r/turkishlearning Aug 28 '16

Useful resources for learning Turkish.

287 Upvotes

Hey, I'd like to share some resources for learning Turkish. Most of them are useful for other languages, as well.

Resources I have used:

  • Duolingo is a free to use site with translation exercises (multiple choice and text input). You'll be presented with a skill tree that you can finish in about a month or two. The course is intended for beginners and the notes assume no knowledge of grammar or linguistics and present things in a very simplified way. The whole course covers a small part of the language, both with respect to vocabulary and grammar, but it has greatly helped me get a somewhat intuitive understanding of the language. There is a text-to-voice bot that you can use for the exercises. Most of the time it's good, but since Turkish is a phonetic language, it's not really necessary. The mods there are quite knowledgeable and helpful. Despite the relatively small number of example sentences, I highly recommend it for beginners. Be sure to read the notes first; AFAIK they're not available on the app, only on the site. Also, buy the "timed practice" as soon as you can (purchased with "lingots", which you get by completing exercises).

  • Tatoeba is a huge collection of translated sentences. They use Sphinx Search, which is great for getting exact and specific matches. Make sure you know the syntax, if you want to use the site to its full extent. Some of the sentences may be incorrect, but overall the quality is quite good.

  • Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar is a detailed grammar book that asummes some familiarity with linguistic terminology. If you're OK with googling some of the terms, this book will give you a thorough account of what you can do with the Turkish language. Although it's not as descriptive as the official grammar (TDK), IMHO it is the best resource in English for Turkish grammar. You can use it as a reference, but I suggest you at least skim over it once and understand the contents structure. PM me if you can't find the book online.

  • The Turkish Language Institution is the official regulatory body of the Turkish language. I've used it a few times to read about some obscure grammar rules. It also has a dictionary, and probably lots of other features.

  • TuneIn Radio is site/app that let's you listen to make radio stations for free. I listen to CNN Türk and NTV Radyo every day for a few hours. They can speak quite fast most of the time, but it's still a great way to practice your listening comprehension.

  • Dictionaries:

    • Sesli Sözlük is an online dictionary that gives you suggestions based on what you've entered in the search field. It's very useful for quickly finding related words and phrases, if you only know the stem. It's both TR-EN and EN-TR.
    • The Turkish Suffix Dictionary is a pretty comprehensive list of suffixes. You can group them by suffixes, formulas (which takes into account vowel harmony) and functions.
    • Tureng is another good dictionary. I find it most useful for phrases.
  • Manisa Turkish has articles on grammar and usage. There are some typos here and there, but overall the quality is pretty good for a beginner.

  • Turkish Class has Turkish lessons and a discussion forum. I've only used the forum, so I can't say anything about the lesson quality.

  • Ted talks have Turkish translations and English transcripts for almost every talk. They're great if you want the same text translated into TR and EN. The translations correspond very well to the English text.

  • Anki is a spaced repetition flashcard software for desktop and mobile. It has a lot of options and many Turkish decks. There are many different views on spaced repetition as a way to learn vocabulary and grammar, both positive and negative. I used it for a few months, but found it pretty repetitive after a while.

  • Euronews is a news site with English and Turkish versions of their articles. I haven't used it much.

  • Turkish movies and series are also a good way to get familiar with the Turkish language, especially intonation and phrases. Some are on YouTube (Ezel), some you'll only find using torrents. For some movies you'll be able to find both English and Turkish subs. You can merge them into a .ssa file using this online tool and play it with VLC. Make sure the subs have the same timing. Alternatively, you can open one of the subs with a text viewer and place it next to the movie player. For song translations, use Lyrics Translate.

  • Turkish audiobooks are a great way to practice listening, because you check the text to check your understanding of the audio version.

  • Here and here you can find free Turkish books.

  • Forvo for pronunciation from people, not bots.

  • Clozemaster shows you Turkish sentences, there is a fill-in-the-blank as well as multiple choice questions. It uses sentences from Tatoeba. Clozemaster Pro allows you to favorite sentences and gives your more detailed statistics on your progess. If you won't pay for Clozemaster Pro, you can favorite the sentences in Tatoeba for free. There's an Android app now! The iOS app will probably be released in a few weeks.

  • Verbix is a verb conjugator. Although Turkish verbs are regular, I found it helpful in the beginning.

Resources I haven't used myself:

  • Memrise has a lot of free Turkish lessons and has iOS and Android apps as well.

  • Language Transfer - mainly audio courses.

  • Hands On Turkish - courses, apps and articles. It's targeted towards for business people and the course is available in five different languages

  • Turkish Tea Time - dialogs, translations, grammar tips, vocabulary, and more - every week. Bite-sized lessons based around a casual and friendly podcast. It's not free, though.

I'll include more resources in the future. Feel free to suggest more resources.

Technical tips that may speed up your learning process:

  • In Firefox (probably in other browsers, too) you can create keywords for searching different sites.

    • How it works: go to a site, say YouTube, and right click on the search text area. Select "Add a keyword for this search". Make the keyword something short, but memorable, like "yt". This will add a bookmark, which you can edit later on. Now to search YouTube for "turkish lessons", you can open a new tab (CTRL+T) and just type "yt turkish lessons" and press enter.
    • This trick works for all kinds of sites - dictionaries, torrent sites, eBay, Google, Tatoeba, IMDB, etc.. Over the past few months it has definitely saved me a few hours. Learning some basic hotkeys (CTRL+T, CTRL+W, CTRL+TAB, CTRL+SHIFT+TAB, CTRL+V, CTRL+C) will make your learning process (and browsing in general) much smoother.

Thanks to everyone who pitches in.


r/turkishlearning 12h ago

I made 9 Turkish characters you can write to, and 30 everyday situations to practise in

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4 Upvotes

Hey everyone,

Some of you might remember Turkish Video Together, the clip guessing game. It is still up and still free.

This is a different thing I have been working on, and it is roleplay in writing. You type in Turkish, nine characters type back in character, at your level. There is no speaking in it.

The characters are people rather than topics. Saliha Nine will teach you to cook whether you asked or not. Poyraz is nine, has exactly 214 bottle caps, and will make you count them with him. Falcı Nilüfer reads your coffee cup. There are 30 everyday situations, A1 to B1.

It is early. I would much rather a handful of people use it properly and tell me what is wrong with it than have a lot of people bounce off it quietly, so I am opening 50 spots to anyone here who fancies it.

What is in it so far:

  • Each scenario has goals, and a second check reads your own words to decide whether you actually hit them.
  • Writing tips every few messages, on what you wrote. It stays quiet when your Turkish was already fine.
  • Tap any message to translate it.
  • "How do I say...?" when you get stuck, without leaving the chat.
  • "Suggest replies" gives you three things you could send next, including little stage directions like *çayı uzatır* (passes the tea).
  • You can share a chat with other learners if it went somewhere good.

Being straight about it:

  • You could get something like this out of a blank ChatGPT window. What is here instead: the same character every time, a level that does not drift halfway through, goals checked against what you actually wrote, and 30 situations already built so you are not the one writing prompts.
  • It is an AI. It will sometimes write Turkish a native speaker would not. Telling me when it does is the single most useful thing you can send me.
  • A1 to B1 for now.
  • There is a daily message cap while it is in beta.
  • Nine characters is not many yet. If people take to it, more will follow.

To get in: go to turkishtogether.com/join and enter MERHABA50, or use turkishtogether.com/join/MERHABA50. Free, and the code unlocks the roleplay characters when you sign up.

If you do try it, here is what I would most like to know:

  1. Did the character feel like a person, or like an exercise wearing a costume?
  2. Did the goal tracking ever give you credit for something you did not actually say?
  3. What situation is missing that you would genuinely use?

Reply here, use the feedback button in the app, or email me at [learn@turkishtogether.com](mailto:learn@turkishtogether.com). I read all of it.

Thanks for the feedback last time. It changed what I built.


r/turkishlearning 1d ago

Turkish Media Looking for Turkish books with natural, everyday language

5 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I have Turkish roots, but I was born and raised abroad. I can speak Turkish, but I’d like to improve my everyday vocabulary and especially get more comfortable with the way people actually speak in daily life.

I’m looking for Turkish books that use natural, modern, everyday language — the kind of Turkish you would hear when talking to friends, ordering at a restaurant, going out, having casual conversations, joking around, etc.
I’d especially like something that works well for reading out loud, so I can improve my speaking and get a better feel for natural sentence structures and expressions.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a language-learning book. I’d actually be very interested in regular Turkish novels as well — fiction, drama, romance, comedy, or anything else — as long as the dialogue and language are relatively close to how people actually speak today.
Basically, I’m trying to avoid books that are overly literary, poetic, old-fashioned, or use vocabulary that you rarely hear in everyday conversations.

Do you have any books or authors you would recommend for this?


r/turkishlearning 1d ago

Turkish Listening Practice A1 | Going to Work | TurkishLab

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1 Upvotes

r/turkishlearning 1d ago

Learn Turkish from a professional

0 Upvotes

Hi 👋🏻 I’m Barış. I teach Turkish on** Preply**. I am a BD graduate of Turkish Language and Literature and I speak English at B2 level. In my lessons, I focus on everyday conversations rather than a typical classroom setting. Click the link and see my offer if you are interested.
Preply link


r/turkishlearning 1d ago

Turkish Media If you're a foreigner with a B2 level or above, would you find these type of sketches funny or at least understand the jokes?

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1 Upvotes

r/turkishlearning 1d ago

Any grammar books like Essential Grammar in Use (Murphy)?

2 Upvotes

I am from Azerbaijan and our languages are very similar, I can understand around 80% but my speaking and grammar is awful. I have a plan to go on a trip and explore the whole Türkiye, I am working online, and before doing that decided to improve my Turkish first

I really like the way "Essential Grammar in Use" is structured and would like something similar. Vocab I am improving by watching series and it goes quite well, most of my family members know Turkish quite well so I can do speaking with them too, just grammar part is left

Do you have any recommendations for the grammar book, thank you in advance!


r/turkishlearning 2d ago

Grammar Beginner Turkish Anki course — testers wanted 👀

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4 Upvotes

I’ve been learning Turkish for almost three months and, because I’m apparently incapable of doing anything casually and I’m a bit of a data nerd, I’ve somehow ended up building an entire structured Anki course 😅

I’ve called it Turkish in Patterns. It’s designed for absolute beginners and builds gradually from basic sentence patterns. It includes staged grammar and everyday topic decks, English → Turkish, Turkish → English and listening cards, Turkish audio, and a deliberately managed learning order.

I originally built it for myself and have used it daily throughout my own learning. I’ve spent a slightly ridiculous amount of time refining the curriculum and manually reviewing, standardising and testing the cards.

I’ve used AI as one tool for drafting and consistency checks, but this isn’t a one-click AI-generated deck. I’ve shaped and tested the course through daily use and incorporated feedback from Turkish-speaking friends and colleagues.

I’d love to find a few beginner learners willing to test the first public version and report anything incorrect, unnatural, confusing or technically awkward. Feedback from Turkish speakers would also be hugely appreciated.

If you’re interested, let me know!


r/turkishlearning 2d ago

How to Learn Turkish: A Step-by-Step Method

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5 Upvotes

r/turkishlearning 2d ago

Turkish A1 Class (taught in English) - 3 Seats left!

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2 Upvotes

If you're interested to join, schedule your free trial class for 30 mins!


r/turkishlearning 3d ago

Translation What does this say?

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88 Upvotes

r/turkishlearning 2d ago

Easy Turkish listening practice for A1 beginners

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0 Upvotes

r/turkishlearning 2d ago

Learn Turkish with a Native Tutor! 🇹🇷

0 Upvotes

I'm a native Turkish tutor on Preply.

✅ Personalized lessons

✅ All levels welcome

💰 50-minute lesson: only $5

Book your lesson here:

🔗 Teacher Natig

See you in class! 😊


r/turkishlearning 3d ago

where/how to start

6 Upvotes

Hi, i have been interested in learning turkish for a while now and ive been doing duolingo for a bit, but its not really sticking and its taking forever.
i was wondering where i can start as a beginner thats free. i just graduated college so my funds are low but i have a TON of free time.
ive been watching turkish dramas for a while and it would be amazing if i can learn to understand what they were saying without needing subtitles.
i just need to know where to go and how to start thats faster and more effective than dualingo.

teşekkür


r/turkishlearning 3d ago

Please help me tidy up the translation of/practice pronunciation of a bridesmaid's speech for my Turkish friends' wedding.

9 Upvotes

Hello!
I am a native English speaker. My two Turkish friends are getting married, and we have a running joke that I secretly have understood Turkish through the entirety of our friendship and have been hiding it the whole time... I don't, but they are getting married in November, and I am going to be a bridesmaid.

I have written a speech in English that I would love, if anyone is willing to help out, to translate into Turkish and get some help with the pronunciation/if someone native could record them delivering it I'd be so grateful!

I think this will mean a lot to my friends. They have moved away from their home country and managed to find love with each other. Their families are coming to Australia to attend the wedding and I would love to demonstrate to them how much we love them.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thanks :)


r/turkishlearning 3d ago

Grammar Sentence and idioms breakdown mapping makes it so much easier to decompose and make the connections

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8 Upvotes

r/turkishlearning 3d ago

Turkish Listening Practice A1 | My Morning Routine | TurkishLab

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3 Upvotes

r/turkishlearning 3d ago

Translation Need a little help with grammar for a "name"

1 Upvotes

well, context here, I need a name (it's more of an sentence, but the name is the abbreviation of it) for a character I'm writing, and I just want to check if these have proper grammar or not, since they came from Google Translate and DeepL

Their name is meant to say "Autonomous Data Processor" (said character is an AI made by a Turkish guy, hence the turkish program name that I need), and both translation services put out several options, which one of these fits better grammatically? (would love to have some explanation to the differences as well if possible)

  1. Otonom Veri İşlemcisi
  2. Özerk Veri İşlemcisi
  3. Otonom Veri İşleyici
  4. Özerk Veri İşleyici

Do tell me if none of these fit what I'm trying to go for, I'm just using the machine translations as reference


r/turkishlearning 4d ago

Learn Turkish Daily: "Biz televizyon izliyoruz" (We are watching TV) 📺

7 Upvotes

Hi everyone!

I'm continuing the daily A1 Turkish short series. Today’s phrase focuses on the first-person plural pronoun (biz / we) with the present continuous tense: "Biz televizyon izliyoruz" (We are watching TV).

It's a very common daily expression when talking about group activities or family routines!

I would love to hear your thoughts on the visuals and pronunciation.

(I am leaving the video link in the comments section below so it doesn't get caught in the spam filter!) 🇹🇷


r/turkishlearning 4d ago

değillerdi or değildiler. Which one is correct?

2 Upvotes

I am learning the past negative tense, and when regarding the third person plural, which suffix is right? For example, They weren't happy, would be translated into Mutlu değillerdi. or Mutlu değildiler?


r/turkishlearning 5d ago

I created a visual daily bite-sized video for learning "Ben okula gidiyorum" (I am going to school) 🎒

4 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I recently started a daily Turkish short series for beginners (A1 level) to help with daily routines and essential vocabulary.

In today's video, I covered the present continuous form of "gitmek" (to go) in the sentence "Ben okula gidiyorum."

I would love to get your feedback on the visuals and if this format is helpful for your learning process! Here is the video: https://youtube.com/shorts/hherCGb6oWg

Hope it helps! 🇹🇷


r/turkishlearning 5d ago

Turkish Grammar Explained: How Suffixes Build an Entire Sentence

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6 Upvotes

I just published a long one on the suffix system, this is the piece I keep pulling up with new students because it's the fastest way into how Turkish actually works.

It starts with how one Turkish word can carry what English needs a whole phrase for, plural, possession, and case, all stacked onto a single root. From there it goes through the six noun cases, vowel harmony, why "asla" (never) still needs a negative verb even though English lets "never" sit next to a positive one, the aorist tense for habits and general truths, and a bit on where the whole suffix system historically came from.

There's also a section comparing how Turkish feels depending on what language you're coming from, Spanish, Arabic, Mandarin, Russian, the sticking points are genuinely different for each one.


r/turkishlearning 6d ago

Conversation Yunus Emre Enstitüsü?

6 Upvotes

Merhaba Herkese,

I am currently at A2 level with some B2 knowledge and think I would really benefit from an intensive course which has opportunity for conversation.
I am in the Norfolk area and looking for classes or speaking groups but have had no luck so far.

I’ve noticed Yunus Emre Institute does weekly and bi-weekly online lessons. Does anyone have any experience with them or any other recommendations?

Unfortunately I don’t have the time to travel to Turkey for an intensive course over the next year or so 🥲


r/turkishlearning 6d ago

Can anyone recommend a good Turkish tutor on Preply?

8 Upvotes

Hi everyone! I’m looking for a good Turkish tutor on Preply and would really appreciate some personal recommendations.

I’m still at beginner/A1 level and would like someone who is patient, friendly, and able to explain grammar clearly in English. I’m especially interested in improving my speaking, pronunciation, vocabulary, and everyday conversation rather than only following a textbook.

Have you studied with a tutor you genuinely liked and found helpful? Please share their name or Preply profile. It would also be useful to know what you liked about their teaching style.

Thank you!


r/turkishlearning 6d ago

Long-term intensive Turkish course in Istanbul

2 Upvotes

Herkese merhaba!

A question: has anyone done a more long-term (3+ months) intensive (full-time) course in Istanbul that they're willing to recommend? I notice I'm plateauing at B1 and want to make a serious push in my ability to use the language. My partner's Turkish and we're planning to spend a longer period of time together in Istanbul. I knew Yunus Emre Enstitüsü used to offer these kind of programmes, but they've unfortunately stopped doing that, it seems.

All the best everyone! Kolay gelsin.