inek
/inec/from spelling rules
The Turkish word for cow, the adult female of cattle, is inek. If unsure, use inek. Wiktionary also lists sığır.
Meaning: adult female of species Bos taurus (noun)
Ways to say it
| Turkish | IPA |
|---|---|
| inek | /inec/ (from spelling rules) |
| sığır | /sɯɣɯr/ |
inek is the common everyday word for a cow, the one you would use on a farm, in a story or with children.
Which one should you use?
sığır refers more broadly to cattle as livestock. It is the more technical or collective term used in agriculture and farming.
How does it change in a sentence?
To make inek plural, add the suffix -ler, giving inekler.
How do you pronounce it?
inek is pronounced /inec/. The i sounds like the ee in creek, and the final sound is a k said further forward in the mouth, close to the k in skew.
Did you know?
- In Turkish slang, inek is used to describe a 'straight-A student' or a 'bookworm' who spends all their time studying.
- While inek is a neutral name for an animal, using the word sığır to describe a person is a sharp insult meaning they are crude or uncouth.
- The word sığır has siblings across Central Asia, appearing as sigir in Uzbek and sıyır in Kazakh, showing how the term for cattle has traveled through Turkic languages.
Examples in context
- O bir inek mi?Is it a cow?inek mi turns the sentence into a question, is it a cow.Tatoeba #5234011 by duran, translation #5228512 by solejar
- Hiç inek sağdın mı?Have you ever milked a cow?inek sağdın means you milked a cow.Tatoeba #3875587 by duran, translation #1719234 by Amastan
- İnek "Möö, Möö" dedi."Moo, moo," said the cow.İnek starts the sentence, so it is capitalized.Tatoeba #5357745 by deyta, translation #2216498 by Hybrid
- Binlerce inek çiftlikte yetiştiriliyor.Thousands of cows are being raised on the farm.
- Bu inek süt vermiyor.This cow isn't producing milk.
- 41 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are looking at a farm from a distance.
- ZeynepŞu beyaz inek çok büyük.That white cow is very big.
- CanEvet, bir inek için oldukça iri.Yes, it is quite large for a cow.
- ZeynepSence karnı aç mı?Do you think she is hungry?
- CanMuhtemelen öyle, yemeğe bakıyor.Probably, she is looking at the food.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “cow” translations and entries inek, sığır, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Turkish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries inek, sığır, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
