Counting to ten in Turkish
One to ten, for prices, platforms, rooms and how many beers. Play the ten Turkish words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Turkish phrases in this lesson
- Birbeer
- One
- İkiee-KEE
- Two
- Üçewch
- Three
- Dörtdurt
- Four
- Beşbesh
- Five
- Altıal-TUH
- Six
- Yediyeh-DEE
- Seven
- Sekizseh-KEEZ
- Eight
- Dokuzdoh-KOOZ
- Nine
- Onon
- Ten
Turkish numbers are magnificently regular. Bir also works as "a": "bir çay" is one tea or a tea. The pattern holds all the way to a million without irregularity.
Add "tane" (TAH-neh), the general counter, when pointing at things: "iki tane" (two of them). Hold up fingers, say it, and the transaction is complete.
The ü is like the French u or German ü: round your lips for "oo" then say "ee".
The ş is the English "sh". Prices are often quoted in fives and tens, so beş, on and elli (fifty) come up constantly.
The dotless ı is a short "uh" from the back of the throat, quite different from the dotted i.
Teens just stack: on bir (11), on iki (12). Twenty is yirmi, thirty otuz, fifty elli, hundred yüz, thousand bin. Combine freely: yirmi beş (25). No irregularities, ever.