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Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language

Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language

Hi there,

I’m so glad that you downloaded the list! If you are a complete beginner, this will be an important first aid

in using the Anchor Method to cut to the critical 20% of the language you encounter. Maximize the bang

for the buck you get with your time, and start to learn these words immediately. Before you know it, you

will be a Turkish pro! This list will help you to achieve a “crawl” level of proficiency. It may comprise of

<20% of the words that you will see, but it will help you achieve 80% of your understanding. For those who

are already familiar with all of the words on this list, look out for an expanded list with the next words you

should learn, coming soon!

Good luck,

Note 1: The words on this list are displayed in the order of frequency of appearance

throughout several fiction novels. Why fiction? It represents the best mix of dialogue (to

help you understand spoken language) and descriptive text (to help you read Turkish

writings). The words are also represented in the conjugated/suffixed form that they most

frequently appeared in. This way, you can not only learn the vocabulary, but learn to

recognize the most common forms of appearance as well. If you are a complete beginner,

you’re not going to understand some of the grammar that goes into creating these forms,

or even how to pronounce the words. Fear not! You will learn everything eventually.

Note 2: Turkish is a language where letters in words can morph depending on the

surrounding letters (see other lessons on the concept of vowel harmony/letter morphing).

Don’t worry about the details now. The important thing to know for this list is that some

words have multiple spellings. Where this occurs, I have indicated the letter that can change

in BOLD UPPER CASE. There is a key on each page showing the possibilities for each bold

upper case letter.

www.talklikeaturk.com

2

Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language

bir

one

Numbers

ve

and

Connectors

dA

and, too, also

Connectors

dedi (from demek)

he/she/it said

Past tense verbs

bu

this

Pronouns

o

that

Pronouns

daha

more

General vocabulary

ama

but

Connectors

gibi

like

General vocabulary

çok

a lot, much

General vocabulary

için

for

Connectors

kadar

amount

General vocabulary

fakat

but, yet, however

General vocabulary

sonra

later, after

General vocabulary

ne

what

Interrogatives

diye (from demek)

as, by saying

Other special verb forms

büyük

big

General vocabulary

doğru

right

General vocabulary

ile

with

Connectors

şey

thing

General vocabulary

Words 1-20

Word

Translation

Grammar

A

= a/e

I

= i/ı/ü/u

Red text

= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations

on site or

elsewhere

KEY

www.talklikeaturk.com

3

Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language

her

every, each

General vocabulary

çünkü

because

General vocabulary

artık

now, from now on

General vocabulary

onu

he/she/it (direct object of verb)

Accusative case (pro)nouns

en

most

General vocabulary

olan (from olmak)

the one that is, that happened

Verbs as adjectives

ben

I

Pronouns

eğer

if

General vocabulary

onun

his/hers/it’s

Possessive constructions

mI

(question particle – no

translation)

Interrogatives

bütün

whole, entire, total

General vocabulary

bile

even

General vocabulary

ki

who, which, that

Connectors

hiç

never, nothing

General vocabulary

önce

before

General vocabulary

var

there is/there are

General vocabulary

vardı (from var)

there was/there were

General vocabulary

uzun

long

General vocabulary

olduğunu (from olmak)

being

Verbs as nouns/Accusative

case (pro)nouns

iki

two

Numbers

Words 21-40

Word

Translation

Grammar

A

= a/e

I

= i/ı/ü/u

Red text

= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations

on site or

elsewhere

KEY

www.talklikeaturk.com

4

Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language

içinde

inside

General vocabulary

şimdi

now

General vocabulary

yine

again

General vocabulary

değil

not

General vocabulary

yok

there isn’t/there aren’t

General vocabulary

ona

to him/her/it

Dative case (pro)nouns

burada

(it is/they are) here

Locative case (pro)nouns

yavaş

slow(ly)

General vocabulary

ya… ya

either… or

Connectors

zaman

time

General vocabulary

geri

back

General vocabulary

başka

another, other

General vocabulary

kendi

himself/herself/itself

General vocabulary

olduğu (from olmak)

being

Verbs as nouns

hâlâ

still

General vocabulary

süre

period (of time)

General vocabulary

öyle

that way

General vocabulary

bana

to me

Dative case (pro)nouns

hem… hem

and… also

Connectors

benim

my, mine

Pronouns

Words 41-60

Word

Translation

Grammar

A

= a/e

I

= i/ı/ü/u

Red text

= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations

on site or

elsewhere

KEY

www.talklikeaturk.com

5

Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language

sadece

just, only

General vocabulary

iyi

good

General vocabulary

son

last

General vocabulary

orada

(it is/they are) there

Locative case (pro)nouns

üzerine

over, above, onto, upon

(smthng)

Dative case (pro)nouns

biraz

a little bit

General vocabulary

veya

or

Connectors

sonunda

in the end, finally

General vocabulary

sanki

as if

Connectors

tam

exactly, whole/perfect

General vocabulary

üzerinde

on top of, above (smthng)

Locative case (pro)nouns

bunu

this (direct object of verb)

Accusative case (pro)nouns

halde

although, though

General vocabulary

geldi (from gelmek)

he/she/it came

Past tense verbs

gün

day

General vocabulary

gece

evening

General vocabulary

hiçbir

no, not at all

General vocabulary

sen

you

Pronouns

tek

only

General vocabulary

yeniden

again

General vocabulary

Words 61-80

Word

Translation

Grammar

A

= a/e

I

= i/ı/ü/u

Red text

= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations

on site or

elsewhere

KEY

www.talklikeaturk.com

6

Top 100 Words In The Turkish Language

pek

very, extremely

General vocabulary

olarak (from olmak)

as

Other special verb forms

yol

way, road

General vocabulary

yere

to a place, to the floor

Dative case (pro)nouns

az

a little

General vocabulary

şu

that

Pronouns

belki

maybe

General vocabulary

oldu (from olmak)

was

Past tense verbs

hemen

immediately

General vocabulary

böyle

this way

General vocabulary

cevap

answer

General vocabulary

etti (from etmek)

he/she/it made (usually used

as helping verb)

Past tense verbs

aniden

suddenly

General vocabulary

verdi (from vermek)

he/she/it gave

Past tense verbs

birlikte

together

General vocabulary

evet

yes

General vocabulary

baktı (from bakmak)

he/she/it looked

Past tense verbs

altında

under, down, below (smthng)

Locative case (pro)nouns

arasında

in between, among

Locative case (pro)nouns

başladı (from başlamak)

he/she/it began

Past tense verbs

Words 81-100

Word

Translation

Grammar

A

= a/e

I

= i/ı/ü/u

Red text

= usage complicated; see more detailed explanations

on site or

elsewhere

KEY