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Catalog / Turkish Language Basics Cheatsheet

Turkish Language Basics Cheatsheet

A quick reference guide to essential Turkish grammar, vocabulary, and phrases for beginners.

Basic Grammar

Word Order

Turkish follows a Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order.

Example:
Ben elma yiyorum. (I apple eat.)

Modifiers generally precede the words they modify.

Example:
Kırmızı araba (Red car)

Vowel Harmony

Two-Way Vowel Harmony (e-type)

Words use either front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) or back vowels (a, ı, o, u).
Suffixes adapt accordingly.

Examples:
ev-de (at home), okul-da (at school)

Four-Way Vowel Harmony (a-type)

The last vowel determines the suffix:

  • -a/e after a/e/ı/i
  • -ı/i after ı/i
  • -u/ü after o/ö/u/ü

Examples:
kitap-ı -> kitabı (the book), göz-ü -> gözü (the eye)

Suffixes

Turkish is an agglutinative language. Suffixes are added to roots to change meaning and grammatical function.

Example:
ev (house) -> evler (houses) -> evlerde (in the houses)

Essential Vocabulary

Greetings

Merhaba

Hello

Günaydın

Good morning

İyi günler

Good day

İyi akşamlar

Good evening

İyi geceler

Good night

Nasılsın(ız)?

How are you?

Teşekkür ederim, iyiyim

Thank you, I am fine

Memnun oldum

Pleased to meet you

Basic Words

Evet

Yes

Hayır

No

Lütfen

Please

Teşekkür ederim

Thank you

Rica ederim

You're welcome

Affedersiniz

Excuse me / Sorry

Numbers

Bir

One

İki

Two

Üç

Three

Dört

Four

Beş

Five

Altı

Six

Yedi

Seven

Sekiz

Eight

Dokuz

Nine

On

Ten

Common Phrases

Basic Interactions

Adınız ne?

What is your name?

Benim adım...

My name is...

Nerelisiniz?

Where are you from?

Ben ...'lıyım.

I am from...

Türkçe biliyor musunuz?

Do you speak Turkish?

Evet, biraz.

Yes, a little.

Asking for Help

Yardım edebilir misiniz?

Can you help me?

Tuvalet nerede?

Where is the toilet?

Bu ne kadar?

How much is this?

Anlamadım.

I don't understand.

Tekrar söyler misiniz?

Could you say that again?

Getting Around

...'ye nasıl gidebilirim?

How can I get to...?

Otobüs durağı nerede?

Where is the bus stop?

Taksi durağı nerede?

Where is the taxi stand?

Buraya yakın mı?

Is it near here?

Uzakta değil.

Not far away.

Pronunciation Guide

Vowels

  • a: like ‘a’ in father
  • e: like ‘e’ in bed
  • ı: a close, unrounded back vowel, similar to the ‘a’ in about (but more closed)
  • i: like ‘ee’ in feet
  • o: like ‘o’ in bore
  • ö: like the ‘eu’ in French ‘feu’ or the ‘ö’ in German ‘schön’
  • u: like ‘oo’ in boot
  • ü: like the ‘u’ in French ‘tu’ or the ‘ü’ in German ‘über’

Consonants

  • c: like ‘j’ in jam
  • ç: like ‘ch’ in chat
  • ğ: lengthens the preceding vowel; almost silent
  • j: like ‘s’ in pleasure
  • ş: like ‘sh’ in shop
  • Other consonants are generally pronounced as in English.

Stress

Stress is generally on the last syllable.

Example:
tele-Vİ-zyon
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