LANGUAGE
Learn some Turkish when you travel to Turkey and your trip will be much better. Luckily, simple Turkish is fairly easy to learn because Turkish is a logical, phonetic language.
All students in Turkish schools study English, and some even learn it. French, German and Arabic are also taught (and sometimes learned).
In tourist areas, local tourism personnel may study Greek, Finnish, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Spanish-whatever language a significant number of visitors may speak. But you'll get the most out of your trip if you know a bit of Turkish, too.
100 Most Useful Words in Turkish
Lesson 1: Greetings!
Hello, good morning, goodbye, what's your name, how are you...
Turkish Lesson 1, Greetings! Here are your first ten words of Turkish. You can learn them in just a few minutes today and you'll use them every day-several times-during your travels in Turkey:
| 1 | Hello | Merhaba | MEHR-hah-bah |
| 2 | Good morning, good day | Günaydın | gew-nahy-DUHN |
| 3 | Good evening | Ä°yi akÅŸamlar | EE ahk-shahm-LAHR |
| 4 | Good night | Ä°yi geceler | EE geh-jeh-LEHR |
| 5 | Goodbye | Allaha ısmarladık | ah-LAHS-mahr-lah-duhk |
| 6 | Bon voyage | Güle güle | gew-LEH gew-LEH |
| 7 | What is your name? | Adınız ne? | AH-duh-NUHZ neh |
| 8 | My name is... | Adım... | Ah-DUHM... |
| 9 | How are you? | Nasılsınız? | NAHS-suhl-suh-nuhz |
| 10 | I'm fine, thank you. | İyiyim, teşekkür ederim. | ee-YEE-yihm, tesh-ek-KEWR eh-dehr-eem |
Lesson 2: Pardon Me...
Pardon, yes, please, thanks, friend, what, how, who...
Turkish social interaction tends to be very polite. Turkish Lesson 2, Pardon Me, Words 11 to 20, gives you the words you need:
| 11 | Pardon me | Affedersiniz, pardon | af-feh-DEHR-see-neez, pahr-DOHN |
| 12 | Yes/no | Evet/hayır | eh-VEHT/HAH-yuhr |
| 13 | Please. | Lütfen. | LEWT-fehn |
| 14 | Help yourself. | Buyurun(uz). | BOOY-roon-(ooz) |
| 15 | Thanks. | Teşekkürler. Sağ ol. Mersi. | teh-sheh-kewr-LEHR. SOWL. mehr-SEE. |
| 16 | You're welcome. | Bir ÅŸey deÄŸil. | beer SHEHY deh-YEEL |
| 17 | Friend | ArkadaÅŸ | Ar-kah-DAHSH |
| 18 | What? | Ne? | NEH |
| 19 | How? | Nasil? | NAH-suhl |
| 20 | Who? | Kim? | KEEM |
Lesson 3: Why, When, Which?
What's this, how much, how many, I want this, that, the other...
Here's Turkish Lesson 3, Why? When? Which?
Words 21 to 31 to help you get what you want in Turkey:
| 21 | Why? | Niçin, neden? | NEE-cheen, NEH-dehn |
| 22 | When? | Ne zaman? | NEH zah-mahn |
| 23 | Which one? | Hangisi? | HAHN-gee-see |
| 24 | What's this? | Bu ne? | BOO neh |
| 25 | How much/many? | Kaç/kaç tane? | KAHCH/tah-neh |
| 26 | What does it mean? | Ne demek? | NEH deh-mehk |
| 27 | Give me ... | ... bana verin | bah-NAH veh-reen |
| 28 | I want ... | ... istiyorum | eess-tee-YOH-room |
| 29 | ...this | ...bu(nu) | ...boo(NOO) |
| 30 | ...that | ...su(nu) | ...shoo(NOO) |
| 31 | ...the other | ...o(nu) | ...oh(NOO) |
Lesson 4: New-Old, Hot-Cold
And/or, big/small, open/closed, good/bad, beautiful/ugly...
Here's Lesson 4, New-Old, Hot-Cold, Words 32 to 40 (short lesson today-only 9 "words"...but they're really all pairs of words.)
| 32 | hot/cold | sıcak/soğuk | suh-JAHK/soh-OOK |
| 33 | big/small | büyük/küçük | bew-YEWK/kew-CHEWK |
| 34 | new/old | yeni/eski | yeh-NEE/ehss-KEE |
| 35 | open/closed | açık/kapalı | ah-CHUHK/kah-pah-LUH |
| 36 | not ... | ... deÄŸil | deh-YEEL |
| 37 | It exists/doesn't exist | Var/yok | VAHR/YOHK |
| 38 | And/or | Ve/veya | VEH/veh-YAH |
| 39 | Good/bad | Ä°yi/fena | EE-ee/ feh-NAH |
| 40 | Beautiful/ugly | Güzel/çirkin | gew-ZEHL/cheer-KEEN |
Lesson 5: Where Is...
Train station, bus terminal, toilet, hotel, restaurant, shower, bath...
Turkish Lesson 5, Where Is..., Words 41 to 50.
In Turkish, the place you're looking for-bus station, hotel, toilet, restaurant-comes first in the sentence, followed by nerede ("where is...").
| 41 | Where is a/the ... ? | ... nerede? | NEH-reh-deh |
| 42 | __railway station | __Gar/istasyon | __GAHR, ees-tah-SYOHN |
| 43 | __bus station | __Otogar | __OH-toh-gahr |
| 44 | __cheap hotel | __Ucuz bir otel | __oo-JOOZ beer oh-TEHL |
| 45 | __toilet | __Tuvalet | __too-vah-LEHT |
| 46 | __restaurant | __Lokanta | __loh-KAHN-tah |
| 47 | __post office | __Postane, PTT | __POHSS-tah-neh, peh-teh-TEH |
| 48 | Room | Oda | OH-dah |
| 49 | Shower | DuÅŸ | DOOSH |
| 50 | Bath | Banyo | BAHN-yo |
Lesson 6: Bath & Tea
Luggage, laundry, lights, Turkish bath, toilet paper, tea, money, water...
Here's Turkish Lesson 6, Turkish Bath & Tea, Words 51 to 61, mostly about water and its uses...such as bathing and making tea.
| 51 | Turkish bath | Hamam | Hah-MAHM |
| 52 | Soap | Sabun | Sah-BOON |
| 53 | Toilet paper | Tuvalet kağıdı | too-vah-LEHT kyaah-uh-duh |
| 54 | Hot water | Sıcak su | Suh_JAHK soo |
| 55 | Luggage | Bagaj | Bah-GAHZH |
| 56 | Clean | Temiz | The-MEEZ |
| 57 | Laundry | Çamasır | Chah-mah-SHUR |
| 58 | Light(s) | Işık(lar) | Uh-SHUK (uh-shuk-LAHR) |
| 59 | Money | Para | PAH-rah |
| 60 | Water | Su | SOO |
| 61 | Tea | Çay | CHAH-yee |
Lesson 7: Going Places
Car, bus, train, ship, street, map, near/far, left/right, ticket...
Here's Turkish Lesson 7, Going Places, Words 62 to 75 of The 100 Most Useful Words in Turkish for Travelers:
| 62 | street, avenue | sokak, cadde(si) | soh-KAHK, JAHD-deh |
| 63 | Left/right | Sol/ saÄŸ | SOHL/SAAH |
| 64 | straight (on) | doÄŸru | doh-ROO |
| 65 | Here/there/over there | Burada/ÅŸurada/orada | BOO-rah-dah/SHOO-rah-dah/OH-rah-dah |
| 66 | Near/far | Yakın/uzak | yah-KUHN/oo-ZAHK |
| 67 | map | harita | HAH-ree-TAH |
| 68 | ticket | bilet | bee-LEHT |
| 69 | one-way/round- trip | gidiş/gidiş-dönüş | gee-DEESH/ gee-DEESH-dur-NEWRSH |
| 70 | airplane | uçak | oo-CHAHK |
| 71 | airport | havaalanı | Hah-VAH-ah-lah-nuh |
| 72 | train | tren | TREHN |
| 73 | ship | gemi | GEH-mee |
| 74 | bus | otobüs | Oh-toh-BEWSS |
| 75 | car | araba | AH-rah-bah |
Lesson 8: Days of the Week
Also day, daily, today, tomorrow, week...
Here's Turkish Lesson 8, Days of the Week in Turkish, Words 76 to 86, of the 100 Most Useful Turkish Words for Travelers.
| 76 | Day, daily | gün, hergün | GURN, HEHR-gurn |
| 77 | today | bugün | BOO-gurn |
| 78 | tomorrow | yarın | YAHR-uhn |
| 79 | week | hafta | hahf-TAH |
| 80 | Sunday | Pazar | pah-ZAHR |
| 81 | Monday | Pazartesi | pah-ZAHR-teh-see |
| 82 | Tuesday | Salı | sah-LUH |
| 83 | Wednesday | Çarsamba | char-shahm-BAH |
| 84 | Thursday | Persembe | pehr-shehm-BEH |
| 85 | Friday | Cuma | joo-MAH |
| 86 | Saturday | Cumartesi | joo-MAHR-teh-see |
Lesson 9: Months of the Year
Also month, year...
Turkish Lesson 9, Months of the Year, Words 87 to 100: the Turkish months of the year. (Click on a month to go to Tom's Turkish Almanac to learn what it's like to travel in Turkey during that month.)
| 87 | month | ay | AH-yee |
| 88 | year | sene, yıl | SEH-neh, YUHL |
| 89 | January | Ocak | oh-JAHK |
| 90 | February | Şubat | shoo-BAHT |
| 91 | March | Mart | MAHRT |
| 92 | April | Nisan | nee-SAHN |
| 93 | May | Mayıs | mah-YUSS |
| 94 | June | Haziran | HAH-zee-RAHN |
| 95 | July | Temmuz | teh-MOOZ |
| 96 | August | AÄŸustos | AH-oo-STOHSS |
| 97 | September | Eylül | ehy-LEWL |
| 98 | October | Ekim | eh-KEEM |
| 99 | November | Kasım | kah-SUHM |
| 100 | December | Aralık | AH-rah-LUHK |
Lesson 10: Turkish Numbers
Cardinal, ordinal, one-half, million, billion, trillion, quadrillion...
| 0 | sifir | SUH-fuhr |
| -1/4 | çeyrek | chehy-REHK |
| -1/2 | yarim | YAH-ruhm |
| -1/2 | buçuk | boo-CHOOK |
| 1 | bir | BEER |
| 2 | iki | ee-KEE |
| 3 | üç | EWCH |
| 4 | dört | DURRT |
| 5 | beÅŸ | BEHSH |
| 6 | alti | ahl-TUH |
| 7 | yedi | yeh-DEE |
| 8 | sekiz | seh-KEEZ |
| 9 | dokuz | doh-KOOZ |
| 10 | on | OHN |
| 11 | on bir | ohn BEER |
| 12 | on iki | ohn ee-KEE |
| 13 | on üç | ohn EWCH |
| 20 | yirmi | yeer-MEE |
| 30 | otuz | oh-TOOZ |
| 40 | kirk | KUHRK |
| 50 | elli | ehl-LEE |
| 60 | altmış | ahlt-MUSH |
| 70 | yetmiÅŸ | yeht-MEESH |
| 80 | seksen | sehk-SEHN |
| 90 | doksan | dohk-SAHN |
| 100 | yüz | YEWZ |
| 200 | iki yüz | ee-KEE yewz |
| 1000 | bin | BEEN |
| 2000 | iki bin | ee-KEE been |
| 10,000 | on bin | OHN been |
| 1,000,000 | milyon | meel-YOHN |
| 1,000,000,000 | milyar | meel-YAHR |
| 1,000,000,000,000 | trilyon | treel-YOHN |
| 1,000,000,000,000,000 | katrilyon | kah-treel-YOHN |
