The Turkish alphabet
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Sign up for freeThe Turkish alphabet includes 29 letters and these 29 letters are divided into two groups:
- the vowels (ünlü harfler)
- the consonants (ünsüz harfler)
| The vowels | a, ı, e, i, o, ö, u, ü |
| The consonants | b, c, ç, d, f, g, ğ, h, j, k, I, m, n, p, r, s, ş, t, v, y, z |
Lesson outline
HideThe Turkish alphabet and pronunciation
A, B, C, Ç, D, E, F, G, Ğ, H, I, İ, J, K, L, M, N, O, Ö, P, R, S, Ş, T, U, Ü, V, Y, Z
| The letter | Pronunciation | Example |
| A/a | as the a in 'car' | anne-mother |
| B/b | as the b in 'book' | baba-father |
| C/c | as the j in 'jealous' | cam-glass |
| Ç/ç | as the ch in 'check' | çay-tea |
| D/d | as the d in 'dog' | deniz-sea |
| E/e | as the e in 'egg' | ev-home |
| F/f | as the f in 'fog' | fare-mouse |
| G/g | as the g in 'girl' | gece-night |
| Ğ/ğ | has no sound | |
| H/h | as the h in 'home' | heyecan-excitement |
| I/ı | as the i in 'cousin' | ırmak-river |
| İ/i | as the i in 'sit' | ince-thin |
| J/j | as the s in 'leisure' | jandarma-gendarme |
| K/k | as the k in 'call' | kabak-pumpkin |
| L/l | as the l in 'love' | lale-tulip |
| M/m | as the m in 'mood' | meyve-fruit |
| N/n | as the n in 'night' | nane-mint |
| O/o | as the o in 'on' | okyanus-ocean |
| Ö/ö | as the u in 'urge' | önce-before |
| P/p | as the p in 'pumpkin' | pis-dirty |
| R/r | as the r in 'roar' | radyo-radio |
| S/s | as the s in 'song' | saha-field |
| Ş/ş | as the sh in 'sharp' | şaka-joke |
| T/t | as the t in 'taxi' | tavuk-chicken |
| U/u | as the u in 'put' | uzun-long |
| Ü/ü | as the u in 'nude' | üzgün-sad |
| V/v | as the v in 'very' | ve-and |
| Y/y | as the y in 'young' | yemek-food |
| Z/z | as the z in 'zone' | zaman-time |
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Begüm Ş. 
Olga O. 
Metin T.
Revan S.
Asya B.
Özlem V.
Hatice I.
Serkan K.
Cagla B.
Buse M.
The letter 'ğ' (soft g)
A word never begins with the letter 'ğ' (yumuşak g).
Examples with the letter 'ğ'
- Eylülde doğdu. She was born in September.
- Yağmur yağıyor. It's raining.
- Eğer sen olsaydım, taşınırdım. If I were you, I would move.
- Diğer kız beni aramadı. The other girl didn't call me.