Table Of ContentTURKISH
Phrase Book
&Dictionary
Figen Sat Yilmaz
BBC Active, an imprint of Educational Publishers LLP, part of the Pearson
Education Group, Edinburgh Gate, Harlow, Essex CM20 2JE, England
© Educational Publishers LLP 2007
BBC logo © BBC 1996. BBC and BBC ACTIVE are trademarks of the British
Broadcasting Corporation.
First published 2007.
The right of Figen Sat Yilmaz to be identified as author of this Work has
been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act, 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic,
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Licensing Agency Ltd., Barnard's Inn, 86 Fetter Lane, London EC4A 1EN.
ISBN 978-1-4066-1213-4
Cover design: Two Associates
Cover photograph: AA World Travel Library/Alamy
Insides design: Pentacor book design
Layout: Pryor Design
Illustrations © Joanna Kerr, New Division
Development manager: Tara Dempsey
Series editor: Philippa Goodrich
Senior production controller: Man Fai Lau
Printed and bound in China. CTPS/01
The Publisher’s policy is to use paper manufactured from sustainable forests.
how to use this book
This book is divided into colour-coded sections to help you
find the language you need as quickly as possible. You can
also refer to the contents on pages iv–v, and the contents
lists at the start of each section.
Along with travel and language tips, each section contains:
YOU MAY WANT TO SAY…
language you’ll need for every situation
YOU MAY SEE…
words and phrases you’ll see on signs or in print
YOU MAY HEAR… questions, instructions or
information people may ask or give you
On page 2 you’ll find essentials, a list of basic, all-purpose
phrases to help you start communicating straight away.
Many of the phrases can be adapted by simply using another
word from the dictionary. For instance, take the question
Havaalanı nerede? (Where is the airport?), if you want to
know where the station is, just substitute istasyon (station) for
havaalanı to give İstasyon nerede?
The pronunciation guide is based on English sounds, and is
explained on page vi. If you want some guidance on how the
Turkish language works, see basic grammar on page 149.
The dictionary is separated into two sections: English–Turkish
(page 159) and Turkish–English (page 193).
We welcome any comments or suggestions about this book,
but in the meantime, have a good trip – İyi yolculuklar!
contents
directions 29
pronunciation guide vi
information and tickets 32
the Turkish alphabet ix trains 34
buses and coaches 36
the basics 1
underground 38
essentials 2 boats and ferries 39
numbers 4 air travel 41
ordinal numbers 5 taxis 42
fractions 6 hiring cars and bicycles 44
days, months 6 driving 46
seasons, dates 7 mechanical problems 48
telling the time 8 car parts 50
time phrases 9 bicycle parts 51
measurements 11
clothes and shoe sizes 12 accommodation 53
national holidays and
booking in advance 55
festivals 13
checking in 57
general hotels, B&Bs and hostels 58
conversation 15 camping 60
greetings 16 requests and queries 62
introductions 17 problems and 63
talking about yourself 18 complaints
asking about other people 20 checking out 65
chatting 21 self-catering/ 66
the weather 22 second homes
likes and dislikes 23
feelings and opinions 23 food&drink 69
making arrangements 25
making bookings 71
useful expressions 26
at the restaurant 72
ordering your food 73
travel&transport 27
ordering your drinks 75
arriving in the country 28 bars and cafés 77
iv
comments and requests 78 at the drugstore 121
special requirements 79 photography 122
problems and complaints 81 at the tobacconist 123
paying the bill 81 at the off-licence 124
buying food 82 at the post office 124
menu reader: at the bank 126
– general 84 changing money 127
– drinks 84 telephones 128
– food 87 mobiles 130
the internet 131
sightseeing
faxes 132
&activities 93
at the tourist office 94 health&safety 133
opening times 95 at the chemist’s 134
visiting places 97 at the doctor’s 135
going on tours and trips 100 describing your
tourist glossary 101 symptoms 136
entertainment 102 medical complaints and
booking tickets 105 conditions 137
at the show 106 parts of the body 140
sports and activities 107 at the dentist’s 142
at the beach, river or emergencies 143
pool 111 police 145
reporting crime 146
shops
&services 113
basic grammar 149
shopping 114
paying 117
English – Turkish
buying clothes dictionary 159
and shoes 118
changing rooms 119
Turkish – English
exchanges and refunds 120
dictionary 193
bargaining 121
v
pronunciation guide
Turkish pronunciation is very regular – you can tell how
a word is pronounced from the way it is written, once
you know what each sound represents. In Turkish every
letter is pronounced fully and clearly, with each letter
usually representing a single sound.
Turkish words carry only a very light stress, generally on
the last syllable. On the whole though, stresses are hardly
noticeable when strung together in words and phrases,
so are not shown in this book.
* vowels
The majority of Turkish vowels are short, except as
described below. In the pronunciation guide a long
vowel is shown by a colon (:) placed after it.
e
d
i If a vowel is followed by ğ, it is pronounced long, and
u
there is no ‘g’ sound, e.g:
g
oğul o:ul (son) doğu do:u (east)
n
o öğle ö:le (noon) dağ da: (mountain)
i
t
a Some words borrowed from other languages
i
c (especially Arabic and Persian) have kept their
n
long vowels in Turkish, e.g:
u
n lazım la:zuhm (necessary) dahil da:hil (included)
o
r
p
vi
LETTER APPROX ENGLISH SHOWN IN EXAMPLE PRONOUNCED
EQUIVALENT BOOK AS AS
a between u in ‘bus’ a baba baba
and a in ‘cat’
e e in ‘bed’ e et et
ı e in ‘the cat’ uh ılık uhluhk
i between i in ‘bit’ i iki iki
and ee in ‘meet’
o o in ‘hot’ o ok ok
ö o in ‘word’ or ö örnek örnek
i in ‘bird’
u between u in ‘put’ u uzun uzun
or oo in ‘foot’
ü between oo in ‘too’ ew üzüm ewzewm
or ew in ‘new’
p
* consonants r
o
n
Most Turkish consonants are pronounced in much the u
same way as in English. If there is a consonant combination n
c
or double consonant, both letters are pronounced. English i
a
speakers especially should be careful about the separate t
i
pronunciation of the consonant combinations ph, sh, and o
n
th. For example, ph in kütüphahe (library) is pronounced
like the ‘ph’ in ‘uphill’; sh in ishal (diarrhoea) like the ‘sh’ g
u
in ‘glasshouse’; and ‘th’ in ithal (imported) like the ‘th’ in i
d
‘cathouse’.
e
vii
LETTER APPROX ENGLISH SHOWN IN EXAMPLE PRONOUNCED
EQUIVALENT BOOK AS AS
b b in ‘but’ b bebek bebek
c j in ‘jam’ j cam jam
ç ch in ‘chair’ ch çanta chanta
d d in ‘door’ d doktor doktor
f f in ‘feet’ f fakat fakat
g g in ‘go’ g gece geje
ğ not pronounced, : bağ ba:
but lengthens the
preceding vowel
h h in ‘hot’ h hava hava
j s in ‘leisure’ zh ruj ruzh
k k in ‘keep’ k kapı kapuh
l l in ‘lift’ l bil bil
e m m in ‘milk’ m masa masa
d
ui n n in ‘no’ n ne ne
g
p p in ‘pool’ p para para
n
o r rolled at back of r kuru kuru
i mouth
t
a
i s s in ‘sea’ s sarı saruh
c
n ş sh in ‘ship’ sh kiş kuhsh
u
n t t in ‘tea’ t Türkçe tewrkche
o
r v v in ‘very’ v ve ve
p
y y in ‘yes’ y yıl yuhl
z z in ‘zoo’ z zor zor
viii
* the Turkish alphabet
There are 29 letters in the Turkish alphabet. The
pronunciation of each is given below, in case you need to
spell out an address or place name. Note that ‘q’, ‘w’, and
‘x’ do not exist in Turkish. Proper nouns (names) take an
apostrophe before an ending is added, e.g:
Ankara’da ankarada (in Ankara)
Ayşe’ye aysheye (to Ayşe)
LETTER PRONOUNCED
A a a
B, b be
C, c je
Ç, ç che
D, d de
p
E, e e
r
o
F, f fe
n
G, g ge u
n
Ğ, ğ yumushak ge c
i
a
H, h he t
i
o
I, i uh
n
İ, i ee g
u
J, j zhe
i
d
K, k ke e
L, l le
ix
