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Turkey

The most important vocabulary to know during your trip in Turkey

If you're confident and persevere, you're sure to pick up a few words and expressions in Turkish during your travels in Turkey. Not easy though because the pronunciation is so different to ours. Aren't we lucky to be native English speakers!

Turkish as the official language

With an alphabet of 29 letters, Turkish has letters that are unknown to us. Even if you make the effort to learn a few phrases, you'll probably find the pronunciation something of an insurmountable obstacle. If you persevere and learn some phrase phonetically, you'll probably manage to say a few words. Turkish and its variants are spoken by about 100 million people. Why not you too? Lastly, the odd thing is that you feel that you need to push all the words together to pronounce them properly

An encounter in Turkey

Pronunciation advice

Proper pronunciation, that's the biggest problem when trying to communicate during your stay in Turkey. The first rule is that you should always roll your Rs. That's the easy part, now things get complicated. Let's go in alphabetical order. The letter 'c' is pronounced like the English letter 'j' as in 'jam' and the letter 'ç' is pounced like 'ch' as in 'chop'. The 'e' should be pronounced 'eh' as in 'bend'. As for 'g', it is always hard, as in 'go'. There are no problems with 'h', but it is always pronounced, there is no silent 'h' in Turkish. ı [undotted i] is pronounced 'uh' like the vowel sound in 'bus'. The 'ö' is pronounced like 'ur', as in 'fur' The 'ş' [s-cedilla] is pronounced 'sh', as in 'shop'. The 'u' is pronounced 'oo', as in 'shoe'. Lastly, 'ay' is pronounced like 'I' or 'eye'. Not easy at all. if you can't manage that you can fall back on English.

English - always a good stand-by

You can't manage to say more than 'Hello' and 'Goodbye' in Turkish, in spite of all your efforts. And yet you really want to communicate because the the Turks are so friendly and love talking with travellers. You can count yourself lucky that your first language is English. In the cities and all tourist sites, everyone who has contact with foreigners or who works in the tourist sector, speaks English. Obviously this doesn't apply as much in the remote villages as it does in Istanbul. Make sure you pack your Turkish-English phrase book, in case you get stuck.

Basic expressions / Common Words

EnglishTurc
Good morning / Good eveningMerhaba / Iyi akşamlar
How are you?Nasılsınız ?
Fine, thank you, and you?Iyiyim, teşekkür ederim, ya siz ?
I understand / I don't understandAnlıyorum / Anlamıyorum
SorryAffedersiniz
GoodbyeHoşçakalın
WelcomeHoş geldiniz
Thank you (very much)Teşekkür ederim
Excuse meBakar mısınız / Lütfen
My name is...Benim adım
No thank youHayır teşekkür ederim
Yes / NoEvet / Hayır
You're welcomeBir şey değil

Commerce

EnglishTurc
How much is it?Ne kadar ?
It is very cheapUcuz
It is too expensive!Bu çok pahalı !
Can you lower the price?Indirim yap-ıyor mu-sunuz ?
I would like to buy ... this one!şunu almak istiyorum
I like it / I don't like itSevdim / Nefret ederim
MoneyPara
I'm just looking around.Sadece bakıyorum

Transportation

EnglishTurc
I would like to go to ...Gitmek istiyorum
PlaneUçak
BoatVapur
TrainTren
TaxiTaksi
BusOtobüs
I would like to rent ...Bir kiralamak istiyorum
MotorbikeMotosiklet
CarAraba
BikeBisiklet

Directions

EnglishTurc
Where is ...? / How can I get to ...?Nerede ? / Devam nasıl ?
BankBanka
Train stationIstasyon
Centreşehir merkezi
HotelOtel
HospitalHastane
Is it close / far?Yakin / Usak ?
Straight aheadDos doğru
Left / RightSol / Sağ
North / South / East / WestKuzey / Güney / Mevcut /Batı

Numberssieben, acht, neun, zehn

EnglishTurc
one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, tenBir, iki, üç, dört, beş, altı, yedi, sekiz, dokuz, on
twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixtyYirmi, otuz, kırk, elli, altmış
seventy, eighty, ninetyYetmış, seksen, doksan
One hundredYüz

Hours/Dates and daysDienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag, Sonntag

EnglishTurc
What time is it?Saat kaç ?
When?Ne zaman ?
YesterdayDün
Today (morning/midday/evening)Bugün (sabah / öğleyin / akşam)
TomorrowYarın
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, SundayPazartesi, salı, çarşamba, perşembe, cuma, cumartesi, pazar
I am here on vacationTatil / seyahat
I am here for businessÇalışma

Time to eat!

EnglishTurc
I am hungry / I am thirstyKarnım aç / susayayım
EnjoyAfiyet olsun !
Cheers!şerefe !
It was deliciousNefisti !
What can you recommend?Ne tavsiye edersiniz ?
I am vegeterianVejeteryan
Not spicy please (I don't like spices)Acısız !
It's too hotçok sıcak
I am allergicAlerjim var
Sea foodDeniz ürünleri
PeanutsYer Fıstığı
GlutenGluten
I would like...Istiyorum
WaterSu
Tee / Coffeeçay / kahve
Beer / WineBira / şarap
The bill, pleaseHesap lütefen

Health / Emergency / Security

EnglishTurc
I need to see a doctor.Doktor bana lazim
Call an ambulance / Call 911Doktor / Ambulans çağırın
Where is the hospital?Hastane nerede ?
I do not feel very goodHastayım
It hurts hereBusarı ağrıyor
Where can I find the restrooms?Tuvalet nerede ?
Help!Imdat !
PolicePolis
DangerTehlike
I'm lostKayboldum

Other

EnglishTurc
Have a nice day !Iyi günler
David Debrincat
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