bakmak
/bakˈmak/
The English phrase 'look' is translated into Turkish as bakmak.
The primary meaning of bakmak is to try to see. Additionally, bakmak can mean 'to look after' or 'to take care of' someone or something. In formal contexts, if you wish to say 'to examine' or 'to scrutinize', you should use İncelemek instead.
Meaning: to try to see (verb)
Which one should you use?
bakmak means 'to look' (the act of directing eyes), whereas görmek means 'to see' (the perception of sight).
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
The verb bakmak has several common forms: bakıyor is the present continuous 'he/she/it is looking', baktı is the simple past 'he/she/it looked' and bakacağım is the future tense first-person singular 'I will look'. If you want to tell someone (plural or polite) 'don't look', use the negative imperative bakmayın.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /bakˈmak/. The /b/ sound is like the [b] in 'about', the /k/ sound is like the [c] in 'core' and the /m/ sound is like the [m] in 'much'.
Did you know?
- In Turkish, the phrase bak hele is a colloquial way to say 'look here' or 'listen up'. It is often used to express surprise or mild annoyance toward someone's behavior.
- The verb bakmak is used in the common idiom bakalım, which translates to 'let's see' or 'we shall see'. It is often used to express a sense of curiosity or skepticism about a future outcome.
- You can use the verb bakmak to describe the act of 'looking after' a shop or a business, implying you are the one managing it.
Examples in context
- Buna bakmak ister misin?Do you want to look at it?This sentence is useful for asking if someone wants to look at something.Tatoeba #3351181 by maydoo, translation #1931984 by Spamster
- Buna bakmak ister misiniz?Do you want to look at this?Tatoeba #3351182 by maydoo, translation #3350129 by CK
- O, buna bakmak istiyor mu?Does he want to look at it?This sentence is useful for asking if he/she wants to look at it.Tatoeba #5174620 by duran, translation #1931985 by Spamster
- Lütfen önünüze dikkat edin.Please look in front of you.
- Dikkat etmeniz gereken önemli bir nokta var.There is an important point you need to look out for.
- Bu dosyalara bir göz atabilir misiniz?Can you have a look at these files, please?
- Toplantı öncesi notlara göz atmanızı rica ediyorum.I kindly request you to look at the notes before the meeting.
- Bu raporu detaylı bir şekilde inceleyin, lütfen.Please examine this report in detail.
- Mahkeme dosyalarını incelemeniz gerekiyor.You need to look into the court files.
- Bana bak.Look at me.
- Hadi, oraya bir bakalım.Come on, let's have a look over there.
- Buraya bir göz at.Have a look around here.
- Şuna bir bak.Look at this.
- Güzel manzaraya bir göz atmak istiyorum.I want to have a look at the beautiful view.
- 132 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Merve and Emre are looking at a painting in a gallery.
- MerveŞu tabloya bakmak lazım.One must look at that painting.
- EmreHaklısın, renkleri çok güzel.You are right, the colors are very beautiful.
- MerveYakından bakmak ister misin?Do you want to look closer?
- EmreEvet, detayları görmek istiyorum.Yes, I want to see the details.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “look” translations and entries bakmak, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
