You will follow an original exchange about a bakery that is supposedly closing. Track the source of the news and whether each speaker believes it; no television dialogue is reproduced here.
The idea
Dedikodu often concerns other people’s private lives and can sound disapproving; the usual phrase is dedikodu yapmak, to gossip. Söylenti focuses on a circulating, unconfirmed report. Their meanings can overlap. Duydum ki… introduces something you heard, without guaranteeing it is true. Emin değilim leaves the question open; doğru değil denies the claim. Learn these as vocabulary chunks; the reported-past suffix has its own lesson.
| Turkish | Meaning here |
|---|---|
| dedikodu yapmak | to gossip |
| söylenti | rumour; unconfirmed information |
| duydum ki | I heard that… |
| emin değilim | I am not sure |
| doğru değil | not true |
| yalan | lie |
| yaymak | to spread |
Read the text
A: Duydum ki fırın kapanıyor.
B: Bunu kimden duydun?
A: Komşudan duydum. Ama emin değilim.
B: Ben fırının sahibiyle konuştum. Fırın kapanmıyor, sadece pazartesi günü kapalı.
A: Öyle mi? O zaman bu söylentiyi yaymayalım.
Examples
- Ben dedikodu yapmıyorum.I am not gossiping.
- Bu söylenti doğru değil.This rumour is not true.
- Bunu kimden duydun?Who did you hear this from?
- Duydum ki fırın kapanıyor.I heard that the bakery is closing down.
- Sadece bir söylenti.It is just a rumour.
- Bana göre bu bir yalan.In my view, this is a lie.
- Kimseye söyleme, olur mu?Do not tell anyone, all right?
- Ben de öyle duydum.I heard that too.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Turkish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Turkish device voice is available. You can still read the text.
Watch out
Do not turn every söylenti into a yalan. A rumour may turn out to be true; calling it a lie is a stronger rejection and can sound accusatory. Likewise, duydum says that you heard something, not that you checked it.
Try it yourself
Complete the phrase for gossiping about other people’s private lives: ___ yapmak. Choose dedikodu or söylenti.
Show answer or example answer
dedikodu
dedikodu: talking about private lives fits dedikodu yapmak. The blank asks for the activity, not the report being passed around.
Nobody has confirmed the bakery’s closure: Bu sadece bir ___. Choose söylenti or kanıt.
Show answer or example answer
söylenti
söylenti: nobody has confirmed the closure, so the speaker labels it an unverified report. Kanıt means evidence and would imply support that the situation does not provide.
Ask who the information came from: Bunu ___ duydun? — Komşudan. Choose kimden or kime.
Show answer or example answer
kimden
kimden: the reply komşudan identifies the neighbour as the source. Kime asks “to whom?”, which would ask about the recipient instead.
The bakery owner denies the closure. Complete with two words meaning “not true”: Bu haber ___.
Show answer or example answer
doğru değil / gerçek değil
doğru değil / gerçek değil: both reject the closure report as untrue. The owner is denying it, so an uncertain reply such as emin değilim would change the meaning.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete the phrase for gossiping about other people’s private lives: ___ yapmak. Choose dedikodu or söylenti.
Nobody has confirmed the bakery’s closure: Bu sadece bir ___. Choose söylenti or kanıt.
Ask who the information came from: Bunu ___ duydun? — Komşudan. Choose kimden or kime.
The bakery owner denies the closure. Complete with two words meaning “not true”: Bu haber ___.
doğru değil / gerçek değil
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Write a four-line exchange about a shop rumoured to be closing. Pass on the report, ask Bunu kimden duydun?, express uncertainty, then deny it with a concrete correction. Use invented people and events.