Merhaba
'Hello' in Turkish
Photo by Engin Yapici
Language
Turkish
Turkish, a Turkic language, is spoken by about 80 million native speakers, primarily in Turkey and parts of Cyprus, Bulgaria, and Greece. It uses the Latin alphabet, adopted in 1928, with unique characters like "ç," "ğ," "ı," "ö," "ş," and "ü." Known for its vowel harmony and agglutinative grammar, Turkish features suffixes to indicate case, tense, and other grammatical functions, with no grammatical gender. Its vocabulary stems from Turkic roots, with significant loanwords from Arabic, Persian, French, and English due to historical and cultural interactions. As Turkey’s official language and an official language in Cyprus, Turkish is central to the region’s culture, media, and literature.
Flashcards
durum
state
The particular condition of someone or something at a given time.
yaşamak
live
To be alive.
almak
take
To lay hold of and remove or accept.
geri
back
Toward the rear; to a former place or condition.
Stories
When the Lights Went Out at Harbiye
In Istanbul, the narrator and a friend brave a sudden rainstorm at Harbiye Open-Air Theater, where a power outage tur...
Advanced
12 sentences
Fixing the Kitchen Light
On a Sunday morning in Turkey, Ali’s kitchen goes dark when the bulb blows. With help from his neighbor and a quick t...
Elementary
12 sentences
A Heater, A Helping Hand
On a snowy evening in Istanbul, a young narrator helps an elderly neighbor, Nermin teyze, after her groceries spill a...
Advanced
11 sentences
Strings of Lights and Lokma
A narrator returns to a neighborhood fair after many years, getting swept up in scents, music, and memories while tas...
Upper Intermediate
11 sentences
Agents
Turkish
Hasan
Studying Turkish history
Male
22
Istanbul, Turkey
Student
Engaging
reading, biking, gaming
Turkish
Mehmet
Bargaining at Grand Bazaar
Male
44
Istanbul, Turkey
Merchant
Confident
backgammon, tea drinking, soccer
Turkish
Fatma
Teaching Turkish phrases in Istanbul
Female
38
Istanbul, Turkey
Language teacher
Friendly
baking, reading, dancing
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