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Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language
Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language
Hi there,
I’m so glad that you downloaded the list! If you are a complete beginner, this will be an important first aid
in using the Anchor Method to cut to the critical 20% of the language you encounter. Maximize the bang
for the buck you get with your time, and start to learn these words immediately. Before you know it, you
will be a Turkish pro! This list will help you to achieve a “crawl” level of proficiency. It may comprise of
<20% of the words that you will see, but it will help you achieve 80% of your understanding. For those who
are already familiar with all of the words on this list, look out for an expanded list with the next words you
should learn, coming soon!
Good luck,
Note 1: The words on this list are displayed in the order of frequency of appearance
throughout several fiction novels. Why fiction? It represents the best mix of dialogue (to
help you understand spoken language) and descriptive text (to help you read Turkish
writings). The words are also represented in the conjugated/suffixed form that they most
frequently appeared in. This way, you can not only learn the vocabulary, but learn to
recognize the most common forms of appearance as well. If you are a complete beginner,
you’re not going to understand some of the grammar that goes into creating these forms,
or even how to pronounce the words. Fear not! You will learn everything eventually.
Note 2: Turkish is a language where letters in words can morph depending on the
surrounding letters (see other lessons on the concept of vowel harmony/letter morphing).
Don’t worry about the details now. The important thing to know for this list is that some
words have multiple spellings. Where this occurs, I have indicated the letter that can change
in BOLD UPPER CASE. There is a key on each page showing the possibilities for each bold
upper case letter.
www.talklikeaturk.com
2
Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language
bir
one
Numbers
ve
and
Connectors
dA
and, too, also
Connectors
dedi (from demek)
he/she/it said
Past tense verbs
bu
this
Pronouns
o
that
Pronouns
daha
more
General vocabulary
ama
but
Connectors
gibi
like
General vocabulary
çok
a lot, much
General vocabulary
için
for
Connectors
kadar
amount
General vocabulary
fakat
but, yet, however
General vocabulary
sonra
later, after
General vocabulary
ne
what
Interrogatives
diye (from demek)
as, by saying
Other special verb forms
büyük
big
General vocabulary
doğru
right
General vocabulary
ile
with
Connectors
şey
thing
General vocabulary
Words 1-20
Word
Translation
Grammar
A
= a/e
I
= i/ı/ü/u
Red text
= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations
on site or
elsewhere
KEY
www.talklikeaturk.com
3
Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language
her
every, each
General vocabulary
çünkü
because
General vocabulary
artık
now, from now on
General vocabulary
onu
he/she/it (direct object of verb)
Accusative case (pro)nouns
en
most
General vocabulary
olan (from olmak)
the one that is, that happened
Verbs as adjectives
ben
I
Pronouns
eğer
if
General vocabulary
onun
his/hers/it’s
Possessive constructions
mI
(question particle – no
translation)
Interrogatives
bütün
whole, entire, total
General vocabulary
bile
even
General vocabulary
ki
who, which, that
Connectors
hiç
never, nothing
General vocabulary
önce
before
General vocabulary
var
there is/there are
General vocabulary
vardı (from var)
there was/there were
General vocabulary
uzun
long
General vocabulary
olduğunu (from olmak)
being
Verbs as nouns/Accusative
case (pro)nouns
iki
two
Numbers
Words 21-40
Word
Translation
Grammar
A
= a/e
I
= i/ı/ü/u
Red text
= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations
on site or
elsewhere
KEY
www.talklikeaturk.com
4
Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language
içinde
inside
General vocabulary
şimdi
now
General vocabulary
yine
again
General vocabulary
değil
not
General vocabulary
yok
there isn’t/there aren’t
General vocabulary
ona
to him/her/it
Dative case (pro)nouns
burada
(it is/they are) here
Locative case (pro)nouns
yavaş
slow(ly)
General vocabulary
ya… ya
either… or
Connectors
zaman
time
General vocabulary
geri
back
General vocabulary
başka
another, other
General vocabulary
kendi
himself/herself/itself
General vocabulary
olduğu (from olmak)
being
Verbs as nouns
hâlâ
still
General vocabulary
süre
period (of time)
General vocabulary
öyle
that way
General vocabulary
bana
to me
Dative case (pro)nouns
hem… hem
and… also
Connectors
benim
my, mine
Pronouns
Words 41-60
Word
Translation
Grammar
A
= a/e
I
= i/ı/ü/u
Red text
= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations
on site or
elsewhere
KEY
www.talklikeaturk.com
5
Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language
sadece
just, only
General vocabulary
iyi
good
General vocabulary
son
last
General vocabulary
orada
(it is/they are) there
Locative case (pro)nouns
üzerine
over, above, onto, upon
(smthng)
Dative case (pro)nouns
biraz
a little bit
General vocabulary
veya
or
Connectors
sonunda
in the end, finally
General vocabulary
sanki
as if
Connectors
tam
exactly, whole/perfect
General vocabulary
üzerinde
on top of, above (smthng)
Locative case (pro)nouns
bunu
this (direct object of verb)
Accusative case (pro)nouns
halde
although, though
General vocabulary
geldi (from gelmek)
he/she/it came
Past tense verbs
gün
day
General vocabulary
gece
evening
General vocabulary
hiçbir
no, not at all
General vocabulary
sen
you
Pronouns
tek
only
General vocabulary
yeniden
again
General vocabulary
Words 61-80
Word
Translation
Grammar
A
= a/e
I
= i/ı/ü/u
Red text
= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations
on site or
elsewhere
KEY
www.talklikeaturk.com
6
Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language
pek
very, extremely
General vocabulary
olarak (from olmak)
as
Other special verb forms
yol
way, road
General vocabulary
yere
to a place, to the floor
Dative case (pro)nouns
az
a little
General vocabulary
şu
that
Pronouns
belki
maybe
General vocabulary
oldu (from olmak)
was
Past tense verbs
hemen
immediately
General vocabulary
böyle
this way
General vocabulary
cevap
answer
General vocabulary
etti (from etmek)
he/she/it made (usually used
as helping verb)
Past tense verbs
aniden
suddenly
General vocabulary
verdi (from vermek)
he/she/it gave
Past tense verbs
birlikte
together
General vocabulary
evet
yes
General vocabulary
baktı (from bakmak)
he/she/it looked
Past tense verbs
altında
under, down, below (smthng)
Locative case (pro)nouns
arasında
in between, among
Locative case (pro)nouns
başladı (from başlamak)
he/she/it began
Past tense verbs
Words 81-100
Word
Translation
Grammar
A
= a/e
I
= i/ı/ü/u
Red text
= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations
on site or
elsewhere
KEY