An invitation to iftar is an invitation to share the evening meal that ends a day of fasting. This lesson follows the month’s daily routines; the festival after it has its own lesson.
The idea
Sahur is the meal before dawn; iftar is the meal at sunset. Learn the verb combinations too: sahura kalkmak means to get up for the pre-dawn meal, oruç tutmak to fast, and oruç açmak to end the day’s fast. Ramazan pidesi names a bread associated with the month; keep the final -si in this noun compound. Meals may bring neighbours and relatives together, but routines differ between households.
Examples
- Biz bu akşam iftara misafir çağırıyoruz.We are inviting guests for iftar this evening.
- Annem sahur için erken kalkıyor.My mother gets up early for the pre-dawn meal.
- Fırıncı iftardan önce ramazan pidesi hazırlıyor.The baker is preparing Ramadan flatbread before iftar.
- Dedem orucunu bir bardak suyla açıyor.My grandfather breaks his fast with a glass of water.
- Bazı komşularımız oruç tutmuyor.Some of our neighbours do not fast.
- İftardan sonra sofrayı birlikte topluyoruz.After iftar we clear the table together.
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Watch out
Do not interpret oruç açmak as starting a fast because açmak means “open”. Here it ends the day’s fast. Nor should you infer from an invitation that everyone present fasts: describe the people in your example rather than all Turkish people.
Try it yourself
Choose the meal people get up for before dawn: Gün ağarmadan ___ kalkıyoruz. (sahura / iftara)
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sahura
sahura: the clue is “before dawn”, so the family gets up for the meal before fasting, not the evening meal. The ending in sahura kalkmak marks what they get up for.
At sunset we end the day’s fast with water. Choose: İftarda orucumuzu suyla ___. (açıyoruz / tutuyoruz)
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açıyoruz
açıyoruz: drinking water at the evening meal ends today’s fast. Tutuyoruz would describe observing the fast, not this moment of eating or drinking again.
Complete the name of the Ramadan bread using pide: Fırından ramazan ___ alıyoruz.
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pidesi
pidesi: the full bread name is ramazan pidesi. Its second noun carries -si; the final vowel of pide takes the front vowel i, with s between the vowels.
Invite someone to tonight’s fast-breaking meal, not to a festival: Bu akşam sizi ___ bekliyoruz. (iftara / bayrama)
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iftara
iftara: the invitation is for this evening’s meal. Bayrama would point to a festival; it would change the occasion, not just the wording.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Choose the meal people get up for before dawn: Gün ağarmadan ___ kalkıyoruz. (sahura / iftara)
At sunset we end the day’s fast with water. Choose: İftarda orucumuzu suyla ___. (açıyoruz / tutuyoruz)
Complete the name of the Ramadan bread using pide: Fırından ramazan ___ alıyoruz.
Invite someone to tonight’s fast-breaking meal, not to a festival: Bu akşam sizi ___ bekliyoruz. (iftara / bayrama)
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Invent a household’s Ramadan day in four sentences: waking for a meal, preparing bread, breaking the fast and clearing the table. Include one sentence about a different household’s routine.