Follow who speaks, who is suspected and what is alleged in a police scene. The dialogue and examples are invented for this lesson and come from no series. The vocabulary table gives scene meanings, not a guide to legal procedure.
The idea
Learn verbs with their partners: suç işlemek means to commit a crime; birini suçlamak means to accuse someone. Add the alleged act with -la/-le: beni hırsızlıkla suçlamak, to accuse me of theft. A speaker ifade verir (gives a statement), while the police ifade alır (take a statement). These verbs identify different roles in the same exchange.
| Turkish | Meaning in the scene |
|---|---|
| polis | police; police officer |
| karakol | police station |
| şüpheli | suspect |
| tanık | witness |
| delil | evidence |
| suç | crime; offence |
| suçlamak | to accuse; to blame |
| ifade vermek | to give a statement |
| ifade almak | to take a statement |
| yakalamak | to catch; to apprehend |
| gözaltına almak | to take into police custody |
| tutuklamak | to remand in custody |
Read the text
Polis: Dün gece ne duydunuz? Tanık: Önce bir bağırış, sonra cam sesi duydum. Polis: Birini gördünüz mü? Tanık: Hayır, perde kapalıydı. Polis: Peki, teşekkür ederim.
Examples
- Polis şüpheliyi burada yakaladı.The police caught the suspect here.
- Tanık şimdi karakolda bekliyor.The witness is waiting at the police station now.
- Beni neden hırsızlıkla suçluyorsun?Why are you accusing me of theft?
- Dün gece ne duydunuz?What did you hear last night?
- Polis ifademi aldı.The police took my statement.
- Bu suç için delil var mı?Is there evidence for this crime?
- Şüpheli gözaltına alındı.The suspect was taken into police custody.
- Hâkim şüpheliyi tutukladı.The judge remanded the suspect in custody.
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
Şüpheli means suspect, not suçlu (guilty; culprit). An accusation in dialogue does not establish guilt. Also keep yakalamak (catch/apprehend), gözaltına almak (take into police custody) and tutuklamak (remand in custody) distinct. Under Article 101 of the cited law, remand is a judicial decision; it is not simply another word for catching someone.
Try it yourself
Complete: You are accusing me of theft. Use hırsızlık.
Show answer or example answer
hırsızlıkla
hırsızlıkla: theft is the alleged act, so it joins the accusation with -la. The person accused is already present as beni; another person ending would not express the charge.
Choose: The police took my statement. aldı or verdi?
Show answer or example answer
aldı
aldı: the subject is the police, who receive the statement. Verdi would make the police the speaker giving a statement, changing the event described.
It is not certain that the person committed a crime. Choose suspect (şüpheli) or culprit (suçlu).
Show answer or example answer
şüpheli
şüpheli: the sentence explicitly leaves the act uncertain. Suçlu would label the person guilty and add a conclusion the scene does not supply.
Complete with the past of tutuklamak: The judge remanded the suspect in custody.
Show answer or example answer
tutukladı
tutukladı: remove -mak from tutuklamak and add -dı to tutukla. Here the judge acts on the suspect; tutuklandı would instead mean that the subject was remanded.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete: You are accusing me of theft. Use hırsızlık.
Choose: The police took my statement. aldı or verdi?
It is not certain that the person committed a crime. Choose suspect (şüpheli) or culprit (suçlu).
Complete with the past of tutuklamak: The judge remanded the suspect in custody.
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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Write an original four-line police dialogue: ask what someone heard, give a reply, mention a suspect and ask about evidence. Mark who gives and who takes a statement. Then continue to the courtroom lesson.