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 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
|
–
| –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.
Read more from the travel guide to Turkey