If you speak Italian, use your feel for long consonants, then give the unfamiliar Turkish vowels their own mouth positions. This lesson uses written examples; no recording is attached.
The idea
Italian double consonants offer a useful starting point for nn in annem and ll in elli: hold the consonant longer without inserting a vowel. Italian i and u help you approach Turkish i and u. For ı, keep the tongue high and back and the lips unrounded. For ü, start from the tongue position of i and round your lips; for ö, start near e and round them. These are mouth-position cues, not combinations of two vowels. Follow the linked pronunciation pages for the individual sounds.
| Word | Focus |
|---|---|
| annem | nn |
| eli / elli | l / ll |
| kız | ı |
| göl | ö |
| süt | ü |
Examples
- Annem bugün evde.My mother is at home today.
- Bu bilet elli lira.This ticket costs fifty lira.
- Kız şimdi süt içiyor.The girl is drinking milk now.
- Bu göl çok derin.This lake is very deep.
- Kış burada uzun.Winter is long here.
- Bugün iki simit aldım.I bought two sesame rings today.
- elihis/her hand
- ellififty
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 treat the dots on ö and ü as Italian stress marks or ignore the missing dot on ı: they distinguish vowel sounds. Consonant length matters too: eli means his/her hand here, while elli means fifty. Do not add a second l to the first word.
Try it yourself
Complete the Turkish word for fifty. Write the whole word.
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elli
elli: fifty needs two letters l. With only one, eli can mean his/her hand; the longer consonant keeps the words distinct.
Complete “girl” with ı or i. Write the whole word.
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kız
kız: the word for girl contains dotless ı. Its unrounded vowel is made farther back than i, so an Italian i is not a substitute.
Complete “lake” with o or ö. Write the whole word.
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göl
göl: lake has ö, a front vowel with rounded lips. Writing o would lose the front-vowel distinction.
Complete “milk” with u or ü. Write the whole word.
Show answer or example answer
süt
süt: milk has ü. Keep your tongue towards the front while rounding your lips; moving it back towards u changes the vowel.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Complete the Turkish word for fifty. Write the whole word.
Complete “girl” with ı or i. Write the whole word.
Complete “lake” with o or ö. Write the whole word.
Complete “milk” with u or ü. Write the whole word.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Read the first three examples aloud. Mark the doubled consonants and circle ı, ö and ü wherever they occur. Then use the linked vowel-harmony lesson to explore how vowels affect endings.