A1 · 45 words

Food and drink in Turkish

Bread, cheese and olives for breakfast, fruit and vegetables from the market, tea, ayran and the meals of the day.

Practise this list

From these 45 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.

More about this list

Turkish has no “the” and no “some”. A noun with no ending stands for the thing in general: ekmek aldım “I bought (some) bread”. Only when a particular piece is meant does it take the accusative ending — which does the job of English “the”: ekmeği masaya koy “put the bread on the table”. Many words in this list change their last consonant when that happens — ekmek → ekmeği, yoğurt → yoğurdu — and su “water” takes a y: suyu. Tea and ayran are drunk (içmek), and so is soup: çorba içmek.

The words

Verb (1)

pişirmekto cook (something)VerbA1

Pirinci on beş dakika pişir.Cook the rice for fifteen minutes.

A definite object in the accusative. For cooking as an activity people usually say yemek yapmak.

Conjugation of pişirmek →

Noun (42)

Grammar for these: No article, no gender · The plural with -ler and -lar

yemekfood, dish, mealNounA1

Annemin yemekleri çok lezzetli.My mother’s cooking is delicious.

The same word is the verb “to eat”. “To cook”: yemek yapmak, “to make food”.

ekmekbreadNounA1

Bu ekmek çok taze.This bread is very fresh.

Softens: ekmeği. It ends in -mek but is not a verb.

suwaterNounA1

Masada su yok.There is no water on the table.

A y before the ending: suyu, suyum, suyun.

çayteaNounA1

Türkiye'de herkes çok çay içiyor.In Turkey everybody drinks a lot of tea.

kahvecoffeeNounA1

Sabahları sütlü kahve içiyorum.In the mornings I drink coffee with milk.

sütmilkNounA1

Çocuklar her sabah süt içiyor.The children drink milk every morning.

One syllable, no softening: sütü.

şekersugar; sweet, candyNounA1

Çayına şeker koyuyor musun?Do you take sugar in your tea?

tuzsaltNounA1

Çorbaya biraz tuz koy.Put a little salt in the soup.

peynircheeseNounA1

Kahvaltıda beyaz peynir yiyoruz.We eat white cheese at breakfast.

beyaz peynir is the white cheese kept in brine, a little like feta.

zeytinoliveNounA1

Siyah zeytini çok seviyorum.I really like black olives.

yumurtaeggNounA1

Sabah iki yumurta yedim.I ate two eggs this morning.

balhoneyNounA1

Ekmeğe bal sürüyorum.I spread honey on my bread.

reçeljamNounA1

Anneannem çilek reçeli yapıyor.My grandma makes strawberry jam.

tereyağıbutterNounA1

Tereyağı buzdolabında.The butter is in the fridge.

Already carries the ending -ı: “with butter” is tereyağıyla.

etmeatNounA1

Ben et yemiyorum.I do not eat meat.

One syllable, no softening: eti.

tavukchickenNounA1

Bugün fırında tavuk yapıyorum.Today I am making chicken in the oven.

Softens: tavuğu.

balıkfishNounA1

Deniz kenarında balık yedik.We ate fish by the sea.

Softens: balığı.

pilavrice (cooked)NounA1

Yanında pilav ister misiniz?Would you like rice with it?

Uncooked rice is pirinç.

makarnapastaNounA1

Çocuklar makarnayı çok seviyor.The children love pasta.

The everyday word for pasta of any kind.

çorbasoupNounA1

Kışın sıcak çorba içiyoruz.In winter we have hot soup.

Soup is “drunk”: çorba içmek.

salatasaladNounA1

Öğlen sadece salata yedim.At lunchtime I only had a salad.

sebzevegetablesNounA1

Pazardan taze sebze aldık.We bought fresh vegetables at the market.

meyvefruitNounA1

Çocuklar için meyve aldım.I bought fruit for the children.

elmaappleNounA1

Elmayı yıka, sonra ye.Wash the apple, then eat it.

portakalorangeNounA1

Kahvaltıda portakal suyu içtim.I drank orange juice at breakfast.

muzbananaNounA1

Bebek muzu çok seviyor.The baby loves banana.

domatestomatoNounA1

Bu domatesler çok tatlı.These tomatoes are very sweet.

patatespotatoNounA1

Patatesleri soyar mısın?Will you peel the potatoes?

soğanonionNounA1

Yemeğe soğan koymuyorum.I do not put onions in the food.

biberpepper (vegetable), chilliNounA1

Bu biber çok acı!This chilli is very hot!

Ground black pepper is karabiber.

salatalıkcucumberNounA1

Salatalık ve domatesle salata yapıyorum.I am making a salad with cucumber and tomato.

Softens: salatalığı.

üzümgrapesNounA1

Yazın üzüm çok ucuz.Grapes are very cheap in summer.

karpuzwatermelonNounA1

Sıcak günlerde soğuk karpuz yiyoruz.On hot days we eat cold watermelon.

yoğurtyoghurtNounA1

Yemeğin yanında yoğurt yiyoruz.We have yoghurt with our meals.

Softens: yoğurdu.

ayranayran (yoghurt drink)NounA1

Kebapla ayran içiyorum.I drink ayran with my kebab.

meyve suyujuiceNounA1

Çocuklar meyve suyu içiyor.The children are drinking juice.

meyve + su with -yu: “water of the fruit”.

kahvaltıbreakfastNounA1

Pazar günleri geç kahvaltı yapıyoruz.On Sundays we have a late breakfast.

“To have breakfast”: kahvaltı yapmak.

öğle yemeğilunchNounA1

Öğle yemeğini iş yerinde yiyorum.I have lunch at work.

akşam yemeğidinner, evening mealNounA1

Akşam yemeği saat yedide.Dinner is at seven.

tatlıdessert, something sweetNounA1

Yemekten sonra tatlı var mı?Is there a dessert after the meal?

As an adjective “sweet”: tatlı bir çay.

dondurmaice creamNounA1

Çocuklara dondurma aldım.I bought the children ice cream.

çikolatachocolateNounA1

Çantamda hep çikolata var.There is always chocolate in my bag.

Adjective (2)

Grammar for these: The adjective comes first and stays the same · Bigger and biggest: “daha” and “en”

açhungryAdjectiveA1

Çok açım, ne zaman yiyoruz?I am really hungry, when are we eating?

The opposite is tok “full”.

lezzetlitasty, deliciousAdjectiveA1

Bu çorba çok lezzetli.This soup is very tasty.

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This list belongs to Food and drink — five lists and 217 words that can also be practised as a whole.

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