The Turkish alphabet is very specific, with unique characters and unexpected
enunciations:
| Character | Approximate enunciation | Coding in this site |
|
 |
 |
Other characters:
A should sound like in English far; E like French billet; G like English garden or agriculture, H like English happy or German Gesundheit, but also associated with vowels (A, namely), like German fahren; I (and Y) should sound like the ee in English sheep, or the long I in German, as for example bieten; J is for imported words and sounds like French janvier; O should sound like English port; U should sound like English wound, French fou, or German gut; Z should sound like Spanish Zaragoza, or the hard S as in safe. Q, W and X appear not to exist, and the remainder characters are more or less trivial to pronounce.
By far the toughest one is the plain C. For example, Cumhuriyet (Republic) sounds approximately (English phonetics) Joom-hoor-yet. Moreover, I noticed some variations (dialectal?) in the softness of characters like v and g', which were apparently skipped by some individuals. Finally, be sure to distinguish the dotted i from the non-dotted (ý), because for the Turks it will sound totally different.
The following table shows what I have found on the spot to be useful
for a non-speaker to communicate a little more than with gestures or drawings.
| Courtesy | General dialogue | Places |
| Hello: merhaba
Good morning: günaydin Good evening: iyi aks;amlar Bye bye: güle güle Please/excuse me: lütfen Thank you: tes;ekkür ederim Thanks: tes;ekkürler Welcome: hos geldiniz Sorry: özür dilerim How are you?: nasil siniz I'm OK: iyiyim |
Yes: evet
No: hayir There is / is there?: var There isn't: yok New: yeni Good: iyi White: ak Hot: siçak Cold: youl |
Where?: nerede?
Post office: postana Telephone: telefon Bank: banka Exchange: kambiyo/döviz Stamp: pul WC: tuvalet (men: bay(lar), women: bayan(lar)) Litter: çöp City centre: s;ehir merkezi Left/right: sol/sag' Street: sokak Avenue: cadde(si) Place: meydan |
| Eating and drinking | Lodging/Health | |
| Restaurant: restoran/lokanta
Eat: yemek Breakfast: kahvalti Lunch/dinner: ögle / aks;am yemegi Plate (dish): tabak Knife: biçak Fork: çatal Glass: bardak Meat: et Fish: balik Rice: pilaf Legumes: sebze Bread: ekmek Cheese: peynir |
Beer: bira
Wine: s;arap (red/white: kirmizi / beyaz) Tea: çay (apple: elma; sour cherry: vis;ne; lemon: ada; "bird's beak": kus;purnu) Coffee: kahve (no sugar: sade; little: az; more sugar: orta; sweet: s;eker) Sugar: s;eker Milk: süt Water: su Orange juice: portakal su Salt: tuz Pepper: kara biber Vinegar: s;irke |
Hotel: otel
Pension/hostel: pansiyon Room: oda Window: pencere Key: anahtar Bed: yatak Pillow: yastik Bed sheet: çarsaf Blanket: battaniye Soap: sabun Pharmacy: eczane Hospital: hastahane Doctor: doktor Nurse: hemsire Pain: aci |
| Time | Transportation | Shopping / numbers |
| When?: ne zaman?
Yesterday: dün Today: bugün Tomorrow: yarin Morning: sabah Night: gece Year: yil Date: tarih Day: gün Hour: saat Minute: dakika What time is it?: saat kaç? At what time?: saat kaçta? Sunday: pazar Monday: pazartesi Tuesday: salý Wednesday: çars;amba Thursday: pers;embe Friday: cuma Saturday: cumartesi |
... terminal: ... gar
... station: ... istasyon International: dis; Domestic/internal: iç Passenger: yocul Trip: yoculuklar Information: danis;ma Airplane: uçak Airport: havaalani/havalimani Train: tren Port/harbour: liman Ship: vapur Car: araba Gasoline: benzin Taxi: taksi Bus: otobüs Ticket: bilet Counter: gis;e Round trip/two-way/return: gidis;-donus; Entrance: giris; Exit: çikis; No entrance: girilmez |
1: bin 10: on
2: iki 20: yirmi 3: üç 30: otuz 4: dört 40: kirk 5: bes; 50: elli 6: alti 60: altmis 7: yedi 70: yetmis 8: sekiz 80: seks;en 9: dokuz 90: doks;an 100: yüz 1,000: bin 1,000,000: milyon 1,000,000,000: milyar 11,500,000: on bir milyon bes; yüz bin 250: çüz (iki yüz?) elli 1,982: bin dokuz yüz seks;en iki (the) Bill: hesap Total: toplam How much?: ne kadar? Discount / sale: indirim |
