Overview: Turkish Letters
The Turkish alphabet has 29 letters, including many that sound familiar to English speakers. Here’s how each one sounds.
Example
Explanation
B b
Baba (father)
Sounds like the “b” in “bat”
C c
Can (soul)
Sounds like the “j” in “John”
Ç ç
Çok (very / a lot)
Sounds like the “ch” in “chat”
D d
Dede (grandpa)
Sounds like the “d” in “dad”
E e
Ekmek (bread)
Sounds like the “e” in “net” or the “ay” in “may”
F f
Fil (elephant)
Sounds like the “f” in “far”
G g
Gaga (beak)
Sounds like the “g” in “go” or the “gy” sound in “argue”
H h
Horoz (rooster)
Sounds like the “h” in “he” or “hot”
I ı
Işık (light)
This sound is not in English, but it is close to the “oo” in “wood”
İ i
İlişki (relationship)
Sounds like the “ee” in “meet” or the “i” in “sit”
J j
Jet (jet)
Sounds like the “s” in “measure”
K k
Kek (cake)
Sounds like the “k” in “make” or the “ky” sound in “cute”
M m
Mama (baby food)
Sounds like the “m” in “man”
N n
Nene (grandma)
Sounds like the “e” in “net” or the “ay” in “may”
O o
On (ten)
Sounds like the “o” in “cone”
Ö ö
Ön (front)
There is no sound like this in English., but it is similar to the German ö.
P p
Patates (potato)
Sounds like the “p” in “pop”
S s
Sen (you)
Sounds like the “s” in “sand”
Ş ş
Şişe (bottle)
Sounds like the “sh” in “she”
T t
Tat (taste)
Sounds like the “t” in “ton”
U u
Un (flour)
Sounds like the “oo” in “boot”
Ü ü
Ürün (product)
There is no sound like this in English, but it is close to the “ue” in “cue.”
Y y
Yaya (pedestrian)
Sounds like the “y” in “yes”
*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