The Turkish Alphabet

The Turkish alphabet contains 29 letters, 8 of which are vowels and 21 of which are consonants.

Here is the alphabet, with the vowels in red and the consonants in black;

a b c ç d e f g g h i i j k l m n o ö p r s s t u ü v y zPronounciation

Turkish is generally quite easy to pronounce, mainly because unlike English, words are said just as they are written and every letter (with the exception of - 'Ğ') are pronounced. The unfamiliar letters

are pronounced as follows:

ç - 'ch' (as in 'church')

c - 'j' (as in jealous)

g - silent but lengthens the vowel before

ı - 'uh' (as in but)

ö - 'er' (as in burn)

ş - 'sh' (as it shut)

ü - 'ooh' (as in few)

Examplesşeker (sugar) is pronounced 'she-ker'

göz (eye) is pronounced 'gurz'

çalmak (to work) is pronounced 'cha-lush-mak'

kadın (woman) is pronounced 'ka-duhn'

utangaç (shy) is pronounced 'utan-gach'

cuma (friday) is pronounced 'juma'

soğuk (cold) is pronounced 'so-ook'

Basic Information

Perhaps the hardest thing to learn is word order, as it is almost the direct opposite of English. For example, in English we would say 'I am going...to the shop...with my friend'. In Turkish though we

would say 'With my friend...to the shop...I am going'.

The basic rule for word order in Turkish is generally subject + object + verb , for example;

The cat wanted food = kedi (the cat) yemek (food) istedi (wanted).

Another difference between English and Turkish is that there is no gender; he/she/it are all counted as the same, which can be quite confusing sometimes!

Unlike English, suffixes are used for almost everything in Turkish, by adding a suffix onto the root word you can completely change the meaning of a word. Words such as 'my, from, to, with, in, before, after, whilst' and many more are all added to the root word rather than being a seperate word on their own,

for example - 'from my house' - 'evimden'.

Vowel Harmony Part 1Vowel harmony is essential to learn in order to speak Turkish well, however at first it is quite hard to

understand, so I will try to make this guide as simple to understand as possible!

In Turkish there are 8 vowels. We can split these into 2 groups. These are:

e, i, ö, ü (known as 'front' vowels)

a, ı, o, u (known as 'back' vowels)

It is essential to learn which vowels go into which group. To make this easier, think of them as the 'e dotted group' (which contains 'e' and the 3 vowels with dots), and the 'a undotted group' (which

contains the 'a' and the 3 undotted groups).

Many suffixes are also split into two, for example '-den/-dan' (from), '-de/-da' (in/on/at), and '-(y)e/-(y)a' (to). Vowel harmony ensures that the correct suffix is used depending on what the last vowel in the

word is.

If the last letter is a 'front' vowel, then '-den', '-de', and '-(y)e' would be used.If the last letter is a 'back' vowel, then '-dan', '-da', and '-(y)a' would be used.

Examples

House = Ev

Car = Araba

From = -den (suffix)

In = -de (suffix)

To = -(y)e (suffix)

From the house = Evden

From the car = Arabadan

To the house = Eve

To the car = Arabaya

In the house = Evde

In the car = Arabada

Vowel Harmony Part 2

You should have already looked at the Vowel Harmony 1 section and you will have seen how the vowels are split into 2 groups, each of which take different suffixes.

However, there are other suffixes that instead of taking either 'e' or 'a', take either 'i, ı, ü, u', such as ...'-(i)yorum' (i am ....ing), '..dim' (i did...), and '-siz' (without). Therefore we need to split the suffixes

into more groups in order to add the suffixes with the correct vowels.

For example if the suffix is '-siz' (without) then the 'i' will change into:

If the last vowel is:'e' or 'i' - stays as 'i' (-siz)

'a' or 'ı' - changes to 'ı' (-sız)'ü' or 'ö - changes to 'ü' (-süz)'u' or 'o' - changes to 'u' (-suz)

This applies to a number of suffixes, such as the past suffix ('...dim'), the possessive suffix (-im, -sin etc) and the 'without' suffix (-siz), as well as many more. Click on the suffixes page to discover more.

Examples

For now we will just use just two suffixes, the '-siz' suffix, meaning 'without....'. and '-li', meaning 'with...'.

sugar - şekerwithout sugar - şekersiz

with sugar - şekerli

milk - sütwithout milk - sütsüz

with milk - sütlü

ice - buzwithout ice - buzsuz

with ice - buzlu

money -parawithout money -parasız

with money - paralı

Consonant Changes

When a suffix starting with a vowel is added to a root word that ends in some certain letters, the last letter of the root word must change into a different letter to keep the pronounciation smooth.

These letters are:

Examples

For these examples we will use the '-(i)m' (my....) suffix.

The '-(i/ı/u/ü)' is only used if the last letter is a consonant, otherwise just 'm' is added.

bed - yatakmy bed - yatağım

cupboard - dolapmy cupboard - dolabım

plug - tıkaçmy plug - tıkaçım

dog - köpekmy dog - köpeğim

wolf - kurtmy wolf - kurdum

In some cases, the last letter of a root word can change the first letter of an added suffix. The letters which can change this are;

k/p/ç/f/t/h/b/s/ş

When a suffix beginning with 'd' is added to one of these above letters, the first letter of the suffix changes from 'd' to 't'. This occurs in suffixes such as '-den/-dan' (from) and '-de/-da' (in/at/on).

If you have trouble remembering these consonants, try and remember this phrase -

Charlie Found He Kould Put Strong Sheds Together

(Many thanks to Neil Avery for this!)

ExamplesBed - Yatak

From the bed - Yataktan

Dog - KöpekOn the dog - Köpekte

Suffixeslearn-turkish@hotmail.com

Suffixes are used very widely in the Turkish language and are often added on to words where in the equivalent English language they would be a seperate word.

In most suffixes the rules of vowel harmony apply and therefore the vowels in it might have to change (e.g '-ler/lar' - choose '-ler' if the last vowel in the base words is either 'e/i/ü/ö' and '-lar' of the last

vowel is either 'a/ı/u/o'.

If the suffix contains a (y) or (n), it is only used if the last letter is a vowel.If the suffix contains a (i), it is only used if the last letter is a consonant.

Here are some of the most common suffixes;

'-ler/lar' = 's' (kediler = cats)'-de/da' = 'in/at/on' (evde = in the house, evlerde = to the houses)

'-den/dan' = 'from' (evden = from the house)'-(y)e/a' = 'to' (eve = to the house)

'-siz/sız/suz/süz' = 'without...' (sütsüz = without milk)'-li/lı/lu/lü)' = 'with/containing...' (şekerli = with sugar)

'-le/la' = 'with...' (annemle = with my mum)'-(n)in/n/un/ün' = 's/of (annemin evi = my mums house)

'-(i/ı/u/ü)m' = 'my' (kedim = my cat)'-(i/ı/u/ü)yorum' = 'i am....ing' (gidiyorum = i am going)

'-(i/ı/u/ü)yordum' = 'i was....ing' (gidiyordum = i was going)'-(y)im/ım/um/üm' = 'i am..' (mutluyum = i am happy)

'-(y)dim/dım/dum/düm' = 'i was...' (i was happy = mutluydum)'-(y)eceğim/acağım' = 'i will...' (i will go = gideceğim)

'-meyeceğim/mayacağım' = 'i will not...' (i will not go = gitmeyeceğim)'-mem' = 'i don't' (i don't go = gitmem)

'-emem' = 'i can't' (i can't go = gidemem)'-(y)ebilirim = 'i can' (i can go = gidebilirim)

'-mişim/mı şım/muşum/müşüm' = 'apparently i..' (apparently i went = gitmişim)'-(y)elim = let's...' (let's go = gidelim)

'-sem' = 'if i...' (if i go = gitsem)

'-den/dan beri' = 'since' (işten beri = since work)'-dikten sonra' = 'after...ing' (geldikten sonra = after coming)

'-den/dan sonra' = 'after' (işten sonra = after work)'-den/dan önce' = 'before' (işten önce = before work)

'-meden/madan' = 'without' (gelmeden = without coming)'-(y)erek/arak' = 'by...ing' (yürüyerek = by walking)

'-ince/ıncı/uncu/üncü' = 'on...ing' (gidince = on going)'-ken' = 'whilst...ing'

'-meyi/mayı' = 'to....' (yüzmeyi seviyorum = i love to swim)'-meye/maya' = 'to....' (yazmaya başladım = i started to write)

'-(y)e/a ihtiyaç var' = i need...'-meli/malı' = must (gelmeliyim = i must go)

'-en/an' = 'the one who/...who...' (giden = the one who goes)'-diği' = '....which...' (sevdiği adam = the man which she loves)

Other suffixes

'-diği gibi' = just as/like'-diği halde' = although

'-diği için' = due to/because'-diği kadar' = as far as'-diği zaman' = when

'-diğinde' = when'-diğinden başka' = apart from'-(y)e/a göre' = according to

'-mektense/maktansa' = 'rather than'

'-in altında' = under'-in önünda' = in front of-'in arkasında' = behind'-in yaninda' = beside

Pluralslearn-turkish@hotmail.comTo make the plural of a word, simply add either '-ler' or '-lar' as a suffix depending on vowel harmony .

If the last vowel in the word is e/i/ö/ü add '-ler'

If the last vowel in the word is a/ı/o/u add '-lar'

Examples

Car - ArabaCars - Arabalar

Book - KitapBooks - Kitaplar

Boy - ErkekBoys - Erkekler

Thing - ŞeyThings - Şeyler

Personal Pronounslearn-turkish@hotmail.com

Personal Pronouns are words put before a verb to show the person or thing who is doing the act. For example, in the sentence 'I went to the beach', the personal pronoun would be 'I'. In the sentence 'His

bike', the personal pronoun would be 'His'.

Personal pronouns are not used as widely in Turkish as they are in English, and can be left out altogether. This is because personal endings are put on the end of a verb showing who the subject is,

therefore there is not always a need to add a personal pronoun.

For example, 'I went home' in Turkish is 'Ben eve gittim'. Both the parts in blue show who the subject is, meaning we can remove one and still know, making the sentence 'Eve gittim'. Likewise, 'My cat' is

'Benim kedim', and can be shortened to simply 'kedim'. This is why the personal pronouns are not always used.

The main reason for using personal pronouns is for emphasisim, for example 'Benim kedim', (emphasising the fact its yours. not someone elses).

Here are some personal pronouns;

Ben - ISen - You (singular/familiar)

O - He/she/itBiz - We

Siz - You (plural/polite)Onlar - They

Beni - MeSeni - You (singular/familiar)

Onu - Him/her/itBizi - Us

Sizi - You (plural/polite)Onlar - Them

Benim - MySenin - Your (singular/familiar)

Onun - His/her/itsBizim - Our

Sizin - Your (plural/polite)Onların - Their

Bana - To meSana - To you (singular/familiar)

Ona - To him/her/itBize - To usSize - To you

Onlara - To them

Bende - In meSende - In you (singular/familiar)

Onda - In him/her/itBizde - In us

Sizde - In you (plural/polite)Onlarda - In them

Benden - From meSenden - From you (singular/familiar)

Ondan - From him/her/itBizden - From us

Sizden - From you (plural/polite)Onlardan - From them

Kendim - MyselfKendin - Yourself (singular/familiar)

Kendi - Himself/herself/itselfKendimiz - Ourselves

Kendiniz - Yourself (plural/polite)Kendileri - Themselves

Benimki - MineSeninki - Yours (singular/familiar)

Onunki - His/hers/itsBizimki - Ours

Sizinki - Yours (plural/polite)Onlarınki - Theirs

'To Be...' - Positive Tenselearn-turkish@hotmail.com

To say 'I am...', for example 'I am fine', a suffix is used.

Personal pronouns can be used before the adjective but are not necessarily needed as the suffix will make it clear who the subject is, eg 'I am fine = Ben iyiyim'. The personal pronouns are usually only

used for emphasis.

(the 'y' in brackets is only used if the last letter in the adjective is a vowel, e.g iyiyim, kötüyüm)

Each of these suffixes change according to vowel harmony .

For example; 'I am....' = '-(y)im'. But, if the last vowel in the adjective is;

'e' or 'i' - stays as 'i' = -(y)im'a' or 'ı' - changes to 'ı' = -(y)ım

'ü' or 'ö’ - changes to 'ü' = -(y)üm'u' or 'o' - changes to 'u' = -(y)um

Examples

'I am fine' = 'İyiyim''I am happy' = 'Mutluyum'

etc

This is the same with each personal ending, for example;

'I am....' would change to either '-(y)im/ım/üm/um''You are....' would change to either '-sin/sın/sün/sun'

'He/she/it is...' would change to either '-dir/dır/dür/dur' (the '-dir' may change to '-tir' according to consonant changes )

'You are...' would change to either '-siniz/sınız/sünüz/sunuz'

ExamplesFine = İyi

I am fine = İyiyim

Bad = KötüYou are bad = Kötusün

Hot = SıcakHe is hot = O sıcak

English = IngilizWe are English = Ingiliziz

Young = GençYou are young = Gençsiniz

Turkish = TürkThey are Turkish = Türktürler

'To Be...' - Negative Tenselearn-turkish@hotmail.com

This tense is quite simple to make. Simply take an word, such as 'fine' or 'tired', and add the word 'deil'. This is not a suffix, but a word on its own. Then add the same personal endings that you would

for the 'to be - positive tense '.

Examples'İyi değilim' = 'I' am not fine'

'Mutlu değilsin' = 'You are not happy''Yorgun değil' = 'He is not tired'

'Türk değiliz' = 'We are not Turkish''Yorgun değilsiniz' = 'You are not tired'

'İyi değiller' = 'They are not fine'

Past Tense

To turn this into the past tense, such as 'He was not happy', add the past suffix '-di' and then the personal ending, just like with the ' To be - positive ' tense '.

Examples'İyi değildim' = 'I was not fine'

'Mutlu değildin' = 'You were not happy'etc

Asking Questions

To turn this tense into a question, follow this formula;

word + değil + question + personal

Mutlu + değil + mi + sin= 'Mutlu değil misin?' = 'Are not happy?'

'Mutlu değil miydin?' = 'Were you not happy?'

'Yorgun değil miyim?' = 'Am I not tired?'

'Yorgun değil miydin?'= 'Were you not tired?'

'İyi değiller mi?' = 'Are they not alright?'

(For 'they', the question marker comes at the end).

Present Continuous Tense

The present continuous tense in English would be 'I am.....ing'. To form this tense, you must add the present progressive suffix '-(i)yorum' to the verb and then add the appropriate ending depending on vowel harmony.

There are 4 different endings that can be used;

if the last vowel in the verb is -

e/i - the suffix will be - '-iyorum'

a/ı - the suffix will be - '-iyorum'

o/u - the suffix will be - '-uyorum'

ö/ü - the suffix will be - '-üyorum'

If the last letter in the verb is already either 'i/ı/u/ü', just add '-yorum'. If the last letter in the verb is either 'e/a/o/ü', change it to 'i/ı/u/ü' depending on vowel harmony .

For example; 'yemek' = 'to eat'. 'I am eating' = 'yiyorum'.

'okumak' = 'to read'. 'I am reading' = 'okuyorum'.

Personal suffixes for the present progressive tense

-iyorum = i am ...ing

-iyorsun = you are ...ing (singular/familiar)

-iyor = he/she/it is ...ing

-iyoruz = we are ...ing

-iyorsunuz = you are ...ing (plural/polite)

-iyorlar = they are ...ing

Examples

To come = Gelmek

I am coming = Geliyorum

You are coming = Geliyorsun

He is coming = Geliyor

We are coming = Geliyoruz

You are coming = Geliyorsunuz

They are coming = Geliyorlar

Using other words with their suffixes, we can now make sentences.

I am walking to my house = Ev-im-e yürüyorum

I am coming from the bank = Banka-dan geliyorum

You are staying at my house = Ev-im-de kalıyorsun

What are you doing? - Ne yapıyorsun?

Where is he going? - Nereye gidiyor?

Why are they coming? - Niye geliyorlar?

Negative present progressive tense

To turn a verb into the present progressive tense, for example 'I am not going', simply add the negative suffix '-me/ma- after the verb. Then you must change it according to vowel harmony so that it becomes either -mi/mı/mu/mü-, then add the appropriate ending.

Examples

I am not coming - Gelmiyorum

You are not staying - Kalmıyorsun

He/she/it is not thinking - Düşünmüyor

They are not asking - Sormuyorlar

etc

Asking questions in the present progressive tense

Examples

Am I staying? - Kalıyor muyum?

Are you coming? - Geliyor musun?

Is he/she/it going? - Gidiyor mu?

Are we learning? - Öğreniyor muyum?

Are you walking? - Yürüyor musunuz?

Are they thinking? - Düşünüyorlar mı?

(for 'they', the question marker always comes at the end after the personal suffix).

Negative questions follow the same formula;

Are you not staying? - kalmı yor musun?

Is he not coming? - gelmiyor mu?

etcPast Continuous Tenselearn-turkish@hotmail.com

The past continuous tense is the equivalent of 'i was....ing' in English. It describes an action that was taking place in the past.

To form this tense add the following suffix onto a verb;

'-iyordum' - 'i was...'eg 'i was coming' - 'gel-iyordum'

Following the same pattern as the present continuous tense we must change parts of the ending according to vowel harmony .

If the last vowel in the verb is;

e/i - the suffix will stay '-iyordum'a/y - the suffix will become '-yordum'

o/u - the suffix will become '-uyordum'ö/ü - the suffix will become '-üyordum'

Personal endings

'-iyordum' - 'i was.....''-iyordun' - 'you were....'(singular/familiar)

'-iyordu' - 'he/she/it was.....''-iyorduk' - 'we were.....''

'-iyordunuz' - 'you were......(plural/polite)'-iyorlard' - 'they were.......'

Examples'I was going' = 'Gidiyordum'

'You were staying' = 'Kaliyordun''He was looking' = 'Bakiyordu'

'We were coming' = 'Geliyorduk''You were going' = 'Gidiyordunuz'

'They were looking' = 'Bakiyorlardi'

Negative tense

To turn this tense negative, eg 'They were not looking', we must add the negative marker'-me/ma' and change the 'e' to 'i' or the 'a' to ''.

Follow this formula;

verb + negative (mi/m) + past continuous + personal

bak + m + yordu + m = 'i was not looking'git + mi + yordu + n = 'you were not looking'

etc

Simple Present - Positive Tense

The simple present tense is the equivalent of 'I...' in English, for example 'I go', or 'I leave'. It is used to describe actions carried out regularly as well as general statements, and is sometimes used to ask a

request.

To make this tense in Turkish, we must add a suffix after this verb.

The rules to do this are;

1) If the verb ends in a vowel, simply add ‘-r. (oyna = play, oynar = plays)

2) If the verb is just 1 syllable, add ‘-er/ar’ according to vowel harmony . (koy = put, koyar = puts)

3) If the verb is 2 or more syllables, add ‘-ir/ır/ur/ür'. (konuş = speak, konuşur = speaks)

However

Most verbs that end in either ‘L’ or ‘R’ take the ‘-ir’ ending even if they are just one vowel.

Here is a list of the verbs that take this ending;

gel, al, bil, var, gör, kal, bul, öl, ver, ol, san, dur, vur

examples - 'gelir' = ' comes', 'alır' = 'takes'.

After adding the simple present suffix, we must then add the personal ending on to that accordyng to vowel harmony . They are as follows;

I..... - '....im' (or ım/um/üm)you....(singular/familiar) - '....sin' (or sın/sun/sün)

he/she/it.... - (no personal ending)we.... - '....iz' (or ız/uz/üz)

you....(plural/polite) - '....siniz' (or sınız/sunuz/sünüz)

they.... - '....ler' (or ...lar)

So, to make a present simple sentece first check if the word ends in a vowel, and then how many syllables it has and add the appropriate suffix. Then check it is not one of the words listed above that

break the rules. After that add the personal ending.

ExamplesI go = Gid-er-im

You stay - Kal-ır-sınHe/she/its puts - Koy-ar

We come - Gel-ir-izYou play - Oyna-r-sınızThey talk - Konuş-ur-lar

Asking questions with the simple present tense

To turn this tense into a question, eg ‘do you go’, add the question marker ‘-mi’ before the personal ending and change according to vowel harmony.

ExamplesDo I read? - Okur muyum ?Do you go? - Gider misin ?Does he stay? - Kalır mı?

Do we think? - Düşünür müyüz ?Do you suppose? - Sanır mısınız ?

Do they come? - Gelirler mi ? (to say 'do they...?', the question marker always comes after the personal ending).

Simple Present - Negative Tense

To make the simple present tense into a negative sentence in Turkish, eg ‘i do not go’, add the following endings onto the verb;

-mem - i don’t....-mezsin - you don’t...(singular/familiar)

-mez - he/she/it doesn’t...-meyiz - we don’t...

-mezsiniz - you don’t...(plural/polite)-mezler - they don’t....

(change the vowels in the suffix according to vowel harmony , eg ‘-mam‘, '-mayız', 'mazlar')

Examples

‘Gelmem’ = ‘I don’t come’‘Gitmezsin’ = ‘You don’t go’‘Kalmaz’ = He doesn’t stay’

etc

Asking questions in the negative simple present tense

To ask a question in this tense, add '-mez/maz' after the verb and then add the question marker with the personal ending.

Examples

Gelmez miyim? - Do i not come?Kalmaz mısn? - Do you (singular/familiar) not stay?

Gitmez mi? - Does he not go?Kalmaz mıyız? - Do we not stay?

Gelmez misiniz? - Do you (plural/polite) not come?Okumazlar mı? - Do they not read? *

* (as always with questions, the third personal plural is different and the question marker is always at the end of the sentence, after the suffix)

Simple Past Tenselearn-turkish@hotmail.com

The past tense in Turkish is used in exactly the same way as the past tense in English, which is to express actions done, such as 'I went' and 'I saw'. The suffix used to create this tense is

'-di'

To create a sentence in the simple past tense, follow these rules;

1) Take a verb, such as 'kalmak' - 'to stay' or 'gelmek' - 'to come', and remove the 'mek/mak' leaving just the verb base.

Example -' kalmak' - 'to stay', 'kal' - 'stay'

2) After the verb, add the past simple suffix '-di'. This will change according to vowel harmony , becoming either;

-di / -dı / -dü / -du

(If the last letter in the verb is either k/p/ç/t then the 'd' will become 't' eg '-ti'/'-tu' etc due to consonant changes )

Examplesye = eat, yedi = ate

kal = stay, kaldı = stayedgör = see, gördü = saw

git = go, gitti = went

ExamplesI came = Gel-di-m

You saw = Gör-dü-nShe looked = Bak-tıWe went = Git-ti-k

You put = Koy-du-nuzThey stayed - Kal-dı-lar

Click here to test your Turkish for 'simple past tense' with questions and answers.

I ....m

You (singular/familiar) ....n

He/She/It (no personal ending)

We ....k

You (plural/polite) ....niz (or 'nız'/'nüz'/'nuz')

They ....ler (or 'lar')

Negative Simple Past Tense

To make the past tense into a negative sentence, eg 'I did not stay', use this formula;

verb + -me/ma + past suffix + personal ending

Examplesgel + me + di + m = gelmedim = i did not comekal + ma + dı + n = kalmadın = you did not stay

gör + me + di = görmedi = he did not see

(If you want to give special emphasis to the fact that you (not someone else) did something, simply add the personal pronoun before the verb, eg 'I stayed here, you didn't stay' = 'Ben burada kaldım,

sen kalmadın').

Asking questions in the past tense

To ask a question in the past tense, simply add the question marker '-mi?' after the sentence and change it to either '-mi/mı/mü/mu' depending on vowel harmony.

Examplesgeldim mi? = did I come?

gördün mü? = did you see?

koymadım mı? = did I not put?gitmedik mi? = did we not go?

Future Tenselearn-turkish@hotmail.com

The suffix to say 'I will...' is 'Ben ...(y)eceğim'

Just like with the present tense and the future tense, the ending will change according to vowel harmony.

If the last vowel in the verb is e/i/ö/ü, then the suffix will be '-(y)eceim'If the last vowel in the verb is a/ı/o/u, then the suffix will be '(y)acağım'

(the 'y' in the bracket is only used if the last letter in the verb is a vowel.)

(to emphasise the sentence, eg 'I will go, you will not', add the personal pronoun before the verb eg 'ben gideğim, sen gitmeyeceksin')

Personal endings

I will... = '...(y)eceğim' or '...(y)acağım'You will...(singular/familiar) = '...(y)eceksin' or '...(y)acaksın'

He/She/It will... = '...(y)ecek' or '...(y)acak'We will... = '(y)eceğiz' or '...(y)acağız'

You will...(plural/polite) = '...(y)eceksiniz' or '...(y)acaksınız'They will... = '...(y)ecekler' or '...(y)acaklar'

ExamplesCome - Gel

I will come - Geleceğim

Be - OlYou will be - Olacaksın

Drink - İçHe will drink - İçecek

Want - İsteWe will want - İsteyeceğiz

Walk - YürüYou will walk - Yürüyeceksiniz

Jump - AtlaThey will jump - Atlayacaklar

Future negative tense

To make the future negative tense, simply add '-me/ma' after the verb then add the appropriate personal ending.

ExamplesI will not come - Gel - me - yeceğim

You will not jump - Atla - ma - yacaksın

etc

Asking questions in the future tense

We add the question marker '-mi' (or 'mı/mü/mu) after the future suffix to make a sentence into a question.

To ask a positive question in the future tense, you must follow this formula;

verb + future suffix + mi +personal ending

ExamplesGel + ecek + mi + yim = Gelecek miyim? = Will I come?Otur + acak + mı + sın = Oturacak mısın? = Will you sit?

İç + ecek + mi = İçecek mi? = will he drink?Gel + me + yecek misin? = Will you not come?

etc

(to say 'will they...?', the question marker '-mi' always comes at the end of the sentence after the personal ending

ExampleGel-ecek-ler mi? = Will they come?

Possessionlearn-turkish@hotmail.com

In Turkish, possession is shown by adding a suffix onto the noun. Possissive adjectives before the noun can also be used, but are mostly used for special emphasis. However, it is very important that these

are learnt because it can make learning the suffixes easier.

These adjectives are :

Benim - MySenin - Your (familiar or singular)

Onun - His/her/ItsBizim - Our

Sizin - Your (formal or plural)Onların - Their

Suffixes

Following vowel harmony , the suffixes change depending on what the last vowel was. This table shows which suffix should be used for which vowels, for example if the noun is 'el' (hand), the last vowel is an

'e' and therefore 'my hand' would be 'elim'.

The letters in brackets are only used if the last letter is a consonant, apart from 'onun-his/her/its' where the 's/ş ' is used if the last letter is a vowel.

Examples

Look at the table and see if you can work out how these suffixes fit with the nouns.

My car - (Benim) ArabamYour house - (Senin) Evin

His garden - (Onun) BahçesiOur friend - (Bizim) Arkadaşımız

Your mother - (Sizin) AnnenizTheir cat - (Onların) Kedileri

For some words, adding a suffix starting with a vowel changes the last consonant of a noun. These letters that change are k-g, p-b, and ç-c. So, for the word 'köpek' (dog), 'My dog' would become 'Benim köpeğim'. For the word 'Dolap' (cupboard), 'Your cupboard' would become 'Senin dolabın'. Click here

for more detail on consonant changes.

If the noun is a plural, the possessive suffix always comes after the plural suffix, for example 'my cars' would be 'Benim araba-lar-ım’.

How To Express Needlearn-turkish@hotmail.com

Just like in English, there are a number of ways to express need in Turkish, such as 'I need to.....', 'I have to.....' and 'I must......'.

'Meli' = 'Must'To make a sentence using this word, such as 'I must go', you must follow this formula;

verb + -meli/mal- + personal 'to be' suffix

ExamplesGit + meli + yim = gitmeliyim = I must go

Gel + meli + sin = gelmelisin = You (singular/familiar) must comeGelmeli = He/she/it must come

Gelmeliyiz = We must comeGelmelisiniz = You (plural/polite) must come

Gelmeliler = They must come

'Lazım' = 'Have to'To make a sentence using this word, such as 'i have to go' in Turkish, you must follow this formula;

verb + -me/ma- + personal possessive suffix + 'lazm'

ExamplesGit + me + m + lazım = 'Gitmem lazım' = 'I have to go'

Gel + me + n + lazım = 'Gelmen lazım' = 'You have to come'Kal + ma + mız + lazım = 'Kalmamız lazım' = 'We have to stay'

To make these sentences into negative questions in Turkish, such as 'I don't have to go', add 'değil' after 'lazım'

ExamplesGitmem lazım değil = I don't have to go

Olman lazım değil = You don't have to be

In order to express a need for yourself or someone else, the person or thing who is in need takes the dative suffix '-(y)e/a'.

ExamplesBana araba lazım = I need a car

Sana para lazım = You need moneySana araba lazım mı? = Do you need a car?

'Gerek' can be used instead of 'lazım' to express a need, however it is used differently than 'Lazım' as it is used in the present continuous tense.

ExamplesGelmem gerekiyor = I have to come

Gelmem gerekmiyor = I don't have to comeOlman gerekiyor = You have to be

~ Basic Turkish ~Important Info

Info For Beginners

Alphabet / Pronounciation

Basic Information

~ Grammar ~Essentials

Vowel Harmony 1

Vowel Harmony 2

Consonant Changes

Suffixes

Plurals

Personal Pronouns

~ Grammar ~Tenses

' To Be ' - Positive

' To Be ' - Negative

Present Continuous Tense

Past Continuous Tense

Simple Present - Positive

Simple Present - Negative

Simple Past Tense

Future Tense

~ Grammar ~Other

Possession

Express Need

' There is / There isn ' t ..'

' I can / I can ' t ...'

' Let ...'

' If ...'

' Apparently ...'

Telling The Time

~ Useful ~

Information

Useful Words

Useful Verbs

Useful Phrases

Numbers

Days , Weeks and Months

Turkish Slang

~ Other ~

Learning Tips

Worksheets

About Me

Links

There Is.../There Isn't...learn-turkish@hotmail.com

'There is...'- To say 'there is....', or to say that something exists we use the word 'var' after the word.

'There isn't...'- To say 'there is....' or to say that something doesn't exist we use the word 'yok' after the word.

Examples

araba var = there is a carodada bir masa var = there is a table in the room

kedi yok = there isn't a catmasada bir kitap yok = there isn't a book on the table

We can also use the words 'var' and 'yok' to show that we have something. We do this by adding the word after a possessive sentence.

The literal translation into English of this would be 'my ...... exists' or 'my ...... doesn't exist'.

Exampleskedi = cat

kedim = my catbenim kedim var = i have a cat (my cat exists)

senin evin var = you have a houseonun araba yok = he doesn't have a car

'There was../There wasn't..'

To say 'there was.....' or 'there wasn't.....', we must use 'var' or 'yok' in the past tense by adding the past suffix '-di'. This will then change to vowel harmony to become;

'vardı' and 'yoktu'

Examples

araba vardı = there was a cararaba yoktu = there wasn't a car

Questions with Var/Yok

To ask a question, for example 'is there a car?', we must add the question marker.

'.....var mı?' = 'is there......?''.......yok mu?' = 'isn't there.......?'

Examplesis there a car? = araba var mı?

is there not a car? = araba yok mu?bahçede kedi var mı? = is there a cat in the garden?

senin kedin var mı? = do you have a cat?onun kalem yok mu? = doesn't he have a pen?

'Can.../Can't...'Yet again, a suffix is used to express this tense in Turkish. This suffix depends on vowel harmony just

like the others.

If the last letter in a verb is;

e/i/ö/ü - the suffix is '-(y)ebilir'a/ı/o/u - the suffix is '-(y)abilir'

The (y) is only used if the last letter in the verb is a vowel.

The only letter in the suffix which changes with vowel harmony is the 'e/a', '-bilir' will always stay the same.

Examples

gidebilir - it can goyapabilir - it can do

yürüyebilir - it can walkanlayabilir - it can understand

To make these into personal sentences, for example 'I can go', or 'You can stay', we must then add a personal suffix. These are the same as the 'To Be ' personal suffixes;

'I can...' - '...ebilirim''You can...' (singular/familiar) - '....ebilirsin'

'He/She/It can...' - '...ebilir''We can...' - '...ebiliriz'

'You can...'(plural/polite) - '...ebilirsiniz''They can...' - '...ebilirler'

Examples

I can go - gidebilirimYou can stay - kalabilirsin

It can be - olabilirWe can play - oynayabiliriz

You can write - yazabilirsinizThey can walk - yürüyebilirler

'Can't...'

To say 'I can't...' in Turkish, we add a different suffix to the verb.The suffix is;

e/i/ö/ü - the suffix is '-(y)eme'a/ı/o/u - the suffix is '-(y)ama'

Again, the (y) is only used if the last letter in the verb is a vowel.

Then we must add the personal endings.

With the exception of 'I' and 'We', the personal endings all begin with '-(y)emez'/'-(y)amaz' and then have the same personal endings as the 'To Be' tense.

'You can't...' (singular/familiar) - '...(y)emezsin' or '...(y)amazsın''He/She/It can't...' - '...(y)emez' or '...(y)amaz'

'You can't...' (plural/polite) - '...(y)emezsiniz' or '...(y)amazsınız''They can't...' - '...(y)emezler' or '...(y)amazlar'

'I can't...' - '...(y)emem' or '...(y)amam''We can't...'- '...(y)emeyiz' or '...(y)amayız'

Examples

I can't go - gelememYou can't stay - kalamazsın

It can't give - veremezWe can't walk - yürüyemeyiz

You can't say - soyleyemezsinizThey can't do - yapamazlar

'Let's...'

To say 'Let's....', two suffixes need to be added onto the verb base.

1) The first suffix is '-(y)e/a-' (the 'y' is only used if the last letter is a vowel)

2) The second suffix is the personal ending.

* For he/she/it, there are two choices.Either;

The first suffix '-(y)e/a' is used and no personal ending e.g gel-e (let him go)or

The first suffix is left out and just the personal ending is used e.g gel-sin (let him go)

** 'They' is similar; either gel-e-ler or gel-sinler is used.

ExamplesLet me come - gel-e-yimLet me take - al-a-yım

Let you come - gel-e-sinLet him come - gel-e or gel-sin

Let's come- gel-e-limLet you come - gel-siniz

Let them come - gel-sinler or gel-e-ler

This suffix can be used for a number of meanings. The most common meaning is 'let's...' or 'let me....'.

However it can also be used with questions to mean 'shall i....'. To make a question out of it, simply add the question marker -'mi' and change accordingly with vowel harmony.

examplesshall i come = gel-e-yim mi?

shall we wait = bekle-ye-lim mi?etc

(second suffix below)

Let me...

Let you..(singular/familiar)

Let him/her/it

Let's

Let you...(plural/polite)

Let them...

...(y)im

...sin

...sin *

...lim

...siniz

...sinler or ...ler **

'If...'

A suffix is added on to a verb to express the English word 'If'. The suffix is;

'-se/sa'

(see vowel harmony to know which to use)

The word 'eser' is sometimes used at the start of a conditional sentence and simply means 'if', but this doesn't have to be used as the suffix will show it is a conditional sentence.

The formula to make this tense is;

verb + -se/sa + personal ending

It takes the same personal endings as the past tense which are;

I ....m

You (singular/familiar) ....n

He/She/It (no personal ending)

We ....k

You (plural/polite) ....niz (or 'nız'/'nüz'/'nuz')

They ....ler (or 'lar')

examples

verb + -se/sa + personal ending

gel + se + m = if i comeoku + sa + n = if you come

bil + se = if he knowsgit + se + k = if we go

anla + sa + nız = if you understandoku + sa + lar = if they read

This can also be used with the present continuous tense

examples

verb + present continuous + -se/sa + personal

gel + iyor + sa + n = geliyorsan = if you are comingoku + yor + sa + m = okuyorsam = if i am reading

gel + mi + yor + sa + n = gelmiyorsan = if you are not comingetc

It can also be used with 'var' and 'yok';

'varsa' = 'if there is....''yoksa' = 'if there isn't'

examples

araba varsan = if there is a carpara yoksa = if there is no money

The conditional tense can also be used with the 'to be' tense. It uses the same personal endings but if placed after a vowel, you must change it into 'yse/ysa'.

exampleshastaysam = if i am ill

yorgunsan = if you are tiredmutluysak = if we are happy

iyi değilsen = if you are not alrightetc

'Apparently...'

In English, when we want to express the fact that something has reportedly happened but the speaker didn't actually see it first hand, we use the word 'apparently', for example 'apparently he didn't go to

school'.

In Turkish, a suffix is used (suprise!) to express this. This suffix is;

'-miş'

Vowel harmony applies to this too, so it can become either 'miş/mış/müsş/muş' depending on what the last vowel was.

We must then add the personal ending onto this suffix, these are;

I = '-im'You = '-sin'

He/she/it = (no personal ending)We = '-iz'

You = '-siniz'They = 'ler/lar'

(don't forget to change it according to vowel harmony)

This suffix can be used with many tenses, such as;

the past tense (add -miş to verb)'apparently they did' = 'yapmışlar'

'apparently he went' = 'gitmiş'

The 'to be' tense (add -(y)miş + 'to be' personal endings)'apparently he is ill' = 'hastaymış''apparently i am fine' = 'iyimişim'

'apparently you were not fine' = 'iyi değilmişin'

The present continuous tense'apparently he is going' = 'gidiyormuş'

The future tense'apparently she will come' = 'gelecekmiş'

The present simple tense'apparently you go' = 'gidermişin'

'Telling The Time'

To ask 'what is the time?' in Turkish, we must say 'saat kaç?'.

It is 2 o'clock - saat iki

It is 5 o'clock - saat beşIt is 11 o'clock - saat on bir

Past the hour -

To tell the time past the hour, the hour comes first followed by either -(y)i/ı/u/ü depending on vowel harmony. (The -(y) is only added if the last letter is a vowel). Then add the minutes, then 'geçiyor'.

To say 'quarter past...', simply put 'çeyrek' (quarter) where the minutes would go.

The formula for telling the time 'past the hour' therefore is;

saat + hour + -(y)i + minute + geçiyor

examples

saat + hour + -(y)i + minute + geçiyorsaat beşi on geçiyor (10 past 5)

saat üç ü yirmi beş geçiyor (25 past 3)saat on ikiyi çeyrek geçiyor (quarter past 12)

To the hour

To tell the time to the hour, the hour comes first followed by either '-(y)e/a' depending on vowel harmony. (The -(y) is only added if the last letter is a vowel again). Then add the minutes, then 'var'.

Once again, to say 'quarter to', put 'çeyrek' (quarter) where the minutes would go.

The formula for telling to time 'to the hour' therefore is;

saat + -(y)e/a + minute + var

examplessaat + hour + -e/a + minute + var

saat yediye yirmi var (20 to 7)saat on bire be var (5 to 11)

saat dokuza çeyrek var (quarter to 9)

Half past

To say 'half past....' add 'buçuk' after the hour.

exampleshalf past 4 - dört buçukhalf past 10 - on buçuk

half past 12 - yarım (simply meaning 'half', this is used for 'half past 12')

To say 'at' a certain time such as 'at half 8', the same formulas are used but with a different ending.

The formula for 'at...past...' is;

hour + -(y)i + minute +geçe

examplesaltı on geçe = at 10 past 6

ikiyi çeyrek geçe = at quarter past 2

The formula for 'at....to...' is;

hour +-(y)a/e +minute + kala

examplesdokuza be kala = at 5 to 9

sekize çeyrek kala = at quarter to 8

at 8 o'clock = sekizdeat half 4 = dört buçukta

Food and Drink

lettuce - marulcucumber - salatalık parsley - maydanoz potato - patatesonion - soğancabbage - lahanamushroom - mantarsalad - salatagarlic - sarımsakorange - portakolcarrots - havuçgrapes - üzümlemon - limonwatermelon - karpuztomato - domatespear - armutbeer - birawater - suwine - şarapcoke - kolamilk - sütcoffee - kahvetea - çaysugar - şekerbread - ekmekegg - yumurtaflour - unsalt - tuzbutter - tereyacheese - peynirbanana - muzapple - elmasoup - çorbabiscuits - bisküvichicken - tavuk

chocolate - çikolatafish - balıkyoghurt - yoğurtrice - pirinçpepper - biberhoney - baljam - reçelpasta - makarnaplate - tabakbottle - şişespoon - kağıkfork - çatalknife - biçak

Home and Objects

cupboard - dolapchair - koltuktable - masashower - duşbathtub - küvettap - muslukcandle - mumpillow - yastıkkey - anahtarmirror - aynaradio - radyotelevision - televizyonroom - odastairs - merdivenwall - duvarroof - çatıdoor - kapıwindow - penceregarden - bahçehouse - evgarage - garajkitchen - mutfakliving room - oturma odasıdining room - yemek odasıbedroom - yatak odasıbathroom - banyotoilet - tuvalet

Body Parts

cheek - yanakneck - boyunleg - bacakfoot - ayakarm - kollip - dudakeye - göz

ear - kulakhair - saçhead - başnose - buruntooth - dişfinger - parmakstomach - mide

Colours

red - krmzbrown - kahverengiorange - portakalyellow - sargreen - yeilblue - mavipink - pembepurple - morblack - siyahgrey - griwhite - beyaz

Verbs

to kiss - öpmekto marry - evlenmek

to go - gitmekto come - gelmekto stay - kalmakto do - yapmak

to meet - buluşmaktopay - ödemekto put - koymakto sell - satmakto eat - yemek

to read - okumakto speak - konuşmak

to say - demekto live - yaşamakto walk - yürümekto love - sevmekto see - görmek

to send - göndermekto sleep - uyumak

to learn - öğrenmekto teach - öğretmekto think - düşünmekto begin - başlamak

to drink - içmekto buy - almak

Opposites

cheap - ucuzexpensive - pahalı

old - eskinew - yeni

good - iyibad - kötü

early - erkenlate - geç

heavy - ağırlight - hafif

open - açıkshut - kapalı

short - kısatall - uzun

full - doluempty - boş

easy - kolaydifficult - zor

big - büyüksmall - küçük

hot - sıcakcold - soğuk

near - yakınfar - uzak

old - ihtiyaryoung - genç

Personality Traits

good - iyibad - kötü

funny - komikboring - sıkıcıquiet - suskunshy - utangaçstupid - aptalangry - kızgınserious - ciddilazy - tembel

cheeky - yüzsüzgreat - harikasweet - tatlı

kind - nazıkbeautiful - güzel

ugly - çirkinhandsome - yakışıklı

Phrases

yes - evetno - hayırok - tamamplease - lütfenthank you - teekkür ederimthanks - teşekküleryou're welcome (response to thank you) - birşey değilsorry - özür dilerimexcuse me - affedersinizhello - merhabahi - selamgood morning - günaydıngood afternoon - tünaydıngood evening - iyi akşamlargood night - iyi gecelergood day - iyi günlergoodbye - hoşça kalın/güle gülesee you - görüsürüzsee you later - sonra görüsürüztoday - bugüntomorrow - yarınyesturday - dünhow are you? - nasılsın?how is it going? - nasıl gidiyor?i'm fine - iyiyimnice to meet you - memnum oldumi am english - ben ingilizimi don't speak turkish - türkçe bilmiyorumi don't understand - anlamıyorumi understand - anlıyorumi am learning turkish - türkçe öğreniyorumdo you speak english? - ingilizce biliyor musunuz?where is .....? - .....nerede?when? - ne zaman?why? - neden?how? - nasıl?what? - ne?which? - hangi?what is your name? - adınız ne?my name is ...... - adım .....

For your lover (I know how charming them Turkish boys can be!)

i love you - seni seviyorumi love you too - bende seni seviyorum

do you love me? - beni seviyor musun?i miss you - seni özledim

i need you - bana sen lazımsınwill you marry me? - benimle evlenir misin?

i fell in love - aşık oldumkiss me! - öp beni!

you are beautiful - sen güzelsinyou are sexy - sen seksisin

you are handsome - sen yakışıklısıni want to kiss you - seni öpmek istiyorum

my love - aşkımmy darling - sevgilimsweetheart - tatlım

honey - balımmy angel - meleğimmy baby - bebeğim

my life/darling - canım

Numbers1 - 10

zero - sıfırone - birtwo - iki

three - üçfour - dörtfive - beşsix - altı

seven - yedieight - sekiznine - dokuz

ten - on

11 - 19

eleven - on birtwelve - on iki

thirteen - on üçfourteen - on dört

fifteen - on beşsixteen - on altı

seventeen - on yedieighteen - on sekiznineteen - on dokuz

Ordinals

(simply add -(i)nci/(ü)ncü/ etc onto the number depending on vowel harmony)

1st - ilk/birinci2nd - ikinci

3rd - üçüncü4th - dördüncü5th - beşinci6th - altncı

7th - yedinci8th - sekizinci

9th - dokuzuncu10th - onuncu

100 +

one hundred - yüzone hundred and one - yüz bir

two hundred - iki yüz

one thousand - bintwo thousand - iki bin

one hundred thousand - yüz bin

one milion - bir milyon20 - 99

twenty - yirmitwenty one - yirmi birtwenty two - yirmi iki

(the rest follow the same pattern)

thirty - otuzthirty one - otuz bir

forty - kırkforty one - kırk bir

fifty - ellififty one - elli bir

sixty - altmışsixty one - altmış bir

seventy - yetmişseventy one - yetmiş bir

eighty - sekseneighty one - seksen bir

eighty - sekseneighty one - seksen bir

ninety - doksanninety one - doksan bir

Days, Months and Seasons

Days

Sunday - Pazar

Monday - Pazartesi

Tuesday - Salı

Wednesday - Çarsamba

Thursday - Perşembe

Friday - Cuma

Saturday - Cumartesi

Months

January - Ocak

February - Şubat

March - Mart

April - Nisan

May - Mayıs

June - Hazıran

July - Temmuz

August - Ağustos

September - Eylül

October - Ekim

November - Kasım

December - Aralık

Seasons

Spring - İlkbahar

Summer - Yaz

Autumn - Sonbahar

Winter - Kış

Turkish Slang

When learning another language it's important to make sure you learn at least a little bit of slang, otherwise you won't have a clue what some people are talking about!

Here is a list of some Turkish slang and the English translation;

Turkish Slang English Translation

napiyorsun?

ne haber/naber

ne var ne yok

lan

bana ne

sana ne

fistik

salak

defol

valla?

vallahi

demi

hadi ya!

what are you doing?

what's up

what's up

son/mate

i don't care/what's it to me

what's it to you/none of your business

pretty girl

idiot

get lost

really?

believe me

isn't it

come off it!

MSN/Text Turkish Slang!

If you talk to Turkish people on MSN or other messenger services, these might come in handy!

MSN Turkish Slang English Translation

slm

mrb

naber/nbr

yaş kaç?

tsk

sağol

kib

muck muck

hi

hello

what's up

how old are you?

thanks

thanks

take care

kiss kiss