Mastering Turkish Grammar
Turkish Alphabet and Pronunciation
The Turkish Alphabet
The best news for anyone starting Turkish is that the alphabet is almost entirely phonetic. Words are pronounced exactly as they are written. Once you learn the sounds for each letter, you can confidently sound out almost any word you see.
The Turkish alphabet uses Latin script, just like English, but with a few modifications. It has 29 letters in total.
Beginners will be glad to know Turkish is a phonetic alphabet, so words are always pronounced according to the distinct sound of each letter.
| Uppercase | Lowercase |
|---|---|
| A | a |
| B | b |
| C | c |
| Ç | ç |
| D | d |
| E | e |
| F | f |
| G | g |
| Ğ | ğ |
| H | h |
| I | ı |
| İ | i |
| J | j |
| K | k |
| L | l |
| M | m |
| N | n |
| O | o |
| Ö | ö |
| P | p |
| R | r |
| S | s |
| Ş | ş |
| T | t |
| U | u |
| Ü | ü |
| V | v |
| Y | y |
| Z | z |
You'll notice a few letters that aren't in the English alphabet (like ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş, ü) and a few English letters that are missing (q, w, x). Let's break down the sounds that might be new to you.
Vowels
Turkish has eight vowels. The most important distinction is the difference between dotted and undotted 'i'. Getting this right is crucial, as it can completely change a word's meaning.
- a: like the 'a' in "father"
- e: like the 'e' in "bet"
- ı: (the undotted i) makes a sound like the 'u' in "stadium" or the 'a' in "sofa". It's a short, back-of-the-throat sound.
- i: (the dotted i) is like the 'ee' in "see"
- o: like the 'o' in "go"
- ö: To make this sound, say "e" as in "bet" but round your lips as if you were going to say "o". It's similar to the 'u' sound in the English word "burn".
- u: like the 'oo' in "boot"
- ü: This is like the 'u' in the French word "tu". To make this sound, say 'ee' as in "see", but round your lips tightly.
Pay close attention to ı and i. For example, ılık (uh-LUHK) means "warm," while ilik (ee-LEEK) means "marrow."
Tricky Consonants
Most Turkish consonants sound just like their English counterparts. However, there are a few special characters you'll need to master.
- C c: Always pronounced like the 'j' in "jet". So, the word cam (glass) is pronounced "jahm".
- Ç ç: This one is like the 'ch' in "church". The word for "bag", çanta, is pronounced "CHAN-tah".
- Ş ş: Pronounced like 'sh' in "shoe". The word for "bottle", şişe, is "SHEE-sheh".
- J j: This letter is less common and is pronounced like the 's' in "pleasure" or the 'j' in the French "je".
Finally, we have the most unique letter in the Turkish alphabet.
Ğ ğ is called yumuşak ge ("soft g"). It has no sound of its own. Instead, it modifies the vowel that comes before it.
- If it's between two vowels, it's silent and just lengthens the first vowel slightly. The word ağaç (tree) is pronounced "ah-ach".
- If it follows a vowel and comes before a consonant (or at the end of a word), it also just lengthens the preceding vowel. The word dağ (mountain) is pronounced "dah".
No Turkish word ever starts with ğ.
Let's review these new sounds.
Now, let's test your knowledge.
True or False: In Turkish, words are generally pronounced exactly as they are written.
Which of the following letters from the English alphabet is NOT found in the Turkish alphabet?
With these rules, you can now pronounce a huge number of Turkish words. The key is to remember that what you see is what you say.