Overview: Turkish Letters
The Turkish alphabet has 29 letters, including many that sound familiar to English speakers. Here’s how each one sounds.
A a
Usually* sounds like the “a” in “calm”
Araba (car)
B b
Sounds like the “b” in “bat”
Baba (father)
C c
Sounds like the “j” in “John”
Can (soul)
Ç ç
Sounds like the “ch” in “chat”
Çok (very / a lot)
D d
Sounds like the “d” in “dad”
Dede (grandpa)
E e
Sounds like the “e” in “net” or the “ay” in “may”
Ekmek (bread)
F f
Sounds like the “f” in “far”
Fil (elephant)
G g
Sounds like the “g” in “go” or the “gy” sound in “argue”
Gaga (beak)
Ğ ğ
Usually* makes a vowel longer
Yağ (oil)
H h
Sounds like the “h” in “he” or “hot”
Horoz (rooster)
I ı
This sound is not in English, but it is close to the “oo” in “wood”
Işık (light)
İ i
Sounds like the “ee” in “meet” or the “i” in “sit”
İlişki (relationship)
J j
Sounds like the “s” in “measure”
Jet (jet)
K k
Sounds like the “k” in “make” or the “ky” sound in “cute”
Kek (cake)
L l
Usually* sounds like the “l” in “lake”
Lavabo (sink)
M m
Sounds like the “m” in “man”
Mama (baby food)
N n
Sounds like the “e” in “net” or the “ay” in “may”
Nene (grandma)
O o
Sounds like the “o” in “cone”
On (ten)
Ö ö
There is no sound like this in English., but it is similar to the German ö.
Ön (front)
P p
Sounds like the “p” in “pop”
Patates (potato)
R r
Usually* sounds like the “t” sound that some English speakers make in “water”
Renk (color)
S s
Sounds like the “s” in “sand”
Sen (you)
Ş ş
Sounds like the “sh” in “she”
Şişe (bottle)
T t
Sounds like the “t” in “ton”
Tat (taste)
U u
Sounds like the “oo” in “boot”
Un (flour)
Ü ü
There is no sound like this in English, but it is close to the “ue” in “cue.”
Ürün (product)
V v
Usually* makes a sound between the “v” and “w” in English
Var (there is/are)
Y y
Sounds like the “y” in “yes”
Yaya (pedestrian)
Z z
Usually* sounds like the “z” in “zoo”
Zor (difficult)
*The Turkish alphabet is phonetic, meaning the letters usually make only one sound each. But there are a lot of exceptions to this general rule.
Audio recordings courtesy of Forvo.com
This lesson is a prerequisite for:
Vowel harmony-lar
I-type vowel harmony
E-type vowel harmony
Exceptions
The most common words for language learners
PDF and Excel downloads
ben, sen, o, biz, siz, onlar
bu, şu, o
Pronunciation guide
Pronunciation exceptions
Agglutination