Language

Good resources

  • This book is a really great way to communicate when you don’t share a common language with someone. It has pictures on each page and you just point to what you need.

Letters

The Turkish alphabet is mostly the same as the English alphabet with a few small exceptions.

Turkish letter Equivalent
ç ch like cheese
ş sh like sheep
ı i like in bird
i i like in ski
ö u like in cure
ü ue like in fuel
ğ No sound. This is silent. It makes the vowel to the left long. Basically, ağrı == aarı

Useful phrases

Turkish Pronunciation Meaning
Türkçe turk-CHE Turkish language
İngilizce in-gel-eese-JAY English language
Hoşgeldin / Hoşgeldiniz hosh-GEL-din / hosh-GEL-din-iz Welcome! (said when you visit someone else’s home)
Hoşbulduk hosh-BULL-duke Thanks for having me (said as a response to hoşgeldin)
Lütfen loot-FAN Please
Teşekkür edirim tesh-EK-KUR ed-DIR-IM Thank you
Evet eh-VET Yes
Hayır ha-YUR No
bir beer One
iki ee-KEY Two
üç oo-CH Three
dört door-T Four
beş beh-SH Five
tane tah-NE pieces/number/amount. You can use this when buying or ordering something. “İki tane çay” means “Two teas”
kaç tane ka-CH ta-NEH How many?
ne kadar neh KA-DAR How much? (Asking how much something costs)
TL TAY LAY Turks often use this instead of saying “Turkish lira” when giving you the price of something.
çok pahalı choke PA-HA-LA It’s very expensive.
bankamatik bank-a-ma-TEAK An ATM. “Bankamatik nerede?” means “Where is there an ATM?”
tamam ta-MAM OK
kim just kim Who?
nerede ner-EDE Where?