TURKISH LANGUAGE USEFUL WORDS & PHRASES
Margaret Williamson
June 2008
The Turkish language has little in common with major European languages, but at least Ataturk replaced the Arabic script with a familiar alphabet and pronunciation is fairly straightforward. We found English spoken by some younger people and in the tourist areas, but German was more useful among older people who had worked as 'Gastarbeiter'.
Occasionally, French was spoken by an educated elite. Generally, the further east we travelled the less likely it was to meet someone with a language we knew.
We wrote down a few essential words or phrases for reference until we got to know them. For food, you can of course get by with pointing in street markets and using self-service shops and cafes.
Please = Lütfen
Thank you = Tesekkür (pronounced teshekoor)or Mersi
Hello = Merhaba
Goodbye = Güle güle
New = Yeni
Old = Eski
Big = Büyük
Small = Kücük (pronounced koochook)
Yes = Evet
No = Hayir
How much is it? = Ne kadar?
Ladies/Gents (WC) = Bayan/Bay
Tomorrow = Yarin
Bread = Ekmek (Flat bread = Pide)
Potable water = Icme (pronounced ichme) suyu
Mineral water (bottled) = Maden suyu
Ice = Buz
Tea = Cay (pronounced chai)
Coffee = Kahve (for Instant Coffee, ask for Nescafe)
Milk = Süt
Semi-skimmed = Yarim Yagi
Sugar = Seker (pronounced sheker)
Cheese = Peynir
Egg = Yumurta
Rice = Pilav
Soup = Corba (pronounced chorba)
Pancake (savoury) = Gözleme
Chicken = Pilic (pronounced pilich) or Tavuk
Fish = Balik (Trout = Alabalik and very good too!)
Meat = Et
Meatballs/rissoles = Köfte (beware Cig Köfte which are raw and spicy)
Apple = Elma
Apricot = Kayisi
Banana = Muz
Cherry = Kiraz
Grape = Üzüm
Orange = Portakal
Plum = Erik
Watermelon = Karpuz
Olive (oil) = Zeytin (yagi)
Tomato = Domates
Cucumber = Salatalik
Potato = Patates
Ice cream = Dondurma
Rice pudding = Sütlac (pronounced sootlach)
Turkish delight = Lokum
Town centre = Sehir (pronounced Sheheer) Merkesi
Town hall = Belediye
Mosque = Cami (pronounced jammy)
Church = Kilise
Castle = Kale
Museum = Müze
Bridge = Köpru
Village = Köy
Sea = Deniz (Mediterranean = Akdeniz; Black Sea = Karadeniz)
Harbour = Liman
Lake = Göl
Beach = Plaj
Hotel = Otel
Restaurant = Lokanta
Motorway service area = Servis Adani
Diesel = Motorin or Dizel
Petrol = Benzin
Lead-free = Kursunsuz
Filling station = Petrol Ofisi
LPG = Otogaz
Oil = Motor Yagi
Tyres = Lastiki
Brakes = Frenler
Stop = Dur
Slow = Yavas (pronounced yavash)
We found all that more than enough!
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