Turkish Numbers: Counting 0–100 and Beyond, Ordinals, Distributives, Fractions and Prices

Turkish numbers are built from a small set of words that combine in a fully regular way: once you know 1–10, the tens, yüz (100) and bin (1,000), you can say any number by putting the parts side by side. This guide covers counting, big numbers, ordinals (“first”), distributives (“one each”), fractions, prices and phone numbers. To check any number instantly, use the Turkish number converter.

Numbers 0–100

Every number from 11 to 99 is tens + units, with no “and” and no hyphen:

• 23 = yirmi üç
• 47 = kırk yedi
• 58 = elli sekiz
• 99 = doksan dokuz

There are no special forms like English eleven or twelve: 11 is simply “ten one”.

Hundreds, thousands and beyond

Two rules: say yüz and bin without bir (yüz lira, bin kişi), but say bir milyon and bir milyar. Turkish writes thousands with a dot, so 1.000 means one thousand.

Building big numbers

Read from the largest unit down, simply listing the parts:

• 365 = üç yüz altmış beş
• 1.453 = bin dört yüz elli üç
• 2026 = iki bin yirmi altı
• 15.750 = on beş bin yedi yüz elli
• 3.400.000 = üç milyon dört yüz bin

In normal writing, number words are written separately (on beş, yüz yirmi). On cheques and some bank documents they are run together to prevent tampering (onbeşbin).

No plural after numbers

A number already shows quantity, so the noun stays singular. The same goes for kaç (how many), birkaç (a few) and çok (many).

• iki elma (two apples), not iki elmalar
• Üç kardeşim var. (I have three siblings.)
• Kaç gün kalacaksınız? (How many days will you stay?)
• Birkaç dakika bekleyin. (Wait a few minutes.)

Ordering by count often adds tane (“piece”): İki tane simit, lütfen (Two simits, please), Kaç tane? (How many?). See the plural suffix for other no-plural contexts.

Suffixes on numbers

Numbers take case endings according to how they are pronounced. When written as digits, put an apostrophe before the suffix:

• 3’te (üçte, at 3) · 5’e (beşe, to 5) · 6’da (altıda, at 6)
• 10’dan (ondan, from 10) · 40’ı (kırkı) · 100’e (yüze)
• 1923’te (bin dokuz yüz yirmi üçte, in 1923) · 1990’larda (in the 1990s)

Ordinal numbers: -(I)ncI

Ordinals (“first, second”) add a suffix with four-way vowel harmony: -ıncı / -inci / -uncu / -üncü after a consonant, and -ncı / -nci / -ncu / -ncü after a vowel.

Dört becomes dördüncü because t softens to d before a vowel, following the consonant mutation rule. In compound numbers only the last word changes: yirmi birinci (21st), yüz onuncu (110th).

Written ordinals use a full stop or an apostrophe: 3. or 3’üncü, 21. yüzyıl (the 21st century).

• Üçüncü kattayım. (I’m on the third floor.)
• Kaçıncı kattasınız? (Which floor are you on?)
• İlk kez Türkiye’ye geliyorum. (I’m coming to Türkiye for the first time.)
• Sınavda birinci oldu. (She came first in the exam.)

İlk (first) and son (last) are common alternatives: ilk gün (the first day), son durak (the last stop). Zemin kat is the ground floor.

Distributive numbers: -(ş)Ar

Distributives answer “how many each?” They add -er / -ar after a consonant and -şer / -şar after a vowel.

• Çocuklara ikişer elma verdim. (I gave the children two apples each.)
• Herkese birer çay! (A tea for everyone!)
• Günde iki kez birer tablet alın. (Take one tablet twice a day.)
• Öğrenciler üçer kişilik gruplar kurdu. (The students formed groups of three.)
• Misafirler birer birer geldi. (The guests arrived one by one.)

The pharmacy example is typical of medicine labels; the pharmacy and hospital vocabulary guide has more.

Halves, fractions, percentages and decimals

Fractions put the bottom number in the locative: dörtte bir (1/4, “one in four”), üçte iki (2/3). Percentages use yüzde (“in a hundred”), and the % sign goes before the number: %20 = yüzde yirmi.

Decimals use a comma, read as virgül: 2,5 = iki virgül beş; 0,75 = sıfır virgül yetmiş beş.

Prices

• Bu ne kadar? / Kaç lira? (How much is this?)
• Kilosu kaç lira? (How much per kilo?)
• Tanesi kaç lira? (How much each?)

Turkish lira prices are written with a comma before the kuruş and TL or ₺: 12,50 TL = on iki lira elli kuruş. In speech, people often drop the units: on iki elli. For bargaining phrases, see the bazaar shopping guide.

Phone numbers

Mobile numbers have 11 digits starting with 05 and are usually read in groups of 3-3-2-2. For example, a made-up number such as 0532 418 27 63 is read:

sıfır beş yüz otuz iki – dört yüz on sekiz – yirmi yedi – altmış üç

When dictating slowly, saying single digits is also fine. The emergency number 112 is yüz on iki.

Ages, years and dates

• Kaç yaşındasın? (How old are you?) – Otuz iki yaşındayım. (I’m thirty-two.)
• 14 Ekim 2026 = on dört Ekim iki bin yirmi altı (14 October 2026)

Dates use cardinal numbers. Month and day names are in the days and months guide, and clock times in telling time in Turkish.

Common mistakes

• Plural after a number. üç kitaplar → üç kitap.
• Bir before yüz or bin. bir yüz → yüz; bir bin → bin.
• Yarım vs buçuk. iki yarım saat → iki buçuk saat.
• Ordinals in dates. on dördüncü Ekim → on dört Ekim.
• Decimal point. 3.5 in Turkish reads as a thousands separator; write 3,5.

Mini-exercise

Write in words.

1. 68
2. 1.250
3. 7th
4. 4th
5. three each (distributive)
6. 3,5 kilos
7. 2026 (the year)
8. 25%

Answers: 1. altmış sekiz · 2. bin iki yüz elli · 3. yedinci · 4. dördüncü · 5. üçer · 6. üç buçuk kilo (or üç virgül beş kilo) · 7. iki bin yirmi altı · 8. yüzde yirmi beş

Practice this

Type any figure into the number converter and say it aloud before checking. Then see how numbers fit with other modifiers in Turkish adjectives and word order.