Ways to say it
| Turkish | IPA |
|---|---|
| siyah | /siˈjah/ |
| kara | /kaˈɾa/ |
Both siyah and kara are used to describe the color black, which absorbs all light. They can also function as nouns to mean the color black itself. When referring to a dark-skinned person, both siyah and zenci can be used.
Which one should you use?
siyah is the standard word used for the color black in everyday modern speech and commerce. In contrast, kara is more common in literature, poetry or within specific compound terms such as kara delik (black hole).
Related words
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation of siyah is /siˈjah/. The /s/ sounds like the [s] in [s]end, the /i/ sounds like the [ee] in cr[ee]k, the /j/ sounds like the [y] in [y]es and the /h/ sounds like the [h] in [h]ome.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Avoid using zenci to refer to a black person. While it appears in older texts, it is increasingly viewed as offensive or derogatory in modern Turkish. Instead, use siyah or siyahi when referring to race.
Did you know?
- The word kara can mean 'black' or 'land', as the Turkish word for 'continent' is kara.
- While siyah and kara both mean 'black', siyah is a loanword from Persian, whereas kara is an indigenous Turkic word shared by languages like Uzbek and Turkmen.
- Turkish uses kara in idioms to describe bad luck or grief, such as kara gün meaning 'dark day' or 'day of misfortune'.
Examples in context
- Siyah da var mı?Do you have this in black, too?This sentence shows how to ask if an item is available in the color siyah.Tatoeba #6029411 by duran, translation #6029197 by Huskion
- O siyah değil mi?Isn't it black?This sentence is used to confirm if something is the color siyah.Tatoeba #1252334 by duran, translation #442968 by CK
- O bir kara delik.It is a black hole.This sentence demonstrates the use of kara in the compound term for a black hole.Tatoeba #2049922 by duran, translation #1479375 by AsliAbbasi
- Bu araba siyah.This car is black.
- 568 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Burak and Merve are looking at clothes in a shop.
- BurakBu siyah elbise sana çok yakışır.This black dress would suit you very well.
- MerveGerçekten mi? Çok teşekkürler Burak.Really? Thank you so much, Burak.
- BurakSiyah her zaman asil durur.Black always looks elegant.
- MerveHaklısın, hemen deneyeceğim.You're right, I will try it on immediately.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “black” translations and entries siyah, kara, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries kara, siyah, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
