Greeting people by the hour: günaydın, iyi akşamlar
Pick the right Turkish greeting for the hour, from günaydın to iyi akşamlar, answer hoş geldiniz with hoş bulduk, and see why iyi geceler is never a hello.
Read and practiseAdventure journal
Everyday Turkish
Prepare short conversations in shops, cafés, stations and with new neighbours, with phrases you can reuse.
Adventure journal
Everyday Turkish
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Introducing yourself: name and memnun oldum
Say who you are with Benim adım… or Ben …-(y)im, ask a name politely, and close with memnun oldum. Two patterns, and the slip of mixing them.
Read and practiseAsking how someone is (Nasılsın?)
Pick between nasılsın and nasılsınız, then answer with iyiyim, hastayım or yorgunum, and see why a y appears when the word ends in a vowel.
Read and practisePlease, thank you, sorry: lütfen, teşekkür, özür, rica
Say please, thank you, sorry and you're welcome in Turkish: lütfen, teşekkür ederim, özür dilerim and rica ederim, and who uses which with whom.
Read and practiseSaying goodbye: hoşça kal, güle güle, iyi geceler
Who says hoşça kal and who answers güle güle? Part from someone in Turkish by day and by night, and see why the two farewells cannot swap places.
Read and practiseAsking someone to repeat or speak slowly
Say you did not catch something and politely ask a stranger to say it again, more slowly or in writing, with anlamadım and tekrar eder misiniz.
Read and practiseWhere are you from? Where do you live?
Say where you are from and where you live: Nerelisin?, Almanya'danım, Berlin'de yaşıyorum, and why -den names your origin while -de names the place you are in now.
Read and practiseSpelling your name and phone number
Say a name letter by letter with the Turkish letter names such as ye, ve and yumuşak ge, tell ı from i, and read out a phone number digit by digit.
Read and practiseOrdering tea and coffee: bir çay lütfen
Order tea, coffee and the bill in Turkish: bir çay lütfen, counting with bardak and fincan, asking politely with alabilir miyim, and saying "with milk" or "without sugar".
Read and practiseOrdering a meal: lütfen, istiyorum, alabilir miyim
Order food in a Turkish restaurant: ask for the menu, name a dish with lütfen or istiyorum, ask for the bill, and see when hesap becomes hesabı.
Read and practiseAsking the price: kaç lira?
Bu kaç lira? or Ne kadar? Two Turkish ways to ask what something costs, how to read the number in the answer, and why lira never takes a plural.
Read and practiseBuying at a market or shop: a kilo of tomatoes, please
Ask for goods by quantity, check the total and take your change in Turkish, and see why the item stays bare after a measure such as a kilo.
Read and practiseAsking the way: nerede and sağa dönün
Ask where a place is with nerede, follow short directions such as düz gidin and sağa dönün, and see why turning right takes -a instead of -da.
Read and practiseBuying a ticket: bir bilet lütfen
Ankara'ya bir bilet lütfen: buy a bus or metro ticket in Turkish, ask the time and the platform, and see why the city takes -a and not -da.
Read and practiseAsking and telling the time: saat kaç?
Is it saat kaç? or saat kaçta? Ask the time, say three o'clock and half past three, and add -te/-ta to say when something happens.
Read and practiseMeeting a neighbour: yeni komşunuzum
Introduce yourself as the new neighbour with yeni komşunuzum, ask which floor someone lives on, and wish a mover well with hayırlı olsun, all in the polite siz forms.
Read and practiseTalking about your family: annem, kardeşim, var
Annem and kardeşim mean my mother and my sibling. Learn the -m ending, count relatives with var and yok, and ask Kaç kardeşin var? back.
Read and practiseTalking about your job or studies
Ne iş yapıyorsun? Answer with a job and a person ending, as in öğretmenim, and name the place with the locative: hastanede çalışıyorum.
Read and practiseAsking for help: yardım eder misiniz, tuvalet nerede
Bana yardım eder misiniz? Ask for help with the person in the dative, find the toilet with nerede and say bir sorun var when something goes wrong.
Read and practiseCommon wishes: afiyet olsun, geçmiş olsun, kutlu olsun
Wish someone well in Turkish: afiyet olsun at a meal, geçmiş olsun in illness, kutlu olsun on birthdays and holidays, and when 'your' becomes -ın or -ınız.
Read and practiseTalking about hobbies and free time
Müzik dinlemeyi severim: say what you like doing with -meyi and -mayı, ask about free time with boş zamanlarında ne yaparsın, and avoid the yüzmek seviyorum slip.
Read and practiseMaking plans and invitations
Yürüyüşe çıkalım mı? Invite with -elim mi and gelir misin, accept with olur, and refuse politely with maalesef and a reason.
Read and practiseTalking about the weather
Yağmur yağıyor! Describe today's weather with hava plus an adjective, ask whether it will snow tomorrow, and see why üşüyorum is how you say you are cold.
Read and practiseBuying clothes: trying on and sizes
Find your size in a Turkish shop: ask to try something on, say it is too big or too tight with bana, and ask for another size or colour.
Read and practiseTaking a taxi: where to, how much, stop here
Tell the driver Bu adrese gidiyoruz, ask Ne kadar tutar? and request a stop with Burada durabilir misiniz?, and see why köprüye kadar needs the dative.
Read and practiseBooking a hotel room: oda var mı?
Odanız var mı? Book a hotel room in Turkish: ask for a room for two nights, check breakfast with dahil mi and keep the particle mi written apart.
Read and practiseBaşım ağrıyor: at the doctor
Başım ağrıyor means my head hurts: name the body part with -ım, add ağrıyor, answer Neyiniz var? and say ateşim var or öksürüğüm var.
Read and practiseAt the pharmacy: asking for medicine and doses
Ağrı kesiciniz var mı? Ask a pharmacist for a medicine and understand phrases such as günde iki kez, iki günde bir and yemekten sonra.
Read and practisePhone calls
Alo, Ayşe'yle konuşabilir miyim? Answer a call, ask for someone with -le/-la, leave a message and end the call politely in Turkish.
Read and practiseGiving an opinion and a reason in Turkish
A room, a plan, a colour: express an opinion in Turkish, explain your reason and invite another view without confusing a judgement with a personal priority.
Read and practiseAgreeing and disagreeing without sounding abrupt
A shared point can soften a disagreement in Turkish. Practise full and partial agreement, acknowledge a reason, and object without attacking the speaker.
Read and practiseGiving advice and responding to suggestions
A presentation needs practice: offer advice in Turkish, suggest a gentler option and respond with agreement or thanks followed by a reason.
Read and practiseAsking for a favour in Turkish
A small favour needs a clear request: practise asking in Turkish, accepting, or declining with an alternative, and keep “could I” separate from “could you”.
Read and practiseApologising and explaining what happened in Turkish
A missed bus or an unsent file: apologise in Turkish, explain what happened, offer a remedy and respond when someone accepts your apology.
Read and practiseComplaining politely: explain the problem and ask for a fix
Cold soup or an extra tea on the bill? Practise a calm Turkish complaint, name the problem clearly and ask staff for a specific solution.
Read and practiseReturning a purchase: exchange or refund
A faulty zip brings you back to the shop: explain the problem in Turkish, ask for an exchange and make a refund request clear in a short dialogue.
Read and practiseRenting a flat: costs and conditions
A viewing starts with questions: discuss rent, the deposit and building fees in Turkish, check what is included, and ask when you can move in.
Read and practiseAt the bank: accounts, cash and cards
Cash in or cash out? Practise Turkish bank-counter conversations about opening an account, withdrawing or depositing money, and a card that will not work.
Read and practiseAt the post office: sending a parcel
A parcel on the counter: ask in Turkish about sending it, delivery time, postage and a tracking number, without confusing duration with days from now.
Read and practiseBooking, moving and cancelling an appointment
A haircut booked for Thursday needs a new time: practise requesting an appointment, postponing it and cancelling clearly in Turkish.
Read and practiseTelling the story of a past trip
A trip becomes a story when the listener can follow the days. Practise Turkish travel conversations, sequence events and distinguish a stay from a later event.
Read and practiseTalking about plans and hopes
Next year is still taking shape: discuss intentions, hopes and undecided plans in Turkish, ask a friend about theirs, and keep a possibility distinct from a promise.
Read and practiseReporting a fault and arranging a repair
A dripping tap needs a clear explanation: report a fault in Turkish, say when it started and agree on a repair visit without saying you caused the damage.
Read and practiseBargaining: make an offer and settle on a price
A counteroffer needs a clear total: practise conditional offers in Turkish, distinguish a discount from the final price, and confirm an agreement.
Read and practiseSurprise, disbelief and reservations in Turkish
A thousand lira for a notebook? Choose a surprised question, an informal outburst or a measured reservation in Turkish, and keep the conversation open.
Read and practiseDeclining politely without leaving a false promise
A warm refusal can still be clear: decline Turkish invitations, soften the wording and respond to a new date without promising to come later.
Read and practisePersuading someone without pushing
A hesitant yes needs room: practise persuading in Turkish with concrete reasons, a smaller first step and a clear response to a friend’s reservations.
Read and practiseRetelling news without changing the message
A postponed concert becomes a different story as it travels. Retell news in Turkish, name your source and keep uncertainty separate from confirmed information.
Read and practiseGiving a clear one-minute talk
One minute, one main idea: open a Turkish talk, guide your audience through an example, distinguish a final point from a conclusion, and invite a response.
Read and practiseHandling a complaint by phone in Turkish
A connection that keeps dropping gives you a reason to call: explain the history in Turkish, request a case number and follow up without mistaking a record for a solution.
Read and practiseCondolences and congratulations in Turkish
Loss and achievement call for different words: offer condolences, congratulate someone on a success, and respond with warmth in Turkish.
Read and practiseHosting and visiting: offers, choices and thanks
An extra helping need not become an obligation: practise Turkish home visits, offer a choice, decline more food and thank the person who cooked.
Read and practiseJoking, teasing and knowing when to stop
A bag big enough for the whole house: practise playful Turkish replies, check whether someone is serious and stop a joke that has upset them.
Read and practiseNegotiating a deadline: request, counteroffer, agreement
Tomorrow’s draft can make a later deadline workable: ask for extra time in Turkish, respond to a counteroffer and confirm exactly what is due when.
Read and practiseDiscussing a book: summary, interpretation and evidence
Two sisters and an old house start a Turkish book discussion: summarise the plot, distinguish the author’s claim from your reading and support your view.
Read and practiseSmall talk: give a stranger room to respond
An evening in a quiet garden becomes a conversation: follow up on a detail in Turkish, share something yourself and leave without an abrupt goodbye.
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