English is widely spoken in Turkey’s major cities, especially in the areas that

tourists frequent.  However, a great way to endear yourself to Turks is to say a few

words in Turkish.  Turkish is the national language of Turkey, and is also spoken by

minority groups in Cyprus, Greece, Bulgaria and other countries. There are about 50

million speakers of Turkish. Turkish was originally written in the Arabic script.  In 1928

Turkey's President, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, decreed the introduction of a slightly

modified version of the Roman alphabet, consisting of 21 consonants and 8 vowels.

It is easy to learn a few basic phrases in Turkish once you learn a few simple

rules.  First, there are several letters in Turkish which are not found in English.  For

example the letter "ç" is pronounced like ch and the letter "c" is pronounced like a "j".

An "ş" sounds like "sh."  A "ğ" is silent.  An "İ" (with a dot on top) is pronounced like a

long e (ee) and an "I" with no dot on top is pronounced "uh".  Thus, RAKI, the strong

Turkish liquor (similar to Ouzo) is pronounced Rakuh, not Rakee.  Second, there is no

gender in Turkish, which makes things a bit easier than other languages.

The following basic numbers, words and phrases should make things a bit

easier for you in your travels.  For more complete information Lonely Planet has a good

section on basic words and phrases at the end of their Turkey guide and they publish a

Turkish phrase book.

English Turkish Pronunciation

0   Sıfır   SUH-fuhr

1   Bir   BEER

2   İki   ee-KEE

3   üç   EWCH

4   Dört   DURRT

5   Beş   BEHSH

6   Altı   Ahl-TUH

7   Yedi   yeh-DEE

8   Sekiz   seh-KEEZ

9   dokuz   doh-KOOZ

10   On   Own

11   On bir   own BEER

12   On iki   own ee-KEE

13   On üç   own EWCH

20   Yirmi   yeer-MEE

30   Otuz   Oh-TOOZ

40   Kirk   KUHRK

50   Elli   ehl-LEE

60   Altmıs   ahlt-MUSH

70   Yetmıs   yeht-MEESH

80   Seksen   sehk-SEHN

90   Doksan   dohk-SAHN

100   Yüz   YEWZ

200   İki yüz   ee-KEE yewz

1000   Bin   BEEN

2000   İki bin   ee-KEE been

10,000   On bin   OWN been

1,000,000   Milyon   meel-YOHN

Useful Phrases:

English Turkish Pronunciation

Hello Merhaba mer-ha-ba

Welcome Hoş geldiniz  hōsh gel-dee-neez

Thank you  Teşekkür ederim (formal)

or Teşekkürler or sağol

(informal)

te-she-koor e-de-rim or teshe-koor-ler or saa-ōl

You are welcome  Bir şey değil  beer shay deel

How are you?  Nasılsınız? na-sill-si-niz?

I am fine.  İyiyim. ee-yee-yeem

OK

Tamam  (this is very

commonly used)

Ta-mam

Good Bye (said by the

person seeing the other

one off)

Güle Güle  Gu-le gu-le

Good Bye (said by the

person leaving)

Allaha IsmarladIk  Alas-mah-duke

What is your name?  İsminiz ne?  eez-mee-neez ne?

My name is …  Benim adım …  be-neem a-dim .

Yes Evet e-vet

No Hayır ha-year

Please Lütfen Loot-fen

Good morning  Günaydın goo-nay-dun

Good evening  İyi akşamlar Eeyuh-ak-sham-lar

What time is it?  Saat kaç?  sa-at kach?

Do you speak English?  İngilizce biliyormusunuz? een-gee-leez-je bee-leeyōr-moo-soo-nooz?

How much is it?  Ne kadar?  Nay-ka-dar?

I don't understand  Anlamadım An-la-dum

I understand  Anladım An-la-dum

Do you understand?  Anladın mı An-la-din muh

I don't speak Turkish  Turkce bilmiyorum  tur-che bil-mi-yo-rum

Where is …?  … nerede?  … ne-re-de?

… the restaurant?  Restoran nerede?  res-tō-ran …

… the hotel?  Otel nerede?  ō-tel …

… the restroom?  Tuvalet nerede?  too-va-let …

… the bank?  Banka nerede?  ban-ka …

Post office  Postane  pos-tah-neh

Bus Station  Otogar  oto-gar

Mosque Camii ja-mi

Airport Havaalanı or Havalimanı

Hava-alaneh or Havalumanah

Hospital Hastahane Has-tan-ay

I would like…  … istiyorum.  … ee-stee-yōr-room

… a beer.  Bira istiyorum.  bee-ra …

… water.  Su istiyorum.  soo …

… tea.  Çay istiyorum.  chai …

…coffee.  Kahve (or Nescafe)

istiyorum.

kah-ve …

…Turkish Coffee  Turk Kahvesi istiyorum  Turk-kah-ve-see

… milk.  Süt istiyorum.  soot …

… ice.  Buz istiyorum.  booz …

… bread.  Ekmek istiyorum.  ek-mek …

… sugar.  Şeker istiyorum.  she-ker …

… white wine.  Beyaz şarap istiyorum.  be-yaz sha-rap …

… red wine.  Kırmızı şarap istiyorum.  kur-mu-zu sha-rap …

… salt.  Tuz istiyorum.  tooz …

… pepper.  Biber istiyorum.  bee-ber …

Carpet Halı halluh

Breakfast Kahvaltı kah-val-tu

Lunch Öğle yemeği  ōr-le ye-me-ee

Dinner Akşam yemeği ak-sham ye-me-ee

Bill/Check Hesap heh-sop

Bon appetit (used before

and after a meal)

Afiyet olsun  a-fee-yet ōl-soon