Turkish Language
Useful tips and phrases to help you get by
Many of the Turkish people that you will come across in Kalkan will have a reasonable understanding of English, particularly in shops and restaurants, but an attempt to use Turkish is very much appreciated and considered good manners.
Helpful phrases
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|
Hello |
Merhaba |
Mur-Ha-Bah |
|
Good Morning |
Günaydin |
Guh-Ny-Dun |
|
Good Evening |
iyi akşamlar |
EE-Ak-Sham-Lar |
|
How are you? |
Nasilsiniz? |
Nah-suhl-suh-nuhz |
|
Goodbye (Person leaving) |
Hoşçakalin |
Hosh-cha-kaluhn |
|
Goodbye (Person staying) |
Güle güle |
Guele guele |
|
Yes |
Evet |
Eh-vet |
|
No |
Hayir |
Ha-yur |
|
What? |
Ne? |
Neh |
|
How? |
Nasil? |
Nah-suhl |
|
Who? |
Kim? |
Keem |
|
Please |
Lütfen |
Loot-fen |
|
I'm sorry |
Pardon |
Par-don |
|
Thank you |
Teşekkürler |
Tesh-eh-kur-Ler |
|
You're welcome |
Bir şey değil |
Beer shey deh-yeel |
|
Bill Please |
Hesap lütfen |
Heh-sap Loot-fen |
|
One Beer Please |
Bir Bira Lütfen |
Beer Beera Loot-fen |
|
Tea |
Çay |
Chi |
|
Apple Tea |
Elma çay |
Elma Chi |
|
Orange |
Portakal |
Poor-ta-Kal |
|
Lemon |
Limon |
Li-mon |
|
Water |
Su |
Sue |
|
Bus |
Dolmus |
Dol-Mush |
|
Taxi |
Taksi |
Taxi |
| Turkish Alphabet and Numbers |
|
Vowels; |
|
A - 'ah' |
|
E - 'eh' |
|
İ - "ee" |
|
O - 'Oh' as in 'order' |
|
Ö - 'Ooh' |
|
U - short as in 'put' |
|
Ü - sounds like 'eeyoo' - Round your lips like you are going to say "oo", but try and say "ee" |
|
Consonants; |
|
B - 'Buh' |
|
C - 'Juh' |
|
Ç - 'Ch' |
|
D - as in 'drum' |
|
F - as in 'farm' |
|
G - as in 'give' |
|
Ğ - a silent letter which is used to lengthen the previous vowel |
|
H - as in 'help' |
|
J - as in the French name 'Jean' |
|
K - as in 'kin' |
|
L - as in 'lost' |
|
M - as in 'men' |
|
N - as in 'now' |
|
P - as in 'pet' |
|
R - rolled very lightly |
|
S - as in 'snake' |
|
Ş - 'Sh' |
|
T - as in 'team' |
|
V - try saying a 'V' and a 'W' together |
|
Y - as in 'yes' |
|
Z - 'zuh' |
| Number | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|
1 |
Bir |
Beer |
|
2 |
Iki |
Icky |
|
3 |
üç |
Ooch |
|
4 |
dört |
Dirt |
|
5 |
Beş |
Besh |
|
6 |
Alti |
Altuh |
|
7 |
Yedi |
Yedi |
|
8 |
Sekiz |
Say-keys |
|
9 |
Dokuz |
Dok-oos |
|
10 |
On |
"Own" without emphasis on W |
When ordering food it is helpful to know what your options are on the menu! Some menus outside Kalkan may be purely in Turkish, and the following words can be very useful;
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|
Chicken |
Tavuk |
Tahvwook |
|
Fish |
Balik |
Ballick |
|
Lamb |
Kuzu |
Koo-zoo |
|
Beef steak |
Biftek |
Biff-teck |
|
Minced meat balls |
Kofte |
Kohfter |
|
Mixed starters |
Meze |
Mezzay |
|
Turkish Pizza |
Pide |
Peeday |
|
Casserole |
Guvech |
Goo-vetch |
|
Sugar |
Şeker |
Sheck-air |
|
Salt |
Tuz |
Tooz |
|
Wine |
Şarap |
Sharrap |
|
Bread |
Ekmek |
Eckmeck |
|
Soup |
Çorba |
Chor-ber |
|
Hot |
Sicak |
See-jack |
|
Cold |
Soğuk |
Soo-ook |
|
Ice cream |
Dondurma |
Don-door-mar |
|
A beautiful sweet pastry dessert sold in Turkish bakeries and you will see this as a dessert option on most menus. |
Baklava |
Back-la-var |
