Turkish phrase book

About Turkey - Facts for Travellers to Turkey - Turkish Phrase Book
Maps of Turkey - Climate - Getting to Turkey - Getting Around

English
Turkish
Pronounced
Useful
Yes
No
Thank you
Hello
Goodbye
Morning
Afternoon
Evening
Where ?
Why?
When?
What?
Please
Excuse me

I don't understand
Do you speak English
Evet
Hayir
Tesekkür ederim
Merhaba
Hosça kalin
Sabah
Ögleden sonra
Aksam
Nerede?
Niçin?
Ne zaman
Ne?
Lütfen
Affedersiniz
Anlamiyorum
Ingilizce konusmasini biliyor musunuz?
eh-vet
h-eye-uhr
teh-shek-kewr eh-deh-reem
mer-ha-ba
hosh-cha ka-luhn
sa-bah
ur-leh-den son-ra
ak-sham
neh-reh-deh
neh-den
neh za-man
neh
lewt-fen
af-feh-der-see-neez
an-la-muh-yo-room
een-gee-leez-jeh bee-lee-yor moo-soo -nooz?
Transport
taxi
station
bus/coach
airport
ferry
ticket
timetable
ticket office
fare
bus stop
taksi
istasyon
otobus
havalimani
vapur
bilet
tarife
bilet gisesi
bilet ücreti
otobüs duragi
tak-see
ees-tas-yon
o-to-bewss
ha-va-lee-ma-nuh
va-poor
bee-let
ta-ree-feh
bee-let gee-shsh-see
ewj-ret
o-to-bewss doo-ra-uh
Emergency
Help
Fire
Call the police
Call an ambulance
Call a doctor
Stop
Where is the nearest hospital?
Imdat
Yangin
Polisi çargin!
Bir ambülans çargin!
Bir doktoru çargin!
Dur
En yakin hastane nerede?
eem-dat
yan-guhn
po-lees chah-ruhn
beer am-boo-lans chah-ruhn
beer dok-tor chah-ruhn
door
en ya-kuhn has-ta-neh neh-reh-deh

Pronunciation
Once you learn a few basic rules, you'll find Turkish pronunciation quite simple to master. Despite oddities such as the soft 'g' (g) and the undotted 'i' (I), it's a phonetically consistent language - there's generally a clear one-letter/one-sound relationship.

It's important to remember that each letter is pronounced; vowels don't combine to form diphthongs and constants don't combine to form other sounds (such as 'th', 'gh' or 'sh' in English). Watch out for this. Your eye will keep seeing familiar English double-letter sounds in Turkish - where they don't exist. It therefore follows that h in Turkish is always pronounced as a separate letter; in English, we're used to pronouncing it only when it occurs before a vowel, but in Turkish it can appear in the middle or at the end of a word as well. Always pronounce it; your Turkish friend Ahmet is ahh-met' not 'aa-meht', and the word rehber (guide) is pronounced 'rehh-behr' no 're-behr'.

A, a As in 'art' or 'bar'
â A faint 'y' sound in the preceding consonant
E, e As in 'fell' or as the first vowel in 'ever'
I, i A short 'i'. As in 'hit' or 'sit'
I, I A neutral vowel; as the 'a' in 'ago'
O, o Between the 'o' in 'hot' and the 'aw' in 'awe'
Ö, ö As the 'e' in 'her' said with purse lips
U,u As the 'oo' in 'moo'
U, ü An exaggerated rounded-lip 'yoo'
C, c As the 'j' in 'jet'
Ç, ç As the 'ch' in 'church'
G, g Always hard as in 'get' (not as in 'gentle')
H, h Always pronounced; a weak 'h' as in 'half'
J, j As the 'z' in azure
S, s Always as in stress (not as in 'ease')
S, s As the 'sh' in 'show'
V, v Soft, almost like a 'w'
W, w Same as Turkish 'v' (only found in foreign words)

About Turkey - Facts for Travellers to Turkey - Turkish Phrase Book
Maps of Turkey - Climate - Getting to Turkey - Getting Around

 

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