Learn Turkish alphabet

Learn the Turkish alphabet in this basic video lesson!

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The Turkish alphabet in a nutshell

The Turkish alphabet has 29 letters, 21 consonants and 8 vowels.

Seven of the letters in the Turkish alphabet (Ç, Ş, Ğ, I, İ, Ö, Ü) have been modified from their Latin originals to reflect the actual sounds of spoken Turkish language.

The letters Q, W, and X of the Latin alphabet do not exist in the Turkish alphabet.

Here is a short Turkish lesson about the Turkish alphabet. Watch the video for pronounciations of the letters and words:

Transcript of the video about the Turkish alphabet:

1. Learn the letters in the Turkish alphabet.

Aa Bb Cc Çç Dd Ee Ff Gg Ğğ Hh Iı İi Jj Kk Ll Mm Nn Oo Öö Pp Rr Ss Şş Tt Uu Üü Vv Yy Zz

2. Learn how the consonants are pronounced.

The consonants are always pronounced with the vowel «e» in Turkish. For example:

B (e) C (e) Ç (e) D (e) F (e) G (e) H (e) J (e) K (e) L (e) M (e) N (e) P (e) R (e) S (e) Ş (e) T (e) V (e) Y (e) Z (e)

3. Learn how the letter “Cc” is pronounced in Turkish.

The letter «Cc» is pronounced as «g, j» as in «gin, jacket» in English. For example:

Cep pocket Canan a female name Cam glass Ucuz cheap Cin genie Ceket jacket Cem a male name Cüzdan wallet Acı pain; spicy Gece night

4. Learn how the letter “Çç” is pronounced.

The letter «Çç» is pronounced as «ch» as in «cheese» in English. For example:

Çok very; a lot (of) Çocuk child Çam pine tree Açmak to open Çek check, cheque Çarşı shops, shopping street Çiğ raw Parça piece, part Açı angle Gerçek real, truth

5. Learn how the letter “Ğğ” (soft g) is pronounced.

The letter «Ğğ» (called as soft G) silent, it isn’t pronounced in Turkish. It makes the previous vowel longer. For example:

• Da too, also (Da – short «a»)
• Dağ mount (Daa – long «a»)

6. Learn how the letter “Iı” is pronounced in Turkish.

The letter «Iı» is pronounced as in «nation, target, bacon» in English. For example:

Kapı door, gate Yapı structure Işık light Nasıl how Kalın thick Issız isolated Isı heat Kılıç sword

7. Learn how the letter “Öö” is pronounced.

The letter «Öö» is pronounced as in «bird, girl» in English. For example:

Göl lake Öğrenci student Çöl desert Görmek to see Söz word, what we say Profesör professor

8. Learn how the letter “Şş” is pronounced.

The letter «Şş» is pronounced as «sh» as in «shop, shampoo» in English. For example:

Şok shocked Şömine fireplace Şal scarf Şeker sugar İş job, work Kişi person Baş head Başkan director, president

9. Learn how the letter “Üü” is pronounced.

The letter «Üü» is pronounced as in «student» in English. For example:

Gün day Üzüm grapes Gül rose Bütün all, whole Ün fame Küçük small

10. Learn how to use the letters “Q & X” in Turkish.

The letters «X» and «Q» doesn’t exist in Turkish alphabet. They are used as «KS» (X) and «K» (Q) for foreign or borrowed words. For example:

• Katar Qatar
• Taksi taxi

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