I remember being amazed at the unique sound the first time I heard Turkish. The melodic flow made the language sound so easy! However, when I began researching the basics of the Turkish language, I quickly became overwhelmed. To say the least, learning Turkish for an absolute beginner was intimidating. With the benefit of hindsight, I now know tons of tips for fast language learning, and I’ve assembled this beginning Turkish basics guide with those in mind. By the end of this, you’ll understand beginner Turkish grammar and structure plus over 60 must-know basic Turkish phrases with audio pronunciation!
Introduction to Turkish for Beginners
In today’s world, modern Turkish refers to the official language of Türkiye, the Republic of Turkey. This form of Turkish (Türkçe) is spoken by over 80 million people worldwide, most of them living in Turkey. Despite the Ottoman roots and prevalence of Arabic words, the language is not from Arabic or Persian language families. Instead, it is part of the Oghuz group in the larger Turkic language family, Azerbaijani and Turkmen being popular and closely related languages.
One of the most fascinating aspects of Turkish is that it is both an extremely old and extremely new language at the same time. How is this possible? After the Ottoman Empire collapsed and the modern Turkish Republic was formed in 1923, Kemal Atatürk led a campaign to reform the language and culture. Through the 1920s and 1930s, major reforms occurred in Turkish, with the primary goal being to replace loanwords from Arabic and Persian with genuine Turkish words. However, the most significant among these reforms was replacing the Arabic script with a phonetic Latin alphabet.
That change is also why a beginner learning Turkish from the English language has a much easier time!
Alphabet
The Ottoman Turkish alphabet used an Arabic script. However, after a 1928 law to reform the language, this older script was officially switched to a phonetic Latin alphabet. If you’ve ever spoken to someone learning English as a second language, then you probably know how frustrating some of the unpredictable pronunciations in English are. Luckily, the Turkish alphabet is consistently phonetic, meaning you can almost always sound out a word to get the right pronunciation.
The only new letters are ö,ü,ğ,ş,ç, and ı. The ö, ü, and ı are the most difficult since we do not have those sounds in English. The ğ is called a soft g (yumuşak g in Turkish) because it does not have a sound. Instead, you extend the vowel sound that comes before it. For example, the word for right (as in direction) in Turkish is sağa, pronounced sah – ah. I’ll put all the Turkish letters below in case you want to copy and paste them into a flashcard app:
- Aa Bb Cc Çç Dd Ee Ff Gg Ğğ Hh Iı İi Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Öö Pp Rr Ss Şş Tt Uu Üü Vv Yy Zz
Now that you know the Turkish lettering system, you will more easily recognize Turkish accents by the letters they do not have. The most obvious one is W, which they usually pronounce as a V sound when speaking English.
Read this full Turkish alphabet guide for the details of rules and pronunciation, which includes audio examples.
Turkish Language Basics: Grammar and Sentence Structure
In English, we construct sentences with the order subject—verb—object. For example, I (subject) am eating (verb) the apple (object). When you learn a language from a young age, such a basic element of grammar is likely something you never think about. However, learning a new language often means you have to learn a new sentence structure.
Turkish constructs sentences in the order subject–object–verb. So, to say the same sentence in English but with this different arrangement, you would say: I — the apple — am eating, or in Turkish, Ben elmayı yiyorum. Since Turkish verb conjugations already communicate the subject performing the action of the verb, you will often see the subject left out: Elmayı yiyorum.
So, especially for Turkish beginners, starting at the end of the sentence can be a helpful way to make sense of the sentence. If you cannot find a verb, the sentence is probably using the personal suffix form of to be, which is -im, -iz, -sin, -siniz, or -ler. Examples:
- Ben mutluyum. = I am happy. (the subject pronoun ben is optional)
- Sen güzelsin. = You are beautiful.
- O güzel. = She/He/It is beautiful. (no suffix for third person personal suffix, again, pronoun is optional)
**Dive deeper into Turkish word order and syntax for the full details.**
Vowel Harmony
Since vowel harmony is one of the hardest aspects of beginner Turkish learning I decided to leave the details out of this basic guide. Of course, you will eventually have to learn how it works. However, in the beginning stages of learning, I think it is better to absorb a language’s basics and rhythm with common words and phrases, even before you fully understand how the grammar rules work.
For now, simply understand that Turkish suffixes regularly change to harmonize with the vowel sound to which they are attaching. So, for example, you can attach the location suffix de to the word şehir to get şehirde, which means in the city. However, if you wanted to give a location on a word like araba, you would have to say arabada, which means in the car.
So, don’t get confused when trying to understand these patterns in the beginning. I recommend just memorizing these phrases to get used to the basic grammar and sentence structure of Turkish.
Suffixes
Turkish is categorized as an agglutinative language, which means you add suffixes to base words to change their meaning. These suffixes can be parts of verbs or can signal a function within the sentence, such as direct object, indirect object, etc. To begin, you can understand agglutination by studying the basic Turkish grammatical cases. While other languages have over ten or more cases–Finnish has 15–Turkish luckily only has six. As a reminder, the multiple options for each case showcase how vowel harmony can change the suffix. Also, buffer letters are required to prevent two vowels from falling back to back.
Are you confused? That’s okay, this beginner lesson is not about 100% understanding. Plus, there are other rules we won’t be covering here, so the goal here is just to get the basic idea. The Turkish grammatical cases with examples are:
| Grammar Case & Suffix | Example | Example with Buffer (y or n) |
|---|---|---|
| Accusative (direct object): -i, -ı, -u, -ü | Ben evi aldım. (I bought the house.) | Ben arabayı aldım. (I bought the car.) |
| Dative (indirect object): -e, -a | Mersin’e gidiyorum. (I am going to Istanbul.) | Bursa’ya gidiyorum. (I am going to Bursa.) |
| Locative (in or at): –de, –da | Evdeyim. (I am at home.) | Arabadayım. (I am in the car.) |
| Ablative (from): –den, –dan | Evden aldım. (I took it from the house.) | Masadan aldım. (I took it from the table.) |
| Instrumental (with): –le, –la | Trenle geliyorum. (I am coming by train.) | Arabayla geliyorum. (I am coming by car.) |
| Genitive (Possessive): in, -ın, -un, -ün | Evin pecereleri (The house’s windows) | Arabanın lastiği (The car’s tire) |
Basic Turkish Question Words
Question words are crucial at the beginning of learning any language, especially since you will need to be asking many questions.
| Turkish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Kim | Who | Bu kim? (Who is this?) |
| Ne | What | Bu ne? (What is this?) |
| Nerede | Where | Lavabo nerede? (Where is the bathroom?) |
| Ne zaman | When | Ne zaman geliyorsun? (When are you coming?) |
| Neden | Why | Neden gelmedin? (Why didn’t you come?) |
| Ne kadar? | How much | Bu ne kadar? (How much is this?) |
| Niye | Why (alternate) | Niye gelmedi? (Why didn’t he come?) |
Turkish Question Article
For sentences that do not contain one of the question words above, Turkish can still convert a sentence to a question by using the –mi article. This article separates from the word it is directing the question to but will often be attached to the to be personal suffix that fits with the sentence grammar (-im, -iz, -sin, -siniz, or -ler ). Also, this particle follows the four-part version of vowel harmony. Let’s look at a few examples:
| Statement | Question with Article |
|---|---|
| O güzel. (She is beautiful.) | O güzel mi? (Is she beautiful?) |
| Ben gidiyorum. (I am going.) | Gidiyor muyum? (Am I going?) |
| Biz varıyoruz. (We are arriving.) | Varıyor muyuz? (Are we arriving?) |
| Geliyorsun. (You are coming.) | Geliyor musun? (Are you coming?) |
| Geliyorsunuz. (You are coming.) (plural/formal) | Geliyor musunuz? (Are you coming?) (plural/formal) |
| Gidiyorlar. (They are going.) | Gidiyorlar mı? (Are they going?) (an exception to the rule) |
Being Polite
Your word choice and tone of voice will largely contribute to how successfully you communicate politeness in Turkish. However, like many other languages, Turkish uses the plural second person (-siniz) suffix for more formal and polite communication. When meeting new people or people older than yourself, it is best to stick with more formal Turkish. If you’re not sure, start with the formal and let someone tell you it is unnecessary.
Let’s look at a few examples:
| Informal | Formal |
|---|---|
| Çay ister misin? (Would you like tea?) | Çay ister misiniz? (Would you like tea?) |
| Gitmek istiyor musun? (Do you want to go?) | Gitmek istiyor musunuz? (Do you want to go?) |
| Nerelisin? (Where are you from?) | Nerelisiniz? (Where are you from?) |
Learning the Meaning of Common Turkish Phrases
As you read through the examples above or the common words and phrases below, most beginners will likely be confused. Even though Turkish is fairly consistent, exceptions to rules can make you think that you’re missing something. Or, if this is your very first beginner Turkish lesson, then you might not even know the rules at all.
I recommend not worrying about this confusion because, in my opinion, you are supposed to be confused at the beginning stages of learning a new language. You can break down some of the examples and try to learn the meaning of them, to understand why certain suffixes change or which buffer letters to use. However, I designed this introduction to basic Turkish as a bird’s eye view of the language. The idea is to see what is ahead of you if you keep learning and pick up on a few basic concepts and phrases before diving in. I will continually update this post to link to more detailed guides and lessons for each grammar category as I organize my material on the site.
So, for now, let’s finish up this lesson by reading through some common Turkish words that you will use all the time, followed by some basic Turkish phrases that you can use immediately to start speaking.
Most Common Turkish Words
Before the more complicated phrases/sentences, let’s first get some of the most basic beginner Turkish words out of the way.
| Audio | Turkish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Merhaba | Hello | |
| Selam | Hello/Greetings | |
| Nasılsın | How’re you? | |
| Günaydın | Good morning | |
| Memnun oldum. | Nice to meet you | |
| Afiyet olsun! | Enjoy your meal! | |
| İyi günler! | Have a nice day! |
Continuing the conversation, you might say:
| Audio | Turkish | English |
|---|---|---|
| iyiyim, sen? | I’m good, you? | |
| Ne haber? (often pronounced Nah-bear) | What’s up? (literally what news?) | |
| Teşekkürler (pronounced tesh – eh – koor – ler) | Thanks | |
| Teşekkür ederim | Thank you (I make thanks) | |
| Sağ olun | Thank you (formal) | |
| Sağ ol | Thank you (informal) | |
| çok (add to any adjective eg: çok sıcak = it’s so hot) | very |
Note: To get speaking quickly, go to this vocabulary guide to learn over 300 of the most commonly used words in Turkish.
The Meaning of “Olsun” in Conversational Turkish
You have already seen a few examples of the Turkish word olsun and will see more in the upcoming phrases. Let’s save the complicated grammar for another time, however, just know that it is the third-person imperative tense of the verb olmak (to be). By itself, the meaning is let it be. You will see it in one of the most popular Turkish expressions (listed above), afiyet olsun. It means enjoy your meal, but the literal translation is let it be healthy (afiyet means health/well-being).
You can also use olsun to express agreement with something, as in, yeah that’s fine. I personally use the term often at restaurants when ordering. For example, if a waiter asks if I want coffee sugar (şekerli mi? ) I will usually answer sade olsun, meaning let it be plain.
The same -sin ending works with other verbs. For example, the third-person imperative of gitmek (to go) is gitsin (let it go). However, don’t worry too much about the grammar, I just wanted to point out this common construction since you’ll hear/use it often!
Must-Know Turkish Language Basic Phrases
Now that you have scanned through some basic vocabulary as stand-alone words, let’s see some of them (and others) as part of some beginner Turkish phrases that can get you speaking quickly. In the Turkish column, I put the informal version (or singular) first, followed by the formal version where relevant. I recommend practicing both, especially because formal is a better option when talking to strangers. Besides the translation, I will also include a column to explain the expression’s deeper meaning and when you should use it.
Remember, at this beginning stage of learning Turkish, you need not understand all the grammar. Just memorize these to jumpstart your Turkish abilities!
Greetings and Goodbyes
| Audio | Turkish | Pronunciation | English | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hoş geldin / Hoş geldiniz | hosh-gal-din | Welcome | You will hear this every time you enter somewhere—planes, restaurants, houses, etc. | |
| Hoş bulduk | hosh-bool-dook | I am welcomed | Say this as a polite reply to hoş geldiniz | |
| İyi akşamlar | eyi-ahhk-sham-lar | Good evening | Works with arriving or leaving. | |
| Görüşürüz | gur-oosh-sure-ooz | See you later | It literally means we’ll meet and can be polite or formal | |
| Nasıl gidiyor? | na-sil gi-dee-your | How’s it going? | Informal. Unlike in English, this is really asking the question. | |
| Ne haber? | nay-ha-bear | What’s up? | Informal, literally meaning what news? | |
| Kolay gelsin | koy-eye-gal-sin | May it come easy. | I love this phrase (doesn’t exist in English). It works as a greeting/goodbye for any worker to be kind. | |
| Hoşça kal / Hoşça kalın | hosh-cha-kahl-ın | Stay well | Say goodbye with this phrase. | |
| Kendine iyi bak / Kendinize iyi bakın | Kan-den-iz-ay-ee-bach | Take care of yourself. | A nice way to say goodbye with kindness. | |
| İyi geceler | ee-gejay-lar | Goodnight | Unlike English, use only late at night close to bedtime. |
Small Talk Phrases
I will put these phrases in a logical order so that the common Turkish questions will be followed by typical answers. As your Turkish develops, you can enjoy more flexibility with your answers, but for now, these will always fit in.
| Audio | Turkish | Pronunciation | English | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senin adın ne? / Sizin adınız ne? | Siz-in-ad-ın-ız-nay | What is your name? | Great first question. Be aware, Turks often use isim instead of ad for name. | |
| Benim adım _ | bey-nim-ad-ım | My name is _ | Feel free to leave out the pronoun benim. | |
| Biraz Türkçe biliyorum. | Beer-az-turk-cheh-bill-ee-yo-room | I know a little Turkish. | Saying this upfront will help people slow down their Turkish! | |
| Nerelisin? / Nerelisiniz? | Nair-re-li-sin-iz | Where are you from? | A common question people ask to foreigners. | |
| Amerikalıyım. | America-luh-yuhm | I am American. | Literally, America-with-I am. But don’t worry, it sounds natural in Turkish. | |
| Avrupalıyım. | Av-roop-a-luh-yuhm | I am European. | Same logic as above. | |
| Ne iş yapıyorsun? / Ne iş yapıyorsunuz? | nay-eesh-yap-uh-yor-moo-soon | What work do you do? | After introductions, you can ask this more personal question. | |
| Avukat olarak çalışıyorum. | Av-oo-kaht-ol-ar-ahk-chal-ısh-uh-yo-room | I work as a lawyer. | Replace avukkat (lawyer) with any other profession. | |
| Öğrenciyim. | ö-rehn-gee-eem | I am a student. | The noun student with the I am personal -im suffix | |
| Neden Türkiye’ye geldin? / Neden Türkiye’ye geldiniz? | nay-dan-turk-e-yay-gal-din-iz | Why did you come to Turkey? | Use an apostrophe when adding suffixes to proper nouns. | |
| Tatildeyim. | tah-teal-day-yim | I am on vacation. | Tatil (vacation) + de (locative suffix) + –im (personal suffix) |
At The Restaurant
These examples are just a starting point for what you can say at restaurants. Replace any specific examples with another food item, a different number, or a different verb conjugation depending on the context. When it doubt, using formal Turkish is more polite, something I always default to even with speaking with restaurant workers.
Don’t be surprised if the answers you get confuse you or are too fast to understand…this is just part of the learning process!
| Audio | Turkish | Pronunciation | English | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restoran nerede? | Restauran-nair-ay-day | Where is the restaurant? | With short questions, the question word (nerede) goes at the end. | |
| Hangi restorana gitmek istersin? | han-gi restauran-a git-mek ist-are-sin | Which restaurant would you like to go to? | Using an infinitive verb like gitmek (to go) with istemek (to want) is an easy sentence construction! | |
| Oradaki restoran güzel görünüyor! | o-ra-da-ki restauran goo-zal gor-oon-oo-yor | The restaurant over there looks great! | Using the locative (de/da) with ki makes locations into adjectives! | |
| Affedersin… | Ah-feh-dar-sin | Excuse me… | A polite way to get someone’s attention, like before the above question. | |
| Menüyü alabilir miyim? | men-oo-you-ahl-ah-bi-leer-me-yim | Can I have the menu? | The verb almak (to take) with -ebil (can) suffix. | |
| Bir bira alabilir miyim? | beer-beer-a-ahl-ah-bi-leer-me-yim | Can I have a beer? | Replace bira (beer) with anything else to get the same meaning. | |
| Bakar mısınız? | ba-car-mi-sin | Can you look here? | The direct translation sounds weird, but it’s a common question to restaurant workers. | |
| Hesabı alabilir miyiz? | hey-sah-buh-ah-bi-leer-me-yiz | Can we have the check? | Change the ending to alabilir miyim (can I have) if it is just you. | |
| İki tane istiyorum, lütfen. | ee-ki-tahn-ay-ist-ee-yo-room | I want two, please. | Use the word tane when talking about countable amounts. Replace iki (two) with any number. |
Giving Thanks and Expressing Kindness
| Audio | Turkish | Pronunciation | English | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Teşekkür ederim | tesh-eh-koor-eh-dare-im | Thank you. | Literally, I make thanks. You can also say teşekürler (the first word with -ler plural suffix) | |
| Sağ ol / Sağ olun | sa-ol-oon | Thank you. | Literally, be healthy/alive. Turks often use it directly after teşekürler to express more thanks. | |
| Elinize sağlık | el-lair-in-iz-eh-sah-lick | Health to your hands. | I love this phrase, one you say to someone who prepared food for you as a way to express gratitude. | |
| Tebrik ederim | teb-brick-ed-air-im | Congratulations. | Literally, I make congratulation. Like teşekürler, you can also say the plural tebrikler without ederim. | |
| Yolun açık olsun | yol-oon-ach-ick-ol-soon | May your way be open. | Say this before someone is taking a longer trip somewhere. | |
| Geçmiş olsun | gech-mish-ol-soon | Get well soon. | Literally, let it be passed, say it anytime someone has a sickness or injury. | |
| Başınız sağ olsun | bah-shin-iz-sah-ol-soon | I’m sorry for your loss. | Literally, let your head be healthy, use it to express condolences for a death, even if in the past. | |
| Aferin sana / Aferin size | ah-fair-in-siz-eh | Well done. | A fun and informal way to tell someone they did a good job. I love using this one sarcastically as well! |
Asking for Help
These phrases about asking for help will be particularly useful for tourists in Turkey. Feel free to check out our tourist vocabulary guide for even more words and phrases specific to transportation, hotels, airports, and other tourist-related topics.
| Audio | Turkish | Pronunciation | English | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro nerede? | metro-nare-ray-day | Where is the subway? | Replace metro with anything else you need to find. | |
| Anlamadım. | on-lam-a-duhm | I did not understand. | Past tense of anlamak (to understand). | |
| Pardon. Anlamadım. Tekrar eder misiniz? | par-dohn. on-lam-a-duhm. teck-rar-ed-are-mi-sin-iz | Excuse me. I didn’t understand. Can you repeat it? | The it that needs repeating is implied and can be left out. | |
| Pardon. Türkçem çok iyi değil. Daha yavaş konuşabilir misiniz? | turk-cham-choke-ee-day-eel. Da-ha-ya-vash-ko-noosh-al-bi-leer-mi-sin-iz | Excuse me, my Turkish is not very good. Can you speak slower? | Daha=more. Yavaş=slow. Daha yavaş=slower (literally more slow) | |
| Bana yardım eder misin? / Bana yardım eder misiniz? | ba-na-yard-ım-ed-are-mi-sin-iz | Can you help me? | Use for asking for help in non-emergencies. | |
| İngilizce biliyor musunuz? | in-gil-iz-je-bill-ee-your-moo-soon-ooz | Do you know English? | For beginner Turkish speakers, find out if someone speaks English—many do! | |
| Polis nerede? | poll-lease-nay-ray-day | Where is the police? | Hopefully, you won’t need to use this one! | |
| İmdat! | eem-dot | Help! | Use to get help only in emergencies. |
Advanced Expressions To Impress Your Turkish Friends
I’ve spent a lot of time hanging out with Turkish people over the past eight years, and I’ve picked up on some fantastic phrases that always impress people when I travel to Turkey. Some are funny, some philosophical, and some perfectly express the uniqueness of Turkish culture/mindset. Here are some of my favorites!
| Audio | Turkish | Pronunciation | English | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kesene bereket / kesenize bereket | kay-sin-iz-eh-bay-ray-ket | Abundance to your wallet. | Use this if someone treats you to a meal at a restaurant as a fun way to say thanks. | |
| Tencere yuvarlanmış kapağını bulmuş | tan-jere yoo-var-lan-mish ka-paa-uh-n-uh bool-moosh | Bird’s of a feather flock together | This idiom literally translates as the pot rolls and finds its lid. | |
| Elinden geleni yaptın / Elinizden geleni yaptınız | el-in-iz-dan-gell-en-e-yap-tin-iz | You did the best you could. | Literally, let it break off where it wears down, this is similar to the “it is what it is” expression in English. | |
| Sıhhatler olsun! | suh-hot-lair-ol-soon | Good health to you! | Say this when someone takes a shower or bath. Literally means let it be healthy. | |
| Geç olsun güç olmasın! | ge-ch ol-soon gooch ol-ma-sin | Better late than never! | Literally, let it be late, don’t let it be difficult. | |
| Dedikodu yapalım mı? | dead-ee-code-oo-yap-ah-limb-muh | Shall we gossip? | In my experience, Turks love gossip, especially while drinking coffee! | |
| İncelediği yerden kopsun | in-gel-le-di-ii-yare-dan-cope-soon | Let the chips fall where they may. | Literally, let it break off where it wears down. This is similar to the ‘it is what it is‘ expression in English. | |
| Artmazsa yetmez. | art-maz-sa-yet-maz | If nothing remains it wasn’t enough. | We always say this when joking about ordering too much food at a restaurant. | |
| Saçmalama! | sahch-mal-la-ma | Don’t talk nonsense! | Only use informally, similar to don’t be ridiculous in English. |
Final Thoughts
I hope this was a useful beginner introduction to the basics of Turkish! For me, learning these popular phrases and expressions first allowed me to understand the feeling and rhythm of the language. Later, as I added more vocabulary and complex grammar, the learning curve was less steep as I had this natural starting point to give me momentum. Even with these limited words/sayings, you will be able to pick up on some of them when you watch a Turkish movie or TV show.
Don’t forget to check out our 14 steps to jumpstart your Turkish journey for even more tips. And, when it comes to your learning journey, kolay gelsin!!
Lastly, let me know what you think in the comments, or get in touch with me at: [email protected]
