The good news is that, on a Turkey holiday, even a little Turkish goes a long way. The Turkish are a very friendly, welcoming people and they’ll be thrilled to hear you try a few words or phrases. 

Here are a few simple Turkish words and phrases with pronunciation tips to help you get around, be understood and – importantly – order that meal or glass of wine!

• Useful Turkish words

• Turkish greetings

• Learn to talk about yourself

• Pleasantries

• Useful phrases while shopping in Turkey

• Days of the week and times in Turkish

• Restaurants

• Counting to ten

• Places

• Accommodation

• Common expressions

Some basic tips for talking Turkish:

• The Turkish like to pronounce every letter in a word. It’s difficult to remember sometimes if your native language is English, which often has many silent letters, but make an effort to pronounce every letter in Turkish and you’re half way there!

• Every letter in Turkish has the same sound no matter how it is used

• Turkish has six/seven extra letters that don´t exist in the English alphabet. While all the useful words and phrases above come complete with a pronunciation guide, here’s a quick guide to the extra letters and how to pronounce them: