A1 · 40 words
The small words in Turkish
And, but, because, also, for, like, until, after, already, still — the words that hold sentences together.
Practise this list
From these 40 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
Where English puts a preposition in front of a word, Turkish adds an ending or puts a postposition after it: senin için “for you”, literally “you-of for”; yemekten sonra “after the meal”, literally “meal-from after”. A postposition often wants a particular case in front of it — sonra and öncethe ablativekadarthe dative — and the note gives it Two small words are written separately although they follow vowel harmony: the question particle mi (mı, mu, mü) and de “too, also” (da). The suffix -de “in, at”, on the other hand, is joined to the word.
The words
Adverb (21)
Grammar for these: Adverbs: “-ce”, doubling and intensifying
çokvery; much, manyAdverbA1
Before a noun “a lot of”, with no plural: çok insan.
azlittle, fewAdverbA1
biraza little, a bitAdverbA1
dahamore; another, stillAdverbA1
Before an adjective it makes the comparative: daha büyük “bigger”.
enmost (superlative)AdverbA1
hiçnot at all, never; everAdverbA1
In a question “ever”; with a negative “not at all, never”: hiç gitmedim.
hepalwaysAdverbA1
sadeceonly, justAdverbA1
belkimaybe, perhapsAdverbA1
tabiiof courseAdverbA1
maalesefunfortunatelyAdverbA1
buradahereAdverbA1
With a person ending: buradayım “I am here”.
oradathereAdverbA1
şuradaover thereAdverbA1
artıkno longer; now, from now onAdverbA1
With a negative “no longer”, without one “now, from now on”.
hâlâstillAdverbA1
galibaprobably, I thinkAdverbA1
bazensometimesAdverbA1
tekraragain, once moreAdverbA1
birliktetogetherAdverbA1
hemenimmediately, right awayAdverbA1
Pronoun (1)
Grammar for these: The personal pronouns · sen or siz: familiar or polite you
herevery, eachPronounA1
The noun after it is singular, as in English: her gün.
Conjunction (6)
veandConjunctionA1
amabutConjunctionA1
veyaorConjunctionA1
Same meaning: ya da.
ya daorConjunctionA1
çünkübecauseConjunctionA1
The word order stays as in a main clause, verb at the end.
yaniso, that is, I meanConjunctionA1
Particle (6)
detoo, alsoParticleA1
Written separately and harmonised: after a back vowel da (onlar da), never with t.
miquestion particleParticleA1
Separate and harmonised: mi, mı, mu, mü. It turns a statement into a yes/no question — no “do” and no change of word order. The person ending goes on the particle: geliyor musun?
değilnot (with nouns and adjectives)ParticleA1
Negates what is not a verb; with a person ending: yorgun değilim “I am not tired”. A verb is negated with -me.
varthere is, there are; existsParticleA1
“I have” is var with a possessive: arabam var, “my car exists”.
yokthere is not; does not existParticleA1
The counterpart of var: param yok “I have no money”.
iştethere, look; you seeParticleA1
Not to be confused with işte “at work” (iş with the locative).
Postposition (6)
ilewith; andPostpositionA1
Often added as an ending: annemle “with my mother”, otobüsle “by bus”.
içinfor; in order toPostpositionA1
After pronouns the genitive: senin için, benim için.
gibilike, asPostpositionA1
After pronouns the genitive: senin gibi “like you”.
kadaruntil; as … asPostpositionA1
“Until” with the dative: akşama kadar. “As … as” with the genitive after pronouns: senin kadar.
sonraafter; afterwards, laterPostpositionA1
With the ablative: dersten sonra. On its own, “afterwards”.
öncebefore; first, earlierPostpositionA1
With the ablative: yemekten önce. On its own, “first”.
Missing a word? Look it up in the dictionary
This list belongs to Basic words: numbers, pronouns, verbs — 16 lists and 674 words that can also be practised as a whole.