Learning the Turkish alphabet characters and how to pronounce them is one of the first steps outlined in our guide for fast Turkish learning. No matter how boring it is, taking the time to understand the basics of letters and pronunciation is crucial for speaking a language properly. It is also the prerequisite to studying more advanced grammar rules. As a music teacher, I would say this is equivalent to learning musical notes and scales before complex harmony. Luckily, the letters in Turkish use Latin symbols and they are one of the simplest and most consistent parts of the language, making Turkish much easier to learn! Once you understand the alphabet, the other Turkish basics will make much more sense!
So this is our ultimate beginner guide to the alphabet in Turkish, including the phonetics, rules, examples, and audio pronunciation samples!
Modern Turkish Language Alphabet: Here’s the 101
The modern Turkish alphabet, or Türk alfabesi, uses Latin characters and is the easiest part of learning Turkish. Old Ottoman Turkish used an Arabic script, and if you’re curious about why Turkish now uses the Latin alphabet, keep reading until the end of the post.
Anyway, why is the alphabet in Turkish so easy?
The answer is it uses a phonetic system with almost no exceptions. So, unlike the many unpredictable letter sounds in English—words like psychology, photo, etc.—you can count on Turkish letters each representing one sound consistently. No combinations of letters make new sounds, such as the ch or sh in English (Turkish added separate letters for those). There are also no diphthong vowel combinations that make new sounds. Lastly, you pronounce each letter in a word, so you won’t encounter words with silent letters, the exception being the yumuşak ğ, which is always silent.
Perhaps, building an alphabet in modern times allowed Turkish to avoid some of the confusing elements of most other lettering systems!
Note: Certain words have subtle pronunciation changes with certain vowels that, when used correctly, will make your accent in Turkish sound more authentic. I’ll discuss these after the alphabet chart.
How Many Letters Are in the Turkish Alphabet?
There are 29 letters in the Turkish alphabet (harflar = letters). It includes six new characters that English does not have and eliminates three English letters (q, w, and x). One giveaway of a Turkish accent in English is pronouncing w words like window with a v sound. The lack of a w in Turkish explains why this sound is difficult for Turks to pronounce.
Which Letters in Turkish Do Not Exist in English?
The primary challenge for a beginner learning the Turkish alphabet is getting to know the additional letters that do not exist in English. They are ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş, and ü. Two of them (ç and ş) are easy because the letter combinations of ch and sh in English match the sound. And, as I’ll explain later, the yumuşak ğ just extends the sound of what comes before it.
However, the remaining new Turkish letters will take some practice. Anyone who speaks French will have an easier time with ö and ü, but those proved to be quite the challenge for me! As for the undotted i (ı), I learned that one quickly since my wife’s name (Yankı) includes it!
Turkish Alphabet Characters With Audio Pronunciation & Examples
Here are all 29 letters in Turkish, showing both upper cases (büyük harf) and lower cases (küçük harf). The phonetic column shows how you would say the letter while speaking, which is useful when spelling something or communicating a password etc. This is similar to pronouncing ABCD in English as A, Bee, Cee, Dee. You pronounce vowels by just saying their sound. Again, Turkish is consistently phonetic!
Lastly, I gave an example Turkish word beginning with each letter, along with an audio recording of the letter/word pronunciation.
| Turkish Letter | Phonetics | Pronunciation with English Word | Turkish Example Word | Audio: Turkish Letter & Word Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aa | a | Like a in father | Aferin (well done) | |
| Bb | be | Like b in bay | Beş (five) | |
| Cc | ce | Like j in Jason | Cezve (coffee pot) | |
| Çç | çe | Like ch in chain | Çekmek (to pull) | |
| Dd | de | Like d in day | deniz (sea) | |
| Ee | e | Like e in ten | Emekli (retired) | |
| Ff | fe | Like f in fake | Fena (bad) | |
| Gg | ge | Like g in gate | Geçmek (to pass) | |
| Ğğ | (no sound, no word starts with this) | Doğum (birth) | ||
| Hh | he | Like h in hay | Heyecanlı (excited) | |
| Iı | ı | Approx. e in roses | Işık (light) | |
| İi | i | Like ee in feet | içmek (to drink) | |
| Jj | je | Like s in measure | Japonya (Japan) | |
| Kk | ke | Like k in kae | Keman (violin) | |
| Ll | le | Like l in lay | Lezzetli (delicious) | |
| Mm | me | Like m in maybe | Melek (angel) | |
| Nn | ne | Like n in neighbor | Nerede (where) | |
| Oo | o | Like o in open | Orta (middle) | |
| Öö | ö | O in open but from the front (details below) | Öğrenci (student) | |
| Pp | pe | Like p in pain | Peçete (napkin) | |
| Rr | re | Like r in ray | Restoran (restaurant) | |
| Ss | se | Like s in same | Sebze (vegetable) | |
| Şş | şe | Like sh in shame | Şehir (city) | |
| Tt | te | Like t in tame | Tepe (hill) | |
| Uu | u | Like oo in cool | Usta (master) | |
| Üü | ü | Oo but from the front (details below) | Üzgün (sad) | |
| Vv | ve | Like v in vacate | Veya (or) | |
| Yy | ye | Like y in yellow | Yeşil (green) | |
| Zz | ze | Like z in zen | Zeki (smart) |
Rules For How To Pronounce Letters and Words in Turkish
I’ve already said that Turkish letters each have a consistent phonetic sound, which makes reading new words easier than in English. Plus, the letters before or after any given letter do not fundamentally affect the pronunciation. This system might feel weird in the beginning, since your brain is likely filled with rules for English pronunciation. But, if you slowly sound out a new Turkish word, pronounce every letter and you will essentially get the correct sound.
However, there are some cases where the accent of a vowel will slightly change based on the context. These are rare and mostly something you can learn on instinct, but let me give you one common example.
Some forms of the verb gelmek (to come) change the pronunciation of the e syllable. Normally, you pronounce the Turkish letter e with an eh sound, like the e in ten. You would use that sound when saying the present continuous form of gelmek:
- Geliyorum (I am coming)
- Audio:
- Audio:
- Geliyor (He/She/It is coming)
- Audio:
- Audio:
However, in the past tense forms of this verb, the standard Istanbul accent changes that pronunciation to be more like the al in the English word gal :
- Geldim (I came)
- Audio:
- Audio:
- Hoş geldiniz (Welcome)
- Audio:
- Audio:
Every language has these types of subtle rules or exceptions to the rules. In my opinion, the human brain learns language best by instinct, so I would not stress too much about these kinds of rare exceptions. When it comes to having an impressive accent, listening to native Turks speak and having practice conversations is the best way to learn.
Turkish Spelling And Vowel Harmony
As your learning progresses, understanding how Turkish letters are classified will help you absorb the special Turkish grammar rule of vowel harmony. Vowel harmony, something common in many Turkic family languages, means you match the vowel sound of a word and its suffix. The goal is to minimize your mouth movement, and it is why Turkish sounds so smooth and melodic.
Luckily, there are only two categories for Turkish vowels: Rounded/Unrounded and Back/Front. Let’s look at how the Turkish vowels (a e ı i o ö u ü) group into these categories:
- Round: u, ü, o, ö (basically, if your mouth makes a round shape)
- Unrounded: i, ı, a, e (notice how your lips are not round)
- Back: ı, a, o, u (you’ll feel these come from your throat)
- Front: e, i, ö, ü (these project from the front of your mouth)
As a beginner, it may seem overly intellectual to think of letters like that. However, if you practice slowly saying each vowel, you will notice where they come from in your mouth and why they are grouped like that. Don’t worry if you’re confused at this point. Eventually, like learning any language, harmonizing the vowels in Turkish to spell correctly and speak well will become second nature.
My Pro Tip: Practice making sure the back vowels are really coming from the throat if you want to develop a fantastic Turkish accent. Especially coming from English, these back vowels can feel weird. The front round vowels (ö and ü) also took me a lot of practice!
Whispered and Voiced Consonants
The consonants in Turkish are all of the remaining letters that are not vowels: b, c, ç, d, f, g, ğ, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, r, s, ş, t, v, y, z. These also have a grouping you should know about, whispered versus voiced.
- Whispered Consonants: ç, f, h, k, p, s, ş, t (These have no sound without adding a vowel.)
- Voiced Consonants: b, c, d, g, ğ, j, l, m, n, r, v, y, z (You can feel your throat make noise when saying these.)
Learning this categorization is not critical now, but useful when you eventually learn a grammar rule that changes whispered consonants to their voiced counterparts when followed by a vowel (consonant mutation). To give one example, the word kitap (book) becomes kitabı (not kitapı) in the accusative grammatical case.
I realize this can seem like a lot of rules at once, so don’t worry too much about them right now. Think of this as a high-level introduction to the more complicated grammar that will come up later. Trust me, compared to English, Turkish spelling ends up being much easier once you get the hang of it!
Other Rules and Tips To Know About
Since languages always have subtle rules and particularities that you can’t learn from the alphabet alone, I’m devoting this section to a few rules and tips that might save you some time and confusion later on.
1. The Hatted Â
This version of the Turkish A with a hat, which is called a circumflex-A (şapkalı A in Turkish), legally left the written language in 2007. However, the circumflex A still affects the pronunciation of a few popular words that use it, so you’ll need to be aware of it when speaking. The circumflex A’s can change pronunciation in two ways:
- Front A: While the normal A comes from the back, like the a in father, the â sound comes from the front, more like a in apple. Common words include hayâl, and hâlâ (written without the hats though). Besides speaking correctly, knowing these will also affect vowel harmony later on!
- Elongated A: The sound stays in the back but is pronounced longer as if there are two A’s in a row (aa).
There are even a few words that look identical in written Turkish now that the hatted A is gone. These are rare, and when speaking, the difference is obvious. For example, the word hala without hats means aunt, but hâlâ means still.
I don’t recommend getting too stuck on any of these, they will become second nature once you encounter more Turkish. For now, it is just something to be aware of!
2. Yumuşak Ge: The Soft G Pronunciation (ğ)
No words will start with the yumuşak ğ, so you only have to worry about its pronunciation in the middle of words. Generally, try to extend the sound of the vowel that proceeds it. Think of this soft g as a bridge that connects two sounds. However, the shape of the sound will slightly change depending on the situation.
- If the yumuşak ğ is followed by a consonant, just extend the vowel before it. For example, oğlum (son) is the o sound from open extended: ooo-lum.
- If the yumuşak ğ is connecting two vowels, you subtly bridge the two vowel sounds together. For example, doğum (birth) is doo-uu-m.
- When connecting two front vowels, the yumuşak ğ almost takes on a subtle y sound: eğitim (education) is ehh-yii-tim.
Lastly, besides its occurring in root words, you will often see the yumuşak ğ replacing a k during the consonant mutation grammar rule I mentioned in the previous section. When adding a vowel suffix like the accusative case, the word tabak (plate) becomes tabağı.
3. Be Aware of Dotted vs. Undotted I’s
Firstly, since English does not naturally have a sound for the undotted Turkish i (ı), this is one of the pronunciations you will want to practice more. My wife’s name is Yankı, and living in America, most people call her Yanki (as in Yankee). It’s just not a sound that comes naturally to English speakers.
Secondly, the dotted i in Turkish still has a dot in uppercase (İ). If you download a special keyboard for Turkish (most phones and computers can do this), then be aware that there are two different keys for this!
4. Rolled R Sound with -Ler/-Lar Endings
There is a subtle pronunciation factor you will likely notice as you listen to more Turkish. I asked many Turks as I was learning, and most were unaware that they do this. However, after I pointed it out, everyone admitted “Yeah I guess we do pronounce it like that”.
It is subtle, but you should pronounce any ending with -ler or -lar with a slightly rolled r sound. It is nothing as extreme as you might hear in Spanish words. However, one roll at the end will give your Turkish accent an extra stamp of legitimacy. Here are two audio examples:
- Gidecekler (They will go)
- Audio:
- Audio:
- Arkadaşlar (friends)
- Audio:
- Audio:
5. Turkish People Often Write Without Special Characters
This tip has nothing to do with proper grammar or any rules, but it is something to be aware of. If you find yourself texting or emailing with a Turkish person, know that they often leave out the special characters to make typing easier. Trust me, as a new Turkish learner, this can be frustrating. However, for them, the context and familiarity of the words mean they still understand the words instantly.
For example, instead of something properly written like öpüyorum seni (a loving way to say goodbye), they would write opuyorum seni, leaving out the special Turkish letters. This casual texting can be especially frustrating when sorting out dotted vs. undotted i’s.
6. Practice by Singing the Alphabet in Turkish
Last but not least, there is a reason children always sing melodies as they learn a language…eit actually works! So, no matter how old you are, try to practice by singing the Turkish alphabet letters with the standard Twinkle Twinkle Little Star song melody:
Ottoman History: What Were The Old Turkish Alphabet Characters?
Despite how new the modern version of Turkish is, don’t forget that it is connected to the larger Turkic language family, for which the first written records date back to the eighth century AD. These inscriptions are written in an old Turkic alphabet, made by a nomadic Asian group of people known as the Göktürks. Over the long history of Turkic languages, there were many alphabet systems.
However, by the time Islam had sufficiently influenced Turkic people, the use of Arabic scripts spread amongst Turkic languages. Most relevant to the modern Turkish lettering system was the Ottoman Turkish script, which was a mix of the Arabic and Persian alphabets. Besides the visuals being completely foreign to a Latin-based system, you would also read Ottoman Turkish from right to left.
If you’re familiar with the history of Turkey and its language, you probably know that Kemal Atatürk was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti). As part of a larger series of reforms designed to modernize the Turkish language and replace Arabic/Persian loanwords, the 1928 Law on the Adoption and Implementation of the Turkish Alphabet officially changed the Turkish alphabet to its current Latin script.
By 1932, Atatürk had helped to establish the Turkish Language Association (Türk Dil Kurumu) whose goal was to regulate the language and purify it to be more Turkish in identity, mostly through replacing loanwords with genuine Turkic words.
Final Thoughts
Now that you know the alphabet in the Turkish language, including its history, letters, and pronunciation, you are ready to officially begin your language-learning journey! You can check out this beginner Turkish guide for a general overview of the language and its major concepts. Or, read my tips for fast Turkish learning if you want to start speaking ASAP!
Have any thoughts or questions? Leave them below in the comments or send an email to: [email protected]
