< Turkish < Pronunciation and Alphabet
IPAEnglish equivalentExampleIPA
Aa /a/ like "a" in car at "horse"
az "few"
[at]
[az]
Bb /b/ b in bait bey "mister"
bar "bar"
[bej]
[baɾ]
Cc /d͡ʒ/ like "j" in John Cem (a men's name)
caz "jazz"
[d͡ʒem]
[d͡ʒaːmi][1]
Çç /t͡ʃ/ like "ch" in chip çam "pine"
çok "many"
[t͡ʃam]
[t͡ʃok]
Dd // "d" in daddy dil "tongue, language"
demir "iron"
[dil]
[demiɾ]
Ee// similar to "e" in pet el "hand"
elektrik "electricity"
[el]
[electric]
Ff /f/ "f" in fit fare "mouse"
fil "elephant"
[faːre]
[fil]
Gg [2] /ɟ/ /g/ g in good, spelled softer with front vowels gemi "ship"
garaj "garage"
[ɟemi]
[gaɾaˈʒ]
Ğğ [2] [3] /ː/ /j/ /ʝ/ /ɣ/ Historically, this letter was pronounced as a consonant, but in the modern standard Istanbul Turkish dialect, it either elongates the previous vowel, functions like a vowel glide, or is silent. eğitim "education"
soğuk "cold"
uğur "luck"
değnek "cane"
[eʝitim]
[soɣuk]
[uːɾ]
[dejnec]
Hh /h/ "h" in hat hız "speed"
harita "map"
[hɯz]
[haɾita]
/ɯ/ Similar to "e" in danger, but more accented ısı "heat"
ışık "light"
[ɯsɯ]
[ɯʃɯk]
İi /i/ "i" in fit ip "string, rope"
iki "two"
[ip]
[ici]
Jj/ʒ/ "s" in vision Japon "Japanese"
jeoloji "geology"
[ʒapon]
[ʒeoɫoʒi]
Kk [2] /k/ /c/ "c" in cat, spelled softer with front vowels kedi "cat"
kapı "door"
[cedi]
[kapɯ]
Ll [2] /l/ /ɫ/ "l" in life, spelled harder with back vowels el "hand"
al "red"
[el]
[aɫ]
Mm /m/ m in me mavi "blue"
mor "purple"
[maːvi]
[moɾ]
Nn /n/ "n" in near neden "why"
nar "pomegranate"
[neden]
[naɾ]
Oo /o/ "oa" in boat on "ten"
okul "school"
[on]
[okuɫ]
Öö /ø/ like "i" in bird, but with rounded lips ön "front"
öküz "ox"
[øn]
[økyz]
Pp /p/ "p" in pet palto "overcoat"
peri "fairy"
[paɫto]
[peɾi]
Rr /ɾ/ "r" in rat, with tongue slightly tapped once on the palate radyo "radio"
Romanya "Romania"
[ɾaˈdjo]
[ɾomanja]
Ss /s/ "s" in sea su "water"
saksı "flower pot"
[su]
[saksɯ]
Şş /ʃ/ "sh" in shoe şu "that"
şapşal "fool"
[ʃu]
[ʃapʃaɫ]
Tt /t/ "t" in tea Türk "Turkish"
tür "kind, type, species"
[tyɾk]
[tyɾ]
Uu /u/ "oo" in good, but shorter uçak "airplane"
un "flour"
[ut͡ʃak]
[un]
Üü /y/ "u" in cure üzüm "grape"
ün "fame"
[yzym]
[yn]
Vv /ʋ/ "v" in vet vazo "vase"
var "exists, there is"
[ʋazo]
[ʋaɾ]
Yy /j/ "y" in year yol "road"
yok "doesn't exist, there isn't"
[joɫ]
[jok]
Zz /z/ z in zebra zebra "zebra"
zor "hard"
[zebɾaˈ]
[zoɾ]

Notes

  1. Long vowels only occurs in Arabic and Persian loanwords
  2. 1 2 3 4 Consnants "g", "ğ", "k" and "l" have a special feature called palatalization. Simply put, this letters are spelled slightly harder when used with back vowels and slightly softer when used with front vowels, as in modern Greek. That's a subtle difference, so people would still understand you when you don't regard that rule (although people will understand that you're a foreigner instantly). Only exceptions to this rule are a few Arabic and Persian loanwords. In that cases, a "hat" (şapka) [^] is put on the following vowel to indicate that preceeding consonant is spelled softer and usually "hatted" vowel is longer. eg; rüzgâr (wind) [ɾyzɟaɾ], kâfir (infidel) [caːfiɾ], lâle (tulip) [laːle]
  3. "Ğ" never occurs initially. The letter itself is named "yumuşak ge" (soft g).

Notes

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