You will hear and say pairs where only the tongue position changes, and know which word you have written.
The idea
Turkish vowels are made either at the back of the mouth (a ı o u) or at the front (e i ö ü). Changing only that position gives a new word: kal (stay!) and kel (bald), bal (honey) and bel (waist), kır (countryside) and kir (dirt). A k before a front vowel is also made further forward. No recording is attached to this lesson, so learn it from the mouth: for a ı o u the tongue is pulled back, for e i ö ü it moves forward towards the teeth.
| Back-vowel word | Front-vowel word | Vowel pair |
|---|---|---|
| kal | kel | a / e |
| bal | bel | a / e |
| dar | der | a / e |
| sal | sel | a / e |
| kır | kir | ı / i |
| kul | kül | u / ü |
Examples
- Bugün evde kalıyorum.I am staying at home today.
- Babam çarşıdan bal aldı.My father bought honey at the market.
- Dün belim çok ağrıdı.My back hurt a lot yesterday.
- kalstay! (command)Pull the tongue back and say a, with the k made far back too, as in “car”. No recording is attached, so rely on your mouth.
- kelbaldBring the tongue forward, spread the lips a little and say e, with a light, forward k, as in “key”. One letter differs: kal and kel are different words.
- kırcountryside, open fieldsFor ı the tongue is back and the lips are unrounded; for i it is forward and the lips are spread. The dot decides the word: kır is not kir.
- kirdirt, grime
- darnarrow
- dersays (he, she, it)
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Watch out
Do not treat a and e as one vowel with two accents: whoever writes kel meaning “stay!” has written “bald”. The same holds for ı and i: kır is not kir.
Try it yourself
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “bald”.
Show answer or example answer
kel
kel: bald takes the front vowel e; with the back a it would be kal, which means “stay!”.
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “honey”.
Show answer or example answer
bal
bal: honey takes the back vowel a; with the front e it would be bel, the waist.
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “narrow”.
Show answer or example answer
dar
dar: narrow takes the back vowel a; with the front e you get der, “says”.
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “flood”.
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sel
sel: a flood takes the front vowel e; with the back a it would be sal, a raft.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “bald”.
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “honey”.
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “narrow”.
Fill in the missing vowel to write the word for “flood”.
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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Say the pairs kal/kel, bal/bel and sal/sel aloud in front of a mirror: do your tongue and lips move forward for e? Then write down one more pair you hear in Turkish.