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The Evidential Past (-miş)

Reported vs witnessed

-miş = reported / inferred past

Things not personally witnessed.

📊 -di vs -miş
Form Source of knowledge Sense
-di (geldi) witnessed / certain '(I saw) he came'
-miş (gelmiş) reported / inferred '(apparently) he came'
-miş (also) surprise / hearsay '(it turns out)...'
💬 Examples
gelmiş
(apparently) he/she came
📝 -miş = reported / inferred
Yağmur yağmış.
It (must have) rained / they say it rained.
📝 Evidence-based past
Used for hearsay, surprise, storytelling

'apparently / it seems'.

💬 Examples
Çok yorulmuşsun.
You seem to have gotten very tired.
📝 Inference / realization
Bir varmış bir yokmuş.
Once upon a time...
📝 -miş in fairy-tale openings
Contrast with the witnessed -di

A core evidential distinction.

💬 Examples
Geldi.
He came. (I witnessed it)
📝 -di = direct knowledge
Gelmiş.
He came, apparently. (I heard / infer)
📝 -miş = indirect knowledge