You will ask for a medicine at a pharmacy and understand how often and when to take it. The lesson teaches the language only; the pharmacist's words and the leaflet decide the real dose.
The idea
How often comes in fixed patterns: günde (per day, literally "in the day") goes before the number and kez (times): günde iki kez. "Every few days" puts the number first: iki günde bir. For timing around meals the noun takes the ablative before önce or sonra: yemekten sonra. You ask whether something is in stock with var mı: Ağrı kesiciniz var mı?
| Phrase | Base word | Ending |
|---|---|---|
| yemekten önce | yemek | -ten |
| yemekten sonra | yemek | -ten |
| kahvaltıdan sonra | kahvaltı | -dan |
| uykudan önce | uyku | -dan |
| işten sonra | iş | -ten |
| dersten önce | ders | -ten |
Examples
- Bana bir ağrı kesici verir misiniz?Could you give me a painkiller?
- Bu ilacı günde iki kez alın.Take this medicine twice a day.günde is gün (day) plus the locative -de: literally "in the day", so "per day". Alın is the polite command of almak, to take.
- Tabletleri yemekten sonra için.Take the tablets after eating.Turkish also "drinks" tablets (içmek), so için here is the polite command "take", not the word for "for".
- Öksürük şurubunuz var mı?Do you have cough syrup?The p of şurup softens to b before a vowel: şurubu. With -unuz (your, polite) it becomes şurubunuz. Var mı asks whether something exists.
- Bu ilaç çocuklar için mi?Is this medicine for children?Here için is the word for "for" and follows çocuklar; mi is written apart and ends the question.
- Vitaminimi iki günde bir alıyorum.I take my vitamin every other day.İki günde bir is "once in two days", so every other day. Compare günde iki kez, twice a day.
- Reçetem yok.I do not have a prescription.
- eczanedeat the pharmacyeczanede-de / -da / -te / -ta: in, at, on
- ilaçlarımmy medicinesilaçlar-ler / -lar: the plural suffixım-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my
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Watch out
Do not swap the two patterns: günde iki kez means twice a day, but iki günde bir means once every two days. Translating word for word from "two days" mixes them up. Also kez takes no plural: iki kez, not iki kezler.
Try it yourself
Complete the word: take this medicine twice a day.
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günde
günde: the last vowel of gün is ü, so the locative is -de; it means "per day", and the number and kez follow.
Complete the phrase: I take my vitamin every three days.
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üç günde
üç günde: in "every three days" the number comes before günde and bir closes the phrase; after the front ü the locative is -de.
Add the possessive -u to şurup (syrup): its syrup. The p softens.
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şurubu
şurubu: before a vowel the final p of şurup softens to b, and after the back vowel u the possessive is -u.
Add the accusative to ilaç (medicine): this medicine as the object.
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ilacı
ilacı: before a vowel the final ç of ilaç softens to c, and after the back vowel a the accusative is -ı.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete the word: take this medicine twice a day.
Complete the phrase: I take my vitamin every three days.
Add the possessive -u to şurup (syrup): its syrup. The p softens.
Add the accusative to ilaç (medicine): this medicine as the object.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: at the pharmacy
Tap the parts in order to build this word: my medicines
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Write a short pharmacy dialogue: ask for one medicine with var mı, then write the instruction you hear, with how often and when.