Turkish Alphabet and Pronunciation
A a
ah (like a in father)
araba – car
B b
beh (like b in bed)
balık – fish
C c
jeh (like j in jam)
cam – glass
Ç ç
cheh (like ch in chair)
çay – tea
D d
deh (like d in dog)
deniz – sea
E e
eh (like e in bed)
ev – house
F f
feh (like f in fun)
film – film
G g
geh (hard g, like go)
gün – day
Ğ ğ (yumuşak g / soft g)
silent / lengthens the previous vowel
dağ – mountain (sounds like daa)
H h
heh (soft h, always pronounced)
hava – air
I ı (dotless i)
uh (like e in taken)
kız – girl
İ i (dotted i)
ee (like ee in see)
iyi – good
J j
zheh (like s in measure)
jilet – razor
K k
keh (like k in kite)
kapı – door
L l
leh (clear l, not heavy)
lamba – lamp
M m
meh (like m in man)
masa – table
N n
neh (like n in no)
ne – what
O o
oh (like o in more, shorter)
okul – school
Ö ö
uh / eu (like German ö, French eu)
göz – eye
P p
peh (like p in pen)
para – money
R r
reh (lightly rolled/flipped)
renk – color
S s
seh (like s in sun, never z)
su – water
Ş ş
sheh (like sh in ship)
şeker – sugar
T t
teh (sharp t, no ch sound)
tamam – ok
U u
oo (like u in put)
uzun – long
Ü ü
ew / ü (like German ü)
gün – day
V v
veh (between v and w)
var – there is
Y y
yeh (like y in yes)
yol – road
Z z
zeh (like z in zoo)
zaman – time
Quick Tips
Turkish is phonetic – words sound exactly how they’re written
C = J, Ç = CH, Ş = SH
I (ı) and İ (i) are different letters (this is super important!)
A a
ah (like a in father)
araba – car
B b
beh (like b in bed)
balık – fish
C c
jeh (like j in jam)
cam – glass
Ç ç
cheh (like ch in chair)
çay – tea
D d
deh (like d in dog)
deniz – sea
E e
eh (like e in bed)
ev – house
F f
feh (like f in fun)
film – film
G g
geh (hard g, like go)
gün – day
Ğ ğ (yumuşak g / soft g)
silent / lengthens the previous vowel
dağ – mountain (sounds like daa)
H h
heh (soft h, always pronounced)
hava – air
I ı (dotless i)
uh (like e in taken)
kız – girl
İ i (dotted i)
ee (like ee in see)
iyi – good
J j
zheh (like s in measure)
jilet – razor
K k
keh (like k in kite)
kapı – door
L l
leh (clear l, not heavy)
lamba – lamp
M m
meh (like m in man)
masa – table
N n
neh (like n in no)
ne – what
O o
oh (like o in more, shorter)
okul – school
Ö ö
uh / eu (like German ö, French eu)
göz – eye
P p
peh (like p in pen)
para – money
R r
reh (lightly rolled/flipped)
renk – color
S s
seh (like s in sun, never z)
su – water
Ş ş
sheh (like sh in ship)
şeker – sugar
T t
teh (sharp t, no ch sound)
tamam – ok
U u
oo (like u in put)
uzun – long
Ü ü
ew / ü (like German ü)
gün – day
V v
veh (between v and w)
var – there is
Y y
yeh (like y in yes)
yol – road
Z z
zeh (like z in zoo)
zaman – time
Quick Tips
Turkish is phonetic – words sound exactly how they’re written
C = J, Ç = CH, Ş = SH
I (ı) and İ (i) are different letters (this is super important!)