"Is Turkish a phonetic language?" is one of the first questions new Turkish learners ask. While they are often met with a "yes" answer, that is not entirely truthful. Although a largely phonetic language, Turkish has a handful of non-phonetic words and unexpected pronunciation quirks that challenge learners and even natives.
IMPORTANT: keep in mind that any differences in pronunciation mentioned below are not reflected in spelling.
Unindicated long vowels
This is probably the most challenging out of all the pronunciation quirks. Many loanwords from Arabic and Persian have long vowels which are not indicated in writing. In all of the tables below, long vowels will be marked with a colon (:).
Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
tarih | ta:rih | history |
şeftali | şefta:li | peach |
avize | avi:ze | chandelier |
taze | ta:ze | fresh |
eczane | ecza:ne | pharmacy |
It is impossible to predict where and when these long vowels occur unless you know Arabic or Persian. For example, most natives mispronounce lakap ("nickname", both a's are short) as la:kap. For this reason, I strongly recommend using a dictionary to check pronunciation (sozluk.gov.tr or lugatim.com).
Ğ (soft G)
Turkish teachers often gloss over soft G by saying "It elongates the vowel before itself." Although this teaching is sometimes true, it does not encapsulate everything that soft G does.
When preceded/surrounded by E or İ, soft G is pronounced as Y.
Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
eğitim | eyitim | education |
eğer | eyer | if |
değer | deyer | worth, value |
eğlence | eylence | fun |
When soft G is preceded by a vowel other than E or İ and succeeded by a consonant, the preceding vowel is elongated.
Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
ağlamak | a:lamak | to cry |
oğlan | o:lan | boy |
Iğdır | I:dır | a city in Türkiye |
öğrenci | ö:renci | student |
sağlık | sa:lık | health |
When soft G is surrounded by two vowels other than E or İ, it connects the two vowels by serving as a glide and prevents a glottal stop from occurring.
Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
oğul | oul | son |
soğuk | souk | cold |
mağara | ma:ra | cave |
poğaça | poaça | buns with various fillings |
soğan | soan | onion |
The -ağı- letter string is pronounced as long A (a:) in almost every situation. Exceptions are very formal settings (such as speaking at the National Assembly or in court) and avoiding homophones. In those cases, -ağı- is pronounced as -aı-.
Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
bağırmak | ba:rmak | to yell, to scream |
ağır | a:r | heavy |
ağız | a:z | mouth |
buzağı | buza: | calf |
ağı* | aı | poison |
ağılamak* | aılamak | to poison |
*If these words were pronounced according to the rule, ağı would be confused with ağ (web) and ağılamak with ağlamak (to cry).
Future tense (-[y]acak/-[y]ecek)
When attached to verb stems that end in a consonant, the vowel preceding C is constricted according to 4-way vowel harmony.
Verb stem | Future tense | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
yapmak | yapacak | yapıcak | he/she/it will do |
gitmek | gidecek | gidicek | he/she/it will go |
sevmek | sevecek | sevicek | he/she/it will love |
öpmek | öpecek | öpücek | he/she/it will kiss |
When attached to verb stems that end in a vowel, the vowel preceding C is dropped, and the final vowel of the verb stem is constricted — A becomes I, and E becomes İ. This rule also applies to negative verb stems (those ending in -ma/-me).
The vowel dropped in pronunciation is bolded and underlined.
Verb stem | Future tense | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
saklamak | saklayacak | saklıycak | he/she/it will hide |
özlemek | özleyecek | özliycek | he/she/it will miss somebody |
söylemek | söyleyecek | söyliycek | he/she/it will say |
anlamak | anlayacak | anlıycak | he/she/it will understand |
yazmamak | yazmayacak | yazmıycak | he/she/it won't write |
vermemek | vermeyecek | vermiycek | he/she/it won't give |
The -аğı- letter string is pronounced as long A (a:), while the -eği- letter string is pronounced as long E (e:). Notice that multiple rules can be applied to a word at the same time.
Future tense | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
kazanacağım | kazanıca:m | I will win |
açacağız | açıca:z | we will open |
çözeceğim | çözüce:m | I will solve |
getireceğiz | getirice:z | we will bring |
Optative (Wish) mood (-[y]ayım/-[y]eyim)
The optative mood adds a wish or intention meaning to the verb. It can be roughly translated as "Let me do". In this article, I will only focus on the 1st person optative as that is where the non-phonetic pronunciation lies.
When attached to verb stems that end in a consonant, the vowel preceding Y is constricted — A becomes I, and E becomes İ.
Verb stem | Optative mood | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
kalmak | kalayım | kalıyım | let me stay |
satmak | satayım | satıyım | let me sell |
gezmek | gezeyim | geziyim | let me travel/wander |
gelmek | geleyim | geliyim | let me come |
When attached to verb stems that end in a vowel, the A/E in the suffix is dropped along with the buffer Y preceding it (confusing, I know), and the final vowel of the verb stem is constricted as mentioned above. This rule also applies to negative verb stems.
The strings dropped in pronunciation are bolded and underlined.
Verb stem | Optative mood | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
toplamak | toplayayım | toplıyım | let me collect |
temizlemek | temizleyeyim | temizliyim | let me clean |
uyumak | uyuyayım | uyıyım | let me sleep |
almamak | almayayım | almıyım | a kind way to refuse offered food or drink, "No, thanks" |
unutmamak | unutmayayım | unutmıyım | let me not forget |
All of the exceptions mentioned above apply.
Turkish pronunciation being wild
The colloquial pronunciations of some words are not explicable through rules, and therefore, they must be memorized. Here are some examples.
Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
burada/şurada/orada | burda/şurda/orda | here/there/there |
nerede | nerde | where |
muayene | mua:yne | physical exam |
muayenehane | mua:yna:ne | room where physical exams are done, doctor's office |
yemekhane | yemeka:ne | cafeteria |
müteahhit | müta:(h)it | contractor |
tazyik | tazzik | pressure |
gazete | gazte/gaste | newspaper |
anneanne | ana:ne | maternal grandmother |
babaanne | baba:ne | paternal grandmother |
ağabey | a:bi | older brother |
Thank you for this thorough explanation. A great article!