Turkish is spoken by about 70 million people worldwide. From its roots as a nomadic Central Asian language, it has changed dramatically through time to become the Turkish of today. From as far back as the 11th century, Arabic and Persian words, especially those used for art, diplomacy and business, gradually crept into the Turkish language and Arabic script began to be used.
However, when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk came to power in 1922, as part of his reforms following the formation of the Turkish Republic he instigated a radical overhaul of the language. In an attempt to purify the language, the structure and vocabulary were simplified and the Arabic script was swapped for a Latin one.
The result of this is a refreshingly logical language. Turkish is also relatively simple to pronounce as it is a phonetically consistent language. There are no genders and only one irregular verb and one irregular noun.
Although you may hear a couple of Arabic phrases such as ‘Ins’allah’ and ‘Salam Aleykum’, in reality Turkish bears no real resemblance to the Arabic language.
Turkish has 5 characters which aren’t found in the English alphabet- the ü,ö, s (with a tail), i (without dot) and ç.
Everyday Phrases
| Yes | Evet | e.vet |
| No | Hayir | Ha.yuhr |
| Ok | Tamam | Ta.mum |
| Thank you | Tesekkür ederim | Te.shek.kewr e.de.reem |
| Thanks | Tesekkürler | Te.shek.kewr.ler |
| You’re welcome | Rica ederim | Ree.ja e.de.reem |
| Not at all | Birsey degil | Beer.shay de.eel |
| Please | Lütfen | Lewt.fen |
| Excuse me ( Formal) | Afedersiniz | a.fe.der.see.neez |
| Excuse me ( informal) | Afedersin
Pardon | a.fe.der.seen
Par.don |
| Good | Iyi | ee.yee |
| Very Good | Çok iyi | Chok.ee.yee |
| Bad | Kötü | Ker.tew |
| Never mind | Önemli Degil | Er.nem.lee de.eel |
| Do you speak English? | Ingilizce biliyor musun? | Een.gee.leez.je beel.ee.yo moo.soon |
| I don’t understand | Anlamiyorum | An.luh.muh.yo.room |
| Where is …..? | …… nerede? | ….ne.re.de |
| Toilet | Tuvalet | Too.va.let |
| (WC) Ladies | (WC) Bayan | Ba.yun |
| (WC) Gentlemen | (WC) Bay | Bai |
| Pharmacy | Eczane | Ej.za.ne |
| Ambulance | Ambulans | Am.boo.lans |
| Police | Polis | Po.lees |
| Help! | Imdat! | Eem.dat! |
Greetings
| Hello | Merhaba | Mer.ha.ba |
| How are you? | Nasilsiin? | Na.suhl.suhn |
| I am fine | Iyiyim | ee.yee.yeem |
| Good morning | Günaydin | Gewn.eye.din |
| Have a nice day | Iyi Günler | ee.yee gewn.ler |
| Good evening | Iyi aksamlar | ee.yee ak.sham.lar |
| Good night | Iyi geceler | ee.yee ge.je.ler |
| Good bye | Güle güle | Gew.le Gew.le |
| See you later | Görüsürüz | Ger.re.shew.rewz |
Numbers
| 0 Zero | Sifir | suh.fuhr |
| 1 One | Bir | Beer |
| 2 Two | Iki | ee.kee |
| 3 Three | Üç | Ewch |
| 4 Four | Dört | Dert |
| 5 Five | Bes | Besh |
| 6 Six | Alti | al.tuh |
| 7 Seven | Yedi | ye.dee |
| 8 Eight | Sekiz | se.keez |
| 9 Nine | Dokuz | do.kooz |
| 10 Ten | On | On |
| 11 Eleven | On-bir | on.beer |
| 12 Twelve | On-iki | on.ee.kee |
| 20 Twenty | Yirmi | yeer.mee |
| 30 Thirty | Otuz | o.tooz |
| 40 Fourty | Kirk | Kuhrk |
| 50 Fifty | Elli | el.lee |
| 60 Sixty | Altmis | alt.muhsh |
| 70 Seventy | Yetmis | yet.meesh |
| 80 Eighty | Seksen | sek.sen |
| 90 Ninety | Doksan | dok.san |
| 100 Hundred | Yüz | Yewz |
| 1000 Thousand | Bin | Been |
In Restaurant
| Restaurant | Restoran | res.to.ran |
| Restaurant | Lokanta | lo.kan.ta |
| Menu | Menü | me.new |
| Bill | Hesap | He.sab |
| Can I take the bill? | Hesabi alabilir miyim? | he.sa.buh a.la.beel.er mee.yeem? |
| Water | Su | Soo |
| Bread | Ekmek | Ek.mek |
| Tea | Çay | Chai |
| Milk | Süt | Sewt |
| Cold | Soguk | so.ook |
| Hot | Sicak | suh.jak |
| Spicy | Aci | a.juh |
| Ice | Buz | Booz |
| Sugar | Seker | shek.er |
| Salt | Tuz | Tooz |
| Black Pepper | Kara Biber | Ka.ra bee.ber |
| Red Pepper | Kirmizi Biber | kurh.muh.zuh bee.ber |
Shopping
| How much? | Ne kadar? | ne ka.dar? |
| Money | Para | Pa.ra |
| Expensive | Pahali | pa.ha.luh |
| Very expensive | Çok Pahali | chok pa.ha.luh |
| I want a discount | Indirim istiyorum | een.dee.reem ees.tee.yo.room |
| Bank | Banka | ban.ka |
| Exchange office | Döviz Bürosu | Der.veez buhr.o.soo |
Transport
| Bus Station | Otogar | o.to.gar |
| Airport | Havalimani | Ha.va.lee.man.uh |
| Single ticket | Tek bilet | tek bee.let |
| One way | Tek gidis | tek gee.deesh |
| Return | Gidis dönüs | gee.deesh der.newsh |
| How far? | Ne kadar uzak? | ne ka.dar ew-zuk |
Taxi Journey
| Turn on the meter | Taksimetreyi çalistirin | Tak.see doo.met.re.yee
cha.luhsh.tuh.ruhn |
| Stop here | Burada durum | Boo.ra.da doo.room |
| Wait please | Bekleyin Lütfen | Bek.le.mek lewt.fen |
| Wait here | Burada bekleyin | Boo.ra.da bek.le.yeen |
| Left | Sola | So.la |
| Right | Saga | Sa.a |
| Turn off the music please | Müzigi Kapatin lütfen | Moo.zee Ka.putt.uhn lewt.fen |
| Open the window | Cami açin | Jam.uh ach.uhn |
| Close the window | Cami kapayin | Jam.uh ka.pay.uhn |
| Turn on the Air Conditioner | Klimayi açin | Klee.may.uh ach.uhn |
| Turn off the Air Conditioner | Klimayi kapatin | Klee.may.uh kapa.tuhn |
