How much is it? ne kadar and kaç lira

The idea

Ne kadar? asks for an amount and needs nothing after it: Bu ne kadar? Kaç asks for a number and is followed by the thing counted: Bu kaç lira? The answer is a number plus lira: yirmi beş lira.

Examples

• Bunlar kaç lira?How much are these in lira?Bunlar means “these”, so the question is about several items. The counted unit after kaç stays singular: kaç lira.
• Bu ne kadar?How much is this?Ne kadar asks for an amount and needs no noun after it. Use it when you do not name the money.
• Pardon, bu ne kadar?Excuse me, how much is this?Pardon opens the question politely before you speak to a stranger or a shop assistant.
• Hepsi kaç lira?How much is everything?Hepsi means all of it. At the till it asks for the total.
• Bunun fiyatı ne kadar?What is the price of this?Bunun means “of this”; together, bunun fiyatı means “the price of this”. The ending -ı on fiyatı links the price to the item.
• Yirmi lira.Twenty lira.After a number the noun stays singular: yirmi lira, not yirmi liralar.
• Bir simit kaç lira?How much is one simit?Name the item first when you want the price of one piece: bir simit kaç lira?
• Bu ne?What is this?Ne alone means what. Without kadar it asks about the thing itself, not its price.

Watch out

The noun after kaç or after a number stays singular: kaç lira, yirmi lira, never kaç liralar. And Bu ne? only asks what a thing is; for a price you need kadar.

Try it yourself

1. Ask how many lira this costs. Fill the gap with the question word that asks for a number.

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   kaç

   kaç: you want a number of lira, and a question about a counted unit uses kaç with the noun lira right after it.

2. Ask the price without naming a unit. Fill the gap with the word that completes 'how much'.

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   kadar

   kadar: ne alone means "what"; together, ne kadar means "how much", an amount, so no noun is needed.

3. Twenty lira. Write lira after the number, with no plural ending.

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   lira

   lira: after a number a Turkish noun is not made plural, so -lar is not added.

4. Add the ending for 'its' to fiyat (price): its price.

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   fiyatı

   fiyatı: the last vowel of fiyat is a, a back vowel, so the ending for "its" is -ı, and the t stays.

Use it today

Picture three things on a market stall and write a question for each: one with ne kadar, one with kaç lira, and one asking for the total with hepsi.