The Turkic languages use both derivation and compounding to form new lexemes. These two different strategies often occur in free variation. Consequently, the same semantic concept can be expressed by using both of them.
In this paper, I discuss (1) endocentric compounds based on two non-derived nouns, and (2) nouns formed on the basis of other non-derived nouns by means of derivational suffixes. I first give an overview and formal classification of the compounding and derivational strategies in the Turkic languages. Then I focus on the question how they are related to each other in terms of their semantics.