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Turkey: Useful phrases in Turkish

Learn how to say a few words of Turkish with our selection of simple vocabulary.

The Turkish language

The abrupt replacement of the Ottoman Arabic alphabet by a Latin one in 1928 had a profound effect on literacy and modern Turkish. A difficult language for foreigners, Turkish is based on vowel harmony and the use of suffixes. Some English and French words have infiltrated the vocabulary but most local Turks know minimal English. Regional dialects exist and Kurds speak their own language, while languages like Georgian or Arabic intermingle more in border areas. Learning just a few key survival phrases and idioms in Turkish will win local friends. 

• General phrases

• Arrival and departure

• Transport

• Accommodation

• Guide to pronunciation

General phrases in Turkish

0

 

sifir sih•fihr

 

100

 

yüz yyuz

 

1

 

bir beer

 

500

 

besyüz behsh yyuz

 

2

 

iki ee•kee

 

1,000

 

bin been

 

3

 

üç yuch

 

1,000,000

 

bir milyon beer meel•yohn

 

4

 

dört durrt

 

Monday

 

Pazartesi pah•zahr•teh•see

 

5

 

bes behsh

 

Tuesday

 

Sali sah•lih

 

6

 

alti ahl•tih

 

Wednesday

 

çarsamba chahr•shahm•bah

 

7

 

yedi yeh•dee

 

Thursday

 

Persembe pehr•shehm•beh

 

8

 

sekiz seh•keez

 

Friday

 

Cuma joo•mah

 

9

 

dokuz doh•kooz

 

Saturday

 

Cumartesi joo•mahr•teh•see

 

10

 

on ohn

 

Sunday

 

Pazar pa•zar

 

Hello.

 

Merhaba. mehr•hah•bah

 

Hi!

 

Selam! seh•lahm

 

How are you?

 

Nasilsiniz? nah•sihl•sih•nihz

 

Fine, thanks.

 

Iyiyim, tesekkürler. ee•yee•yeem teh•shehk•kyur•lehr

 

Excuse me!

 

Afedersiniz! ahf•eh•dehr•see•neez

 

Do you speak English?

 

Ingilizce biliyor musunuz? een•gee•leez•jeh bee•lee•yohr moo•soo•nooz

 

What’s your name?

 

Isminiz nedir? ees•mee•neez neh•deer

 

My name is…

 

Ismim… ees•meem

 

Pleased to meet you.

 

Tanistigimiza memnun oldum. tah•nihsh•tih•ih•mih•zah mehm•noon ohl•doom

 

Where are you from?

 

Nerelisiniz? neh•reh•lee•see•neez

 

I’m from the UK.

 

Birlesik Kralliktanim. beer•leh•sheek krahl•lihk•tah•nihm

 

What do you do?

 

Ne is yapiyorsunuz? neh eesh yah•pih•yohr•soo•nooz

 

I work for…

 

…için çalisiyorum. …ee•cheen chah•lih•shih•yoh•room

 

I’m a student.

 

ögrenciyim. ur•rehn•jee•eem

 

I’m retired.

 

Emekliyim. eh•mehk•lee•yeem

 

Do you like…?

 

…sever misiniz?seh•vehr mee•see•neez

 

Goodbye. (said by departing persons)

 

Hosçakalin. hosh•chah kah•lihn

 

Goodbye. (said by persons staying behind)

 

Güle güle. gyu•leh gyu•leh

 

See you later.

 

Tekrar görüsmek üzere. tehk•rahr gur•ryush•mehk yu•zeh•reh

 

Arrival and departure

I’m here on holiday [vacation]/business.

 

Tatil/Is için buradayim. tah•teel/eesh ee•cheen boo•rah•dah•yihm

 

I’m going to…

 

…gidiyorum. …gee•dee•yoh•room

 

I’m staying at the…Hotel.

 

…otelinde kaliyorum. …oh•teh•leen•deh kah•lih•yoh•room

 

Transport

How do I get to town?

 

Sehire nasil gidebilirim? sheh•hee•reh nah•sihl gee•deh•bee•lee•reem

 

Where’s…?

 

…nerede? neh•reh•deh

 

–the airport

 

–Havaalani hah•vah•ah•lah•nih

 

–the railway [train] station

 

–Tren gari trehn gah•rih

 

–the bus station

 

–Otobüs garaji oh•toh•byus gah•rah•jih

 


the underground [subway] station

 

–Metro istasyonu meht•roh ees•tahs•yoh•noo

 

How far is it?

 

Ne kadar uzakta? neh kah•dahr oo•zahk•tah

 

Where can I buy tickets?

 

Nereden bilet alabilirim? neh•reh•dehn bee•leht ah•lah•bee•lee•reem

 

A single [one-way]/return [round-trip] ticket.

 

Sadece gidis/gidis dönüs bileti. sah•deh•jeh gee•deesh/gee•deesh dur•nyush bee•leh•tee

 

How much?

 

Ne kadar? neh kah•dahr

 

Which…?

 

Hangi…? hahn•gee

 

–gate?

 

–kapi? kah•pih

 

–lane?

 

–hat? haht

 

–platform?

 

–peron? peh•rohn

 

Where can I rent a car?

 

Nereden bir araba kiralayabilirim? neh•reh•dehn beer ah•rah•bah kee•rah•lah•yah•bee•lee•reem

 

Can I have a map?

 

Bir harita alabilir miyim? beer hah•reeh•tah ah•lah•bee•leer•mee•yeem

 

Accommodation

Can you recommend a hotel?

 

Bir otel tavsiye edebilir misiniz? beer oh•tehl tahv•see•yeh eh•deh•bee•leer•mee•see•neez

 

I have a reservation.

 

Yer ayirtmistim. yehr ah•yihrt•mihsh•tihm

 

My name is…

 

Ismim… ees•meem

 

Do you have a room…?

 

…odaniz var mi? …oh•dah•nihz vahr mih

 

–for one/two

 

Bir/Iki kisilik beer/ee•kee kee•shee•leek

 

–with a bathroom

 

–Banyolu bahn•yoh•loo

 

–with air conditioning

 

–Klimali klee•mah•lih

 

For tonight.

 

Bu gecelik. boo geh•jeh•leek

 

For two nights.

 

Iki geceligine. ee•kee geh•jeh•lee•yee•neh

 

For one week.

 

Bir haftaligina. beer hahf•tah•lih•ih•nah

 

How much?

 

Ne kadar? neh kah•dahr

 

Guide to pronunciation in Turkish

Letters b, d, f, k, l, m, n, p, t, v, y and z are pronounced as in English.

Turkish consonants are typically shorter and harder-sounding than English consonants. When reading Turkish words, be sure to pronounce all the letters.

Turkish vowels are quite different from English vowels. As with consonants, they are generally shorter and harder than English vowels.

Turkish differs from English in two important ways. First, affixes take the place of many words that, in other languages, would be written separately (such as pronouns, negatives and prepositions); these affixes are attached to a base word. Second, it features ‘vowel harmony’; this restricts which vowels may appear within a word. So, while affixes in their standard forms have the vowel ‘i’ or ‘e’, this may change when the affix is attached to another word. For example, the suffix in (´s) stays in in evin (the house’s), but becomes un in memurun (the official’s) and ün in gözün (the eye’s).

The Turkish words below appear in bold. A simplified pronunciation guide follows each Turkish phrase; read it as if it were English, giving the underlined letters a little more stress than the others.