An introduction to Turkish
Created | Updated Oct 3, 2012
This is an opportunity for you to learn some Turkish. After you've read this, you should be able actually to say something in Turkish. So where shall we start? 'Hello' is a good starting point.
Merhaba1
It sounds like mare + hubba (mare as in nightmare, hubba rhyming with rubber)
Try saying it a few times: merhaba, merhaba
The good thing about learning the word 'merhaba' is that it is also the Arabic word for hello, so you're learning two languages at once!
Ok. Armed with your new knowledge of Turkish, let's see if you can understand this conversation between two Turks, Mehmet and a girl of his acquaintance, Meltem:
Mehmet: Merhaba, Meltem!
Meltem: Merhaba, Mehmet!
Now, if you read between the lines, you will have noticed from this dialogue that Mehmet has rather a soft spot for Meltem. He wants keep the conversation going so he asks her this question:
Ne var, ne yok?
Let's dissect this phrase.
Ne? = what? (sounds a bit like Manuel from Fawlty Towers saying 'qué?', except it's 'né'
var = to be / to exist (sounds like the first syllable of 'varmint')
yok = to be not / to not exist / to be absent (rhymes with 'clock')
So can you work out what the expression 'Ne var, ne yok?' means?
The answer is to be found by placing your cursor on this number2
Other expressions with var and yok:
Problem var = There's a problem
Problem mi var? = Is there a problem?
Problem yok = There's no problem
Other expressions with ne?
Bu ne? = What's this? (Literally, 'This what?')
Ne oldu? = What happened?
Ne oluyor? = What's happening?
Ne dedin? = What did you say?
Ne? = What?
Putting it all together:
If you've adequately absorbed the above, you should be able to render the following conversation into Turkish.
Mehmet: Hello, Meltem.
Meltem: Hello, Mehmet.
Mehmet: What's up?
Meltem: What did you say?
Mehmet: Is there a problem?
Meltem: There's no problem.
3
Move your cursor over the blue 3 to reveal the key
1Hello2It literally means 'What is there, what isn't there?' which has the sense of 'What's up?'3
Mehmet: Merhaba, Meltem
Meltem: Merhaba, Mehmet
Mehmet: Ne var, ne yok?
Meltem: Ne dedin?
Mehmet: Problem mi var?
Meltem: Problem yok
Mehmet: Merhaba, Meltem
Meltem: Merhaba, Mehmet
Mehmet: Ne var, ne yok?
Meltem: Ne dedin?
Mehmet: Problem mi var?
Meltem: Problem yok
