Turkish Pronunciation Rules with Examples

How to read Turkish

Turkish is one of the easiest languages to read: one letter, one sound, no silent letters and no tricky combinations. Learn a handful of unusual letters — ı, ö, ü, c, ç, ş, ğ — and you can read any word, even without knowing what it means.

Tap the words to hear them; the “Slow” speed helps you catch every sound. In the IPA, ˈ marks the stressed syllable.

Vowels

Turkish has eight vowels, and each always sounds clear, even unstressed. Four are new to English speakers: the dotless ı, ö, ü, and a pure e.

NormalSlow

ı

[ɯ] · flat “uh”

The dotless ı is a vowel English lacks: say “ee” with your lips spread and your tongue pulled back, close to the “u” in “radium”. Kız, sıcak. Don’t mix it up with the dotted i.

i

[i] · ee

The dotted i is “ee”: bir — “beer”, inek — “ee-NEK”. The dot stays on the capital too: İstanbul, İzmir.

ö

[œ] · like German ö

Ö: round your lips as for “o” but say “e”, like the German ö or the French eu: göz, börek.

ü

[y] · like German ü

Ü: round your lips as for “oo” but say “ee”, like the German ü or the French u: üç, süt.

e

[e] · e as in “bed”

E is always a clear “e” as in “bed”, even at the end of a word: deniz, gece.

Consonants

Most consonants are read as in English. A few need remembering: c is “j”, ç is “ch”, ş is “sh”, y is “y”, and ğ is hardly pronounced.

c

[dʒ] · j as in “jam”

C is always “j” as in “jam”, never “k” or “s”: cami — “jah-MEE”, pencere.

ç

[tʃ] · ch

Ç is “ch”: çay — “chai”, çocuk — “cho-JOOK”.

ş

[ʃ] · sh

Ş is “sh”: şeker — “sheh-KEHR”, baş — “bash”.

y

[j] · y as in “yes”

Y is always the consonant “y” as in “yes”: yok, yol, yavaş.

j

[ʒ] · s as in “pleasure”

J is the “s” in “pleasure”; it appears in loanwords, mostly from French: jeton, garaj.

h

[h]

H is always pronounced, as in “house”: hava, sahil.

ğ after a, ı, o, u

[ː] · lengthens the vowel

Ğ (“soft g”) has no sound of its own: it lengthens the vowel before it. Dağ — “daa”, yağmur — “yaa-moor”, doğru — “doh-roo”.

ğ between e, i

[j] · a light “y” or nothing

Between front vowels ğ sounds like a faint “y” or just links the vowels: değil — “deh-eel”, diğer, eğlence.

k, g, l next to e, i, ö, ü

[c ɟ l] · softer, with a hint of “y”

Next to front vowels k, g and l are softer, with a slight “y” glide: kedi, gül, limon. Next to back vowels they’re hard: kol, gol, ala.

Stress and long vowels

Turkish stress is light and usually falls on the last syllable. But there are important exceptions: names of cities and countries, some adverbs, and suffixes that never take stress.

stress on the last syllable

[ˈ] · last syllable

Most words are stressed on the last syllable, and the stress moves along as suffixes are added: araBA → arabaLAR → arabalarDA.

exceptions: places, adverbs

[ˈ] · earlier

Place names, question words and some adverbs are stressed earlier: ANkara, TÜRkiye, NErede, Ama. The negative -ma / -me pulls the stress onto the syllable before it: GELmedim.

â, û, î

[aː] · long “aa”

The ^ mark (şapka, “little hat”) appears in Arabic and Persian loanwords: the vowel is longer and k, g, l before it are soft. Kâğıt — “kyaa-uht”, lâzım.

Practice: test yourself

10 questions per round, made from the words on this page. After every answer you hear the word and the right option lights up.

How is it read?A few letters in a word are highlighted. Choose how they sound.Which word did you hear?Listen to a word and find it among four.

How to remember the rules faster

Learn the traps for English speakers: c is “j”, ç is “ch”, ş is “sh”, and ı is not “i”.
Don’t pronounce ğ as “g”: dağ is “daa”, not “dag”.
Practise pairs: kız — kiz, göz — goz, üç — uç are different sounds, sometimes different words.
Read signs and menus aloud: Turkish is read exactly as written.

FAQ

Didn’t find your answer? Send us a request — we’ll tell you everything.

Is it hard to learn to read Turkish?

No: Turkish uses the Latin alphabet and is read as it’s written. You can learn the main rules in an evening or two and read aloud confidently after a week of practice.

How is c pronounced in Turkish?

Always like the “j” in “jam”: cami, cevap, Cuma. The “ch” sound is written ç: çay, çok.

How do I pronounce the dotless ı?

Say “ee” but pull your tongue back and keep your lips spread — a sound close to the “u” in “radium”: kız, ılık. It’s a separate letter: kız means girl, and kiz isn’t a word.

Why does Turkish have ğ if you can’t hear it?

It lengthens the vowel before it (dağ — “daa”) or separates two vowels (değil). Historically it was a sound close to “g”, and the spelling kept it. No word starts with ğ.

Where does the stress go in Turkish words?

Usually on the last syllable: kitap, güzel, araba. The exceptions are city and country names (Ankara, Türkiye), question words (nerede, nasıl) and negative forms with -ma / -me: in gelmedim the stress is on gel.

What’s next

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Turkish pronunciation rules with examples