temel kelimeler
/temel celimeleɾ/from spelling rules
The English phrase "basic words" is translated into Turkish as temel kelimeler.
Common words include Merhaba (Hello), Evet (Yes), Hayır (No), Benim adım (My name is), Hoş geldiniz (Welcome) and Görüşmek üzere (See you later). It also includes question words such as Nerede (Where), Ne zaman (When), Kim (Who), Ne (What), Hangi (Which), Nasıl (How), Neden (Why) and Ne kadar (How much). Other useful terms are İyi günler (Good day) and Teşekkür ederim (Thank you).
What does it mean word for word?
The word temel literally means "foundation", "base" or "basic". The word kelimeler is the plural form of kelime, which means "word".
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
When asking "How are you?", you can use the formal Nasılsınız? or the informal Nasılsın? Similarly, when expressing gratitude, Teşekkür ederim is a formal way to say "Thank you".
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /temel celimeleɾ/. You can approximate the sounds using these English comparisons: the /m/ is like in [m]uch, the /c/ is like the [k] in skew, the /i/ is like the [ee] in creek and the /ɾ/ is like the [t] in American English word atom.
Did you know?
- The word temel is a common male given name in Turkey. In some regions, it is associated with a famous series of jokes featuring a character from the Black Sea region.
- Because Turkish is an agglutinative language, 'basic words' can grow very long. A single 'word' like kelime can have multiple suffixes added to it to express complex meanings that would require a whole sentence in English.
- The word kelime is an Arabic loanword, meaning Turkish has layered its 'basic words' from many different linguistic origins.
Examples in context
- Ben iyiyim.I'm fine.
- Güzel bir gün, değil mi?It's a beautiful day, isn't it?
- Keyifli bir ziyaret geçirmenizi dilerim.I hope you have a pleasant visit.
- Harika zaman geçirdik, tekrar görüşmek üzere.We had a great time, see you again.
- Sadece temel kelimeler biliyorum.I only know basic words.
- Bu kitap temel kelimeler içeriyor.This book contains basic words.
- Temel kelimeler öğrenmek çok kolay.Learning basic words is very easy.
Example conversation
Selin is helping Mehmet study a new language.
- SelinMehmet, temel kelimeler listesine baktın mı?Mehmet, did you look at the basic words list?
- MehmetHenüz bakmadım, nerede duruyor?I haven't looked yet, where is it?
- SelinMasanın üzerindeki mavi defterde yazılı.It is written in the blue notebook on the table.
- MehmetTamam, hemen çalışmaya başlıyorum.Okay, I am starting to study right now.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Turkish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
