Yunus: Meaning, Origin and Pronunciation
Yunus is a boy’s name of Hebrew origin. It means “the Turkish form of Jonah (“dove”); in Turkish yunus also means dolphin”.
About the name Yunus
- Meaning
- the Turkish form of Jonah (“dove”); in Turkish yunus also means dolphin
- Origin
- Hebrew (biblical)
- From Hebrew Yonah via Arabic Yūnus.
- Gender
- Male
- Pronunciation
- yoo-noos
Well-known bearer
Yunus Emre (13th–14th century) is one of the greatest Turkish folk poets.
How to pronounce Yunus
Turkish spelling is phonetic: every letter is pronounced, and each letter always has the same sound. Our respellingyoo-noos is an approximation for English speakers. Turkish stresses syllables much more evenly than English, so avoid hitting one syllable hard. Tap the letters below for tips.
Letters English doesn’t haveFamiliar letters with a Turkish twist
Every letter in Yunus sounds close to English. Just keep each vowel short and pure, without the glides English adds (“o” not “oh-oo”).
Practice the sounds in the Turkish alphabet tool or readhow to pronounce i, dotless ı and soft g.
Yunus with Turkish suffixes
Turkish adds case endings where English uses prepositions. With a personal name the ending is separated by anapostrophe (Yunus'a, Yunus'un), but it is still pronounced as one word. The apostrophe only marks where the name ends; the suffix itself follows the usual rules.
The last vowel of Yunus is u, a back rounded vowel. So two-way suffixes take a and four-way suffixes takeu (vowel harmony):Yunus'ta, Yunus'u.
Because Yunus ends in a consonant, vowel-initial endings attach directly (Yunus'u, Yunus'a) with no buffer letter.
The final consonant is voiceless (one of the “Fıstıkçı Şahap” letters f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p), so the d of the locative and ablative endingshardens to t:-ta and -tan: Yunus'ta, Yunus'tan.
| Case | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Accusative (object) | Yunus'u | Yunus'u tanıyor musun? Do you know Yunus? |
| Dative (to) | Yunus'a | Yunus'a bir mesaj yazdım. I wrote a message to Yunus. |
| Locative (at / with) | Yunus'ta | Anahtarlar Yunus'ta. Yunus has the keys. (lit. The keys are at Yunus.) |
| Ablative (from) | Yunus'tan | Yunus'tan bir hediye aldım. I got a present from Yunus. |
| Genitive (’s) | Yunus'un | Bu Yunus'un çantası. This is Yunus’s bag. |
| Instrumental (with) | Yunus'la | Dün Yunus'la konuştum. I talked with Yunus yesterday. |
Forms are generated by TurkLogic’s tested grammar engine. See every case explained in theTurkish noun cases guide, or check the harmony of any word in thevowel harmony calculator.
Related names
More male names of Hebrew origin
Frequently asked questions
What does the name Yunus mean?
Yunus is a Turkish boy’s name meaning “the Turkish form of Jonah (“dove”); in Turkish yunus also means dolphin”. Its origin is Hebrew (biblical). From Hebrew Yonah via Arabic Yūnus.
How do you pronounce Yunus?
Say it roughly as “yoo-noos”, keeping every vowel short and clear.
How do you add suffixes to Yunus in Turkish?
Because Yunus is a proper name, case endings go after an apostrophe and follow vowel harmony: Yunus'a (to Yunus), Yunus'un (Yunus’s), Yunus'ta (at Yunus’s) and Yunus'la (with Yunus).
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