Ways to say it
| Turkish | IPA |
|---|---|
| nehir | /ne.hiɾ/ |
| ırmak | /ɯɾˈmak/ |
Both nehir and ırmak are used to describe a large stream of water that drains a landmass. While they are often interchangeable, you might also encounter the word dere to refer specifically to a narrow river or a stream.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate a location, such as saying 'in the river', you add the suffix -de to form nehirde.
How do you pronounce it?
The word nehir has two syllables. The pronunciation is /ne.hiɾ/. The /n/ sound is like the [n] in 'not', the /h/ is like the [h] in 'home', the /i/ is like the [ee] in 'creek' and the /ɾ/ is like the [t] in American English 'atom'.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Be careful with the word çay. While it is the common word for 'tea', it is also used colloquially in Turkish to refer to small rivers or streams.
Did you know?
- In Ottoman Turkish, the word nehir was written using the Arabic script as نهر, reflecting the empire's multicultural administrative history.
- Turkish has a specific way of naming rivers by adding the word ırmak to a color, such as Kızılırmak for the 'Red River'.
- While 'river' is the English translation, the word nehir is actually a loanword from Arabic, whereas ırmak is an indigenous Turkic word.
Examples in context
- Bu bir nehir mi?Is this a river?This sentence is useful for asking if a specific body of water is a nehir.Tatoeba #1252763 by duran, translation #56259 by CK
- Bu nehir sığ mı?Is this river shallow?This sentence is useful for asking about the depth of a nehir.Tatoeba #3933490 by vodka, translation #3583324 by mikecash
- Bu nehir hızla akar.This river flows quickly.This sentence is useful for describing the flow of a nehir.Tatoeba #4930157 by duran, translation #4922058 by gustonrankin
- Bu nehir oldukça geniş ve güzeldir.This river is quite wide and beautiful.
- Bu ırmak etrafındaki doğal güzelliklerle ünlüdür.This river is famous for its surrounding natural beauty.
- Derede balık tutmaktan hoşlanırım.I enjoy fishing in the river.
- 403 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Selin and Mehmet are walking by a body of water in a park.
- SelinŞu nehir çok geniş görünüyor.That river looks very wide.
- MehmetEvet, bu nehir çok büyük.Yes, this river is very big.
- SelinNehir kenarında yürümek çok güzel.Walking by the river is very nice.
- MehmetKesinlikle, nehir çok huzurlu.Absolutely, the river is very peaceful.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “river” translations and entries nehir, ırmak, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries nehir, ırmak, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
