Turkish Pronunciation Checker

Minimal pairs: the only difference is the dot. Dotless ı is the sound learners miss most often.

• dış

  outside · focus: ı

  Dotless ı: say “ee” but pull your tongue back and keep your lips spread and relaxed, like the vowel in “roses”. Never round your lips.

• diş

  tooth · focus: i

  Dotted i is a short, clear “ee” as in “see”. Keep it short, not “eee”.

• kır

  countryside; break! · focus: ı

  Keep ı neutral and short. A final r is soft and breathy in Turkish, almost a whispered r.

• kir

  dirt · focus: i

  Front, smiling “ee” for i, then a light tapped r.

• kıl

  body hair · focus: ı

  After k, an ı makes the k sound further back in the mouth. Let the vowel stay dull and unrounded.

• kil

  clay · focus: i

  Before i, the k is fronted, close to “ky”. The l after a front vowel is light, like English “leaf”.

• ılık

  lukewarm · focus: ı

  Two dotless ı vowels in a row: both stay unrounded. Turkish has no silent letters, so every ı is heard.

• ışık

  light · focus: ı

  ı + ş + ı + k: keep both vowels dull and short; ş is English “sh”.

ö is a rounded front vowel. Say “e” as in “bed” and round your lips without moving your tongue.

• göl

  lake · focus: ö

  Start from the “e” of “bed”, then round your lips as if to whistle. Your tongue stays forward.

• gol

  goal (football) · focus: o

  Turkish o is a pure, short “o” with no glide: not “oh-oo” as in English “go”.

• böl

  divide! · focus: ö

  A single short ö, then a clear l. Compare with bol (plentiful), which uses back o.

• bol

  plentiful, ample · focus: o

  Back, rounded o; the l after a back vowel is darker, like English “full”.

• kör

  blind · focus: ö

  Round your lips for ö but keep the tongue in the “e” position.

• kor

  ember · focus: o

  Plain o, then a light tapped r that fades out at the end of the word.

• Görüşürüz!

  See you! · focus: ö / ü

  Every vowel here is rounded and front (ö, ü, ü, ü). Keep your lips rounded for the whole word.

ü is “ee” with rounded lips (German ü, French u). u is a plain “oo”.

• üç

  three · focus: ü

  Say “ee”, then round your lips without moving your tongue: that is ü. Then ç is English “ch”.

• uç

  tip, end; fly! · focus: u

  Back “oo” as in “food”, kept short.

• ün

  fame · focus: ü

  Front rounded ü. If it sounds like “oon”, your tongue has moved back.

• un

  flour · focus: u

  Plain short “oo” before n.

• tür

  kind, type · focus: ü

  ü stays short; the final r is soft.

• tur

  tour, lap · focus: u

  Back u; compare with tür by switching only the tongue position.

• kül

  ash · focus: ü

  Lips rounded, tongue forward, light l.

• kul

  servant (of God) · focus: u

  Back u and a darker l.

ş = “sh”, ç = “ch”, c = “j” as in “jam”. The cedilla changes the meaning.

• şu

  that (nearby) · focus: ş

  ş is English “sh” as in “shoe”.

• su

  water · focus: s

  Plain s, never “z”, even between vowels (masa = “ma-sa”).

• kaş

  eyebrow · focus: ş

  Hold the final “sh” clearly; it is a full consonant, not a whisper.

• kas

  muscle · focus: s

  Sharp, clear s at the end.

• çam

  pine · focus: ç

  ç is English “ch” as in “chair”.

• cam

  glass · focus: c

  Turkish c is always English “j” as in “jam”, never “k” or “s”.

• çan

  bell · focus: ç

  Start with a crisp “ch”.

• can

  soul, life (also a first name) · focus: c

  “jahn”: c is voiced, like English j.

ğ (yumuşak ge) is never a hard g. It lengthens a back vowel or becomes a light y-glide between front vowels.

• dağ

  mountain · focus: ğ

  After a back vowel at the end of a word, ğ just lengthens it: “daa”. No g sound at all.

• ağaç

  tree · focus: ğ

  a-ğa-ç sounds like “aa-ach”: the ğ merges the two a vowels into one long vowel.

• soğuk

  cold · focus: ğ

  Between o and u, ğ is a smooth link: “so-uk”, sometimes with a faint w.

• değil

  not · focus: ğ

  Between front vowels, ğ sounds like a light y: “deyil”.

• öğretmen

  teacher · focus: ğ

  öğ- is a long ö: “öö-ret-men”.

• yağmur

  rain · focus: ğ

  yağ- is a long a: “yaa-mur”.

• doğru

  true, correct; straight · focus: ğ

  doğ- is a long o: “doo-ru”.

Short, high-frequency words. Every letter is pronounced, and spelling maps to sound one to one.

• Merhaba

  Hello · focus: h, stress

  The h is pronounced: “mer-ha-ba”. The stress falls on the first syllable: MER-ha-ba.

• Evet

  Yes · focus: stress

  Stress the first syllable: E-vet.

• Hayır

  No · focus: ı, stress

  HA-yır: stress on the first syllable, dotless ı in the second.

• Lütfen

  Please · focus: ü

  Round your lips for ü; t and f are both crisp.

• Teşekkürler

  Thanks · focus: double k, ü

  Double consonants are held longer: te-şek-kür-ler.

• Günaydın

  Good morning · focus: ü, ı

  gün-ay-dın: front ü in the first syllable, dotless ı in the last.

• Hoşça kal

  Goodbye (said by the one leaving) · focus: ş, ç

  “hosh-cha kal”: ş then ç side by side.

• Güle güle

  Goodbye (said by the one staying) · focus: ü

  Keep both ü vowels rounded and front.

Words with long suffix chains, double consonants and vowel combinations that trip learners up.

• Türkiye

  Türkiye (Turkey) · focus: ü, stress

  TÜR-ki-ye: stress on the first syllable, as in most place names.

• İstanbul

  Istanbul · focus: stress

  is-TAN-bul: Turkish stresses the middle syllable, and the capital İ has a dot.

• Ankara

  Ankara · focus: stress

  AN-ka-ra: place names usually do not take the default final stress.

• kahvaltı

  breakfast · focus: h, ı

  Pronounce the h: “kah-val-tı”, and end with dotless ı.

• üniversite

  university · focus: ü

  Start with ü, not “you”: ü-ni-ver-si-te, five clear syllables.

• ayakkabı

  shoe · focus: double k

  Hold the double kk for a moment: a-yak-ka-bı.

• Teşekkür ederim

  Thank you · focus: rhythm

  Link the words smoothly: te-şek-kür e-de-rim, with no pause before the vowel.

• yapabileceklerimiz

  the things we will be able to do · focus: long words

  Say it in suffix blocks: yap-abil-ecek-ler-imiz. Turkish rhythm is even; every syllable gets similar length.

Classic Turkish tekerlemeler. Start slowly, then speed up once every sound is clean.

• Şu köşe yaz köşesi, şu köşe kış köşesi, ortada su şişesi.

  This corner is the summer corner, this corner is the winter corner, in the middle a water bottle. · focus: ş / s, ö

  The trap is switching between ş (köşe, kış, şişe) and s (su). Slow down on “su şişesi”.

• Kartal kalkar dal sarkar, dal sarkar kartal kalkar.

  The eagle takes off, the branch droops; the branch droops, the eagle takes off. · focus: r, k

  Keep each r a quick single tap, not rolled and not English r.

• Kırk küp, kırkının da kulpu kırık küp.

  Forty jars, and all forty have broken handles. · focus: ı / u / ü

  Three different vowels after k: kırk (ı), küp (ü), kulpu (u). Change only the vowel.

• Bu yoğurdu sarımsaklasak da mı saklasak, sarımsaklamasak da mı saklasak?

  Shall we add garlic to this yogurt and keep it, or keep it without adding garlic? · focus: s, k, rhythm

  Break it into suffix blocks: sarımsak-la-sak / sarımsak-la-ma-sak. The question particle mı is a separate, unstressed word.

• Bir berber bir berbere, gel beraber bir berber dükkânı açalım, demiş.

  One barber said to another: come, let's open a barber shop together. · focus: b, r

  Keep the b crisp and the r light. The â in dükkân only softens the k; it is not a different vowel.

Phrases you will actually say in Türkiye. Aim for smooth linking between words.

• Merhaba, nasılsınız?

  Hello, how are you? (polite) · focus: ı, intonation

  Question words like nasıl carry the stress (NA-sıl-sı-nız); let your voice fall at the end.

• Bir çay, lütfen.

  A tea, please. · focus: ç, ü

  çay is “chai”; the r of bir is light and almost breathy.

• Hesap, lütfen.

  The bill, please. · focus: h

  Pronounce the h of hesap clearly.

• Tuvalet nerede?

  Where is the toilet? · focus: stress

  Stress NE-re-de, the question word.

• Türkçe öğreniyorum.

  I am learning Turkish. · focus: ü, ö, ğ

  öğ- is a long ö: “öö-re-ni-yo-rum”.

• Anlamadım, tekrar eder misiniz?

  I didn't understand, could you repeat? · focus: rhythm

  The negative -ma- pulls the stress: an-LA-ma-dım. mi is a separate, unstressed word.

• Afiyet olsun!

  Enjoy your meal! · focus: linking

  Link the t into olsun: a-fi-ye-tol-sun.

• Kolay gelsin!

  May it be easy! (to someone working) · focus: l, linking

  Smooth: ko-lay gel-sin. Both l sounds are clear.