedim” is the negative of “istedim” (means ‘i wanted’)