Türkçe · Turkish
Learn Turkish vocabulary
Agglutinative, with vowel harmony and no grammatical gender.
Turkish is an agglutinative language: meaning is built by adding endings to a word root. It has vowel harmony and no grammatical gender, which simplifies noun learning compared with many European languages.
Because Turkish is not Indo-European, you will find few familiar-looking words, and vocabulary study is where Frigya's spaced repetition helps most.
What to know
- Agglutinative: endings carry meaning.
- Vowel harmony.
- No grammatical gender.
Study tips
- Learn words in context to see endings.
- Keep your daily goal small and consistent.
- Use audio to learn the sounds.
Where is it spoken?
Turkish is the official language of Turkey and Cyprus (together with Greek) and is spoken by communities across Europe, especially in Germany.
Pronunciation and spelling notes
Turkish spelling is highly regular. The vowels ı, i, ö, ü are distinct, "ğ" lengthens the preceding vowel, "c" is like English "j" and "ç" like "ch". Stress usually falls on the last syllable, with exceptions.
Which languages help?
Turkish belongs to the Turkic family (with Azerbaijani, Uzbek and others) and is not Indo-European, so expect few familiar-looking words.
A roadmap for your first week
In week one, start with greetings, numbers and everyday words. Turkish spelling is highly regular, so you can read new words aloud quickly. Learn words with a typical ending (for example ev → evde, "at home") to see how suffixes work.
Common mistakes
- Expecting grammatical gender or articles: Turkish has neither.
- Ignoring vowel harmony: suffixes change to match the vowels in the word (ev → evde, okul → okulda).
- Learning only the bare word and never seeing it with a suffix.
A small sample word list
| Turkish | English |
|---|---|
| merhaba | hello |
| teşekkürler | thank you |
| lütfen | please |
| su | water |
| ev | house |
| arkadaş | friend |
| evet | yes |
| hayır | no |
| iyi | good |
| bugün | today |
This list is our own; it is not an official list and only gives a feel for the first steps in this language.
Studying Turkish in Frigya
When you add Turkish in Frigya, you choose a separate level (A1–C2) and daily word goal for it. In Discover you meet new words and in Learn you reinforce them with spaced repetition; you can listen to words and example sentences. You can start without an account.
Frequently asked questions
Is Turkish hard for English speakers?
Does Turkish have articles?
In Frigya you choose a separate level (A1–C2) and daily word goal for this language. For details see the levels guide.
Learn this language in Frigya
Try it without an account. If you like it, link your progress to one.
iOS: Coming soon The App Store version is in preparation