Greetings and polite phrases
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| merhaba | hello | MEHR-hah-bah | Merhaba, nasılsın?Hello, how are you? |
| güle güle | goodbye (said to the one leaving) | gew-LEH gew-LEH | Güle güle, görüşürüz.Goodbye, see you soon. |
| teşekkür ederim | thank you | teh-shek-KEWR eh-deh-rim | Teşekkür ederim, çok naziksiniz.Thank you, you are very kind. |
| özür dilerim | sorry | UH-zewr dee-leh-rim | Özür dilerim, geç kaldım.Sorry, I'm late. |
| lütfen | please | LEWT-fen | Lütfen bana yardım edin.Please help me. |
| evet | yes | eh-VET | Evet, anladım.Yes, I understand. |
| hayır | no | HAH-yuhr | Hayır, teşekkürler.No, thank you. |
| günaydın | good morning | gew-NIGH-duhn | Günaydın, nasıl uyudun?Good morning, how did you sleep? |
| iyi geceler | good night | ee-YEE geh-jeh-ler | İyi geceler, tatlı rüyalar.Good night, sweet dreams. |
| memnun oldum | nice to meet you | mem-NOON ol-dum | Memnun oldum, ben Ayşe.Nice to meet you, I'm Ayşe. |
Numbers
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| bir | one | BEER | Bir elmam var.I have one apple. |
| iki | two | ee-KEE | İki kardeşim var.I have two siblings. |
| üç | three | EWCH | Üç dakika bekledik.We waited three minutes. |
| dört | four | DUHRT | Bu masada dört sandalye var.This table has four chairs. |
| beş | five | BESH | Saat beş oldu.It's five o'clock. |
| altı | six | al-TUH | Altıda kalkıyorum.I wake up at six. |
| yedi | seven | yeh-DEE | Ders yedide başlıyor.Class starts at seven. |
| sekiz | eight | seh-KEEZ | Dükkan sekizde kapanıyor.The shop closes at eight. |
| dokuz | nine | doh-KOOZ | Saat dokuzda yatıyorum.I go to bed at nine. |
| on | ten | ON | On parmağım var.I have ten fingers. |
| yirmi | twenty | yeer-MEE | O yirmi yaşında.She is twenty years old. |
| yüz | one hundred | YEWZ | Bu kitapta yüz sayfa var.This book has one hundred pages. |
Colors
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| kırmızı | red | kuhr-muh-ZUH | Araba kırmızı.The car is red. |
| mavi | blue | mah-VEE | Gökyüzü mavi.The sky is blue. |
| yeşil | green | yeh-SHEEL | Yapraklar yeşil.The leaves are green. |
| sarı | yellow | sah-RUH | Güneş sarı.The sun is yellow. |
| beyaz | white | beh-YAHZ | Gömleğim beyaz.My shirt is white. |
| siyah | black | see-YAH | Kedi siyah.The cat is black. |
| mor | purple | MOR | O moru sever.She likes purple. |
| pembe | pink | pem-BEH | Çiçek pembe.The flower is pink. |
| turuncu | orange | too-roon-JOO | Portakal turuncu.The orange is orange-colored. |
| kahverengi | brown | kah-veh-ren-GEE | Masa kahverengi.The table is brown. |
Family
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| aile | family | eye-LEH | Ailem dört kişi.My family has four people. |
| baba | father | bah-BAH | Babam doktor.My father is a doctor. |
| anne | mother | an-NEH | Annem çok iyi yemek yapar.My mother cooks very well. |
| abi | older brother | ah-BEE | Abim üniversitede okuyor.My older brother studies at university. |
| kız kardeş | sister | KUHZ kar-desh | Kız kardeşim küçük.My sister is little. |
| çocuk | child | choh-JOOK | Onların iki çocuğu var.They have two children. |
| dede | grandfather | deh-DEH | Dedem çok sağlıklı.My grandfather is very healthy. |
| anneanne | grandmother (mother's side) | an-neh-an-NEH | Anneannem güzel hikayeler anlatır.My grandmother tells nice stories. |
| eş | spouse | ESH | Eşi öğretmen.His spouse is a teacher. |
| kardeş | sibling | kar-DESH | İki kardeşim var.I have two siblings. |
Food and drink
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ekmek | bread | ek-MEK | Her gün ekmek yerim.I eat bread every day. |
| su | water | SOO | Bir bardak su alabilir miyim?Can I have a glass of water? |
| çay | tea | CHAI | Türkler çok çay içer.Turks drink a lot of tea. |
| kahve | coffee | kah-VEH | Türk kahvesi çok koyu.Turkish coffee is very strong. |
| peynir | cheese | pay-NEER | Kahvaltıda peynir yerim.I eat cheese for breakfast. |
| et | meat | ET | O et yemez.He doesn't eat meat. |
| balık | fish | bah-LUHK | Akşam yemeğinde balık yeriz.We eat fish for dinner. |
| sebze | vegetable | SEB-zeh | Bol sebze yerim.I eat a lot of vegetables. |
| meyve | fruit | may-VEH | Meyve sağlık için iyidir.Fruit is good for health. |
| aç | hungry | AACH | Çok açım.I am very hungry. |
| lezzetli | delicious | lez-ZET-lee | Bu yemek çok lezzetli.This food is very delicious. |
Time and days
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| bugün | today | boo-GEWN | Bugün hava güzel.Today the weather is nice. |
| yarın | tomorrow | yah-RUHN | Yarın işe gideceğim.Tomorrow I will go to work. |
| dün | yesterday | DEWN | Dün çok meşguldüm.Yesterday I was very busy. |
| şimdi | now | SHEEM-dee | Saat şimdi kaç?What time is it now? |
| pazartesi | Monday | pah-zar-teh-SEE | Pazartesi okula gidiyorum.On Monday I go to school. |
| pazar | Sunday | pah-ZAR | Pazar günü ailem dinlenir.On Sunday my family rests. |
| sabah | morning | sah-BAH | Sabah spor yaparım.I exercise in the morning. |
| akşam | evening | ak-SHAHM | Akşam yemeği yeriz.We eat dinner in the evening. |
| hafta | week | haf-TAH | Bir haftada yedi gün var.A week has seven days. |
| ay | month | AI | Bu ay çok yoğun.This month is very busy. |
Common verbs
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| gitmek | to go | geet-MEK | Her gün okula giderim.I go to school every day. |
| yemek | to eat | yeh-MEK | Hadi yemek yiyelim.Let's eat. |
| içmek | to drink | eech-MEK | Ne içmek istersin?What do you want to drink? |
| uyumak | to sleep | oo-yoo-MAK | Saat onda uyurum.I sleep at ten o'clock. |
| öğrenmek | to learn | uh-ren-MEK | Türkçe öğreniyorum.I am learning Turkish. |
| çalışmak | to work | chah-luhsh-MAK | Babam şehirde çalışıyor.My father works in the city. |
| konuşmak | to speak | koh-noosh-MAK | İngilizce konuşuyor musun?Do you speak English? |
| görmek | to see | gur-MEK | Seni görmek istiyorum.I want to see you. |
| almak | to buy, take | al-MAK | Yeni bir gömlek almak istiyorum.I want to buy a new shirt. |
| sevmek | to like, love | sev-MEK | Müziği seviyorum.I like music. |
Adjectives
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| güzel | beautiful | gew-ZEL | O çok güzel.She is very beautiful. |
| kötü | bad | kuh-TEW | Bugün hava kötü.The weather is bad today. |
| büyük | big | bew-YEWK | Fil çok büyük.The elephant is very big. |
| küçük | small | kew-CHEWK | Bu kedi çok küçük.This cat is very small. |
| hızlı | fast | huhz-LUH | O çok hızlı koşuyor.He runs very fast. |
| yavaş | slow | yah-VASH | Otobüs çok yavaş gidiyor.The bus goes very slowly. |
| yeni | new | yeh-NEE | Yeni bir arabam var.I have a new car. |
| eski | old (for things) | es-KEE | Bu ev çok eski.This house is very old. |
| mutlu | happy | moot-LOO | Bugün çok mutluyum.Today I am very happy. |
| üzgün | sad | ewz-GEWN | O çok üzgün görünüyor.She looks very sad. |
Question words
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ne | what | NEH | Adın ne?What is your name? |
| kim | who | KEEM | Bu kim?Who is this? |
| nerede | where | neh-reh-DEH | Tuvalet nerede?Where is the bathroom? |
| ne zaman | when | neh zah-MAN | Ne zaman geliyorsun?When are you coming? |
| neden | why | neh-DEN | Neden üzgünsün?Why are you sad? |
| nasıl | how | nah-SUHL | Bu nasıl yenir?How do you eat this? |
| kaç | how much, how many | KACH | Bu kaç lira?How much is this? |
| hangi | which | han-GEE | Hangisini seviyorsun?Which one do you like? |
Travel and directions
| Turkish | English | Say it | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| havaalanı | airport | hah-vah-ah-lah-NUH | Havaalanı şehir merkezinden uzak.The airport is far from the city center. |
| otel | hotel | oh-TEL | Denize yakın bir otelde kalıyoruz.We are staying at a hotel near the sea. |
| tren istasyonu | train station | tren ees-tas-yo-NOO | Tren istasyonu buraya yakın.The train station is near here. |
| sol | left | SOL | Kavşakta sola dön.Turn left at the intersection. |
| sağ | right | SAH | Düz git, sonra sağa dön.Go straight, then turn right. |
| düz | straight | DEWZ | Beş dakika düz git.Go straight for five minutes. |
| uzak | far | oo-ZAK | Pazar evime çok uzak.The market is very far from my house. |
| yakın | near | yah-KUHN | Okul evime yakın.The school is near my house. |
| bilet | ticket | bee-LET | Tren bileti almam lazım.I need to buy a train ticket. |
| pasaport | passport | pah-sah-PORT | Pasaportunu unutma.Don't forget your passport. |
Study tips for Turkish
- Turkish uses vowel harmony, so suffixes change their vowels to match the last vowel in a word, which makes endings feel predictable once you notice the pattern.
- Stress usually falls on the last syllable of a word in Turkish, which is a good default rule when you are unsure how to pronounce a new term.
- Turkish has no grammatical gender, so words like o (he, she, it) don't change based on the person's gender, which simplifies vocabulary building.
- Learn the Turkish letters that don't exist in English, such as ı, ğ, ş and ç, since they change pronunciation and meaning significantly.
- Practice greetings first, since Turkish has different polite forms depending on formality, and getting these right makes a strong first impression.
Frequently asked questions
How do you say hello in Turkish?
Hello in Turkish is merhaba, a friendly greeting used at any time of day with people you know well or have just met.
Is Turkish grammar difficult for beginners?
Turkish grammar is regular and logical once you learn vowel harmony and suffix patterns, though its subject-object-verb sentence order differs from English and takes practice.
What are the most useful Turkish words to learn first?
Beginners benefit most from greetings, numbers, question words like ne (what) and nerede (where), and common verbs such as gitmek (to go) and yemek (to eat), all covered on this page.