Family Turkish may be familiar to your ear but harder to recognise in a quick message. Practise a chat about a Sunday visit, then prepare a short voice note of your own. No recording is attached to this lesson.
The idea
Read informal forms by restoring the full expression: slm → selam (hi), nbr → ne haber (what’s new?), geliyom → geliyorum (I am coming). The first two are typing shortcuts; the third reflects informal speech. You can recognise them and still reply in standard spelling. In a busy group, name the person you mean, answer their question and give one useful detail. Teyze addresses your maternal aunt here. These relatives use familiar sen. Ask for text with Yazar mısın? or Yazabilir misin?
| Informal form | Standard spelling |
|---|---|
| slm | selam |
| nbr | ne haber |
| geliyom | geliyorum |
Read the text
Elif: Pazar günü kim geliyor?
Deniz: Ben de pazar günü geliyorum.
Teyze: Saati sesli mesajla söyledim.
Deniz: Şu an dinleyemiyorum, yazar mısın?
Teyze: Saat üçte bekliyoruz.
Deniz: Tamam, saat üçte görüşürüz.
Examples
- Mesajını şimdi gördüm.I have only just seen your message.
- Akşam gruba fotoğraf göndereceğim.I will send photos to the group this evening.
- Teyze, sesli mesajını dinledim.Auntie, I listened to your voice message.
- Son cümleyi tekrar söyler misin?Could you say the last sentence again?
- Şu an dinleyemiyorum, yazar mısın?I cannot listen right now; could you write it?
- Ben de pazar günü geliyorum.I am coming on Sunday too.
- Sen kaçta geliyorsun?What time are you coming?
- Tamam, saat üçte görüşürüz.Okay, see you at three.
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 answer an unclear voice note with a bare Tamam if you have not understood the plan. If you missed a sentence, ask Son cümleyi tekrar söyler misin? If you cannot listen at all, ask for writing instead. Keep de separate in Ben de (“me too”); shortening a message does not change that spelling.
Try it yourself
Write the full Turkish greeting represented by slm.
Show answer or example answer
selam
selam: the missing vowels restore a greeting. It opens the exchange; it does not itself ask how someone is.
Expand nbr into the two-word Turkish question.
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ne haber
ne haber: this asks what is new, so a brief update fits as a reply. Restoring the two words also makes the question easier to read.
Write geliyom in standard spelling, keeping “I am coming”.
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geliyorum
geliyorum: the standard form preserves “I am coming”; the shortened message has not changed the person or tense. Geldim would instead say that you have already arrived.
You cannot play the voice message. Ask one relative you address as sen to write it, using yazmak.
Show answer or example answer
yazar mısın / yazabilir misin
yazar mısın / yazabilir misin: both ask the relative to put the information in writing. Another voice message would not solve the problem because you cannot listen right now.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Write the full Turkish greeting represented by slm.
Expand nbr into the two-word Turkish question.
Write geliyom in standard spelling, keeping “I am coming”.
You cannot play the voice message. Ask one relative you address as sen to write it, using yazmak.
yazar mısın / yazabilir misin
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 a four-message exchange arranging a Sunday visit. Include a named addressee, an arrival time and a request for text. Then say the same plan as a short voice note, with a greeting and a clear time.