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Prerequisites
Noun possession-(n)ın/in/un/ün
-(s)ı/i/u/ü
benim, senin, onun
Everyone is a part of the family
One thing I love about Turkey is the culture of including everyone into part of the family. Random strangers on the street call me “abi” (older brother) and I address others with similar familial terms. When addressing friends, acquaintances, and even strangers, the most common titles are terms for immediate family members: “abi” (older brother), “abla” (older sister) and “kardeş” (younger sibling). To address older women, the term “teyze” (maternal aunt) is often used. For older men, “amca” (paternal uncle) and “dayı” (maternal uncle) are both common terms. The terms for mother and father (“anne,” “baba”) are not less common, but they can also be used for addressing older people.
What can make this difficult, however, is distinguishing between the times when people are talking about real family and when they are just talking about a friend. Not to mention all the different names for complicated family relations that we don’t have in English can be hard to keep straight. This article is here to help you with this. Below is a list of familial terms, what the standard meaning of the word is and when it can be applied to other people as well.
Immediate family
In the table below, you will see a list of the common words for the immediate family.
In addition to the basic terms, the term “üvey” can be added before an immediate family relation in order to indicate step relations. For example, the term for stepdad is “üvey baba.” This can also denote adoption without any blood relation.
In Turkish, people usually refer to their spouse using the generic term, “eş” (spouse) instead of the specific words, “koca” (husband) and “karı” (wife). Like many of the other familial terms, “eş” is almost always used with a possessive ending: “eşim” (my spouse).
| Turkish | English | Less common terms |
| Eş | Spouse | Karı (wife), koca (husband), zevce (old term for wife) |
| Nişanlı | Fiancé (or fiancée) | Yavuklu (uncommon term) |
| Anne | Mother | Ana, anneciğim, valide |
| Baba | Father | Babacığım, buba (Aegean), peder, ata |
| Anne baba | Parents | Ebeveyn |
| Abi | Older brother (or any man) | Abiciğim, ağabey, ağa |
| Abla | Older sister (or any woman) | Ablacığım |
| Kardeş | Younger sibling (or any person the same age or younger) | Kardeşçiğim, gardaş |
| Erkek kardeş | Younger brother | Birader, bilader |
| Kızkardeş | Younger sister | Bacı (sister or servant), kız birader |
| Kız | Daughter (literally, “girl”) | Gız |
| Oğul | Son | Oğlan (used when discussing a child’s gender) |
| Çocuk | Child | Evlat |
Extended family
In Turkish, there are a lot of terms for specific members of the extended family. This system of kinship terms is called the “descriptive system” or the Sudanese kinship system. The Turkish language does not have a category for “aunts” or “uncles,” but instead specific terms for maternal aunt, paternal aunt, etc. Likewise, the category of “cousin” (“kuzen,” borrowed from English) is a relatively new development in the Turkish language. It is common for people to use the more specific cousin terms, such as “amca oğlu” (paternal uncle’s son), “hala kızı” (paternal aunt’s daughter), etc.
As with the immediate family terms, the extended family terms also get used as a friendly way of addressing people you aren’t related to. The most common of these are “amca” (father’s brother), “dayı” (mother’s brother) and “teyze” (mother’s sister). “Nine” (grandmother) and “dede” (grandfather) are also sometimes used, but most people prefer to use the aunt or uncle terms in order to avoid implying that someone is old. In fact, many people avoid even these terms and call old men and women simply “abi” (older brother) or “abla” (older sister) even if they are the age of their parents.
Extended family chart
Extended family chartGrandparents and Great Grandparents
Some Turkish speakers have different terms for their paternal grandfather (büyük baba) and maternal grandfather (dede), while others use these terms interchangeably. Dede is the more common term for grandfather.
| Turkish | English | Less common terms |
| Nine | Grandmother (or elderly woman) | Nene, büyükanne, büyükana |
| Dede | Grandfather (or elderly man or ancestor) | Büyükbaba, büyük peder |
| Büyük dede | Great grandfather | Ata |
| Büyük nine | Great grandmother | |
| Anneanne | Mother’s mother | Annanne |
| Babaanne | Father’s mother | Babanne |
Aunts and Uncles
| Turkish | English | Less common terms |
| Dayı | Mother’s brother (or any older man) | Dayıcığım |
| Teyze | Mother’s sister (or any older woman) | Teyzeciğim |
| Amca | Father’s brother (or any older man) | Amcacığım, emmi |
| Hala | Father’s sister | Halacığım, bibi |
Cousins
| Turkish | English | Less common terms |
| Kuzen | Cousin | Böle |
| Kuzin | Female cousin (older term) | |
| Amca oğlu | Paternal uncle’s son | Emmi oğlu |
| Amca kızı | Paternal uncle’s daughter | |
| Hala oğlu | Paternal aunt’s son | |
| Hala kızı | Paternal aunt’s daughter | |
| Dayı oğlu | Maternal uncle’s son | |
| Dayı kızı | Maternal uncle’s daughter | |
| Teyze oğlu | Maternal aunt’s son | |
| Teyze kızı | Maternal aunt’s daughter |
Other extended family terms
| Turkish | English | Less common terms |
| Yeğen | Niece or nephew | |
| Torun | Grandchild | |
| Torunun oğlu | Great grandson | |
| Torunun kızı | Great granddaughter |
Family by marriage
Sister-in-law
Here are the different terms for sister-in-law in Turkish. Note that the term “yenge” (brother’s or uncle’s wife or fiancée) can also be used to refer to the wife or fiancée of any man. However, be careful how you use this term because it can easily be accidentally used to suggest that a relationship exists where one does not, which can be offensive.
| Term | English | Other terms |
| Görümce | Husband’s sister | |
| Baldız | Wife’s sister | |
| Yenge | Brother’s or uncle’s wife or fiancée (either side) or more generally the wife of a blood relative. This can also be used to refer to a friend’s wife or fiancée. | |
| Elti | Husband’s brother’s wife | |
| Kaynının eşi | Wife’s brother’s wife | Kayınbiraderinin eşi, yenge |
Brother-in-law
Here are the different terms for brother-in-law in Turkish. Note that unlike with sisters-in-law, the brother of a person’s husband is not distinguished with a different term from the brother of a person’s wife.
| Term | English | Other terms |
| Kayınbirader | Spouse’s brother | Kayınbilader, kayınço, kayın |
| Enişte | Sister’s or aunt’s husband (either side), or more generally the husband of a blood relative | |
| Bacanak | Wife’s sister’s husband | Baco |
| Görümcenin eşi | Husband’s sister’s husband | Enişte |
Other in-laws
| Term | English | Other terms |
| Kayınpeder | Spouse’s father | Kayınbaba, kayınata |
| Kayınvalide | Spouse’s mother | Kayınana, kaynana |
| Dünür | Child’s spouse’s parents, or more generally referring to a relative’s in-laws | |
| Gelin | Daughter in law (or bride) | |
| Damat | Son in law (or groom) | Güvey, iç güvey (term for man who lives in wife’s parent’s house) |
Chart with in-laws (for men)
Extended chart with in-laws for menChart with in-laws (for women)
Extended chart with in-laws for womenThe ‑çığım ending for showing affection
Often, the ending ‑çığım/çiğim/çuğum/çüğüm or ‑cığım/ciğim/cuğum/cüğüm is added to a family term or a person’s name. This ending combines the diminutive ‑çık ending with the first person possession ending ‑ım. When someone uses a ‑çığım form, it makes the statement personal. People use it to show affection to the person they are talking to. It can be added to any family term, but the least common one of these is the kardeşçiğim term, perhaps because it doesn’t roll off the tongue. Also, ‑çığım be used when addressing strangers, especially when shop owners and bazaar workers are being polite to customers.
Test your knowledge of Turkish family terms
If all of these familial terms haven’t scattered your brains enough yet, see if you can pass the test by solving these 5 logic questions involving Turkish relational terms:
