iki bira
/ici biɾa/from spelling rules
To say two beers in Turkish, say iki bira. To order them, add please: İki bira lütfen.
iki bira is what you say when ordering or talking about two servings of beer. Adding lütfen (please) at the end is the standard polite way to order in a bar or restaurant.
What does it mean word for word?
iki means two and bira means beer.
How does it change in a sentence?
In Turkish a noun stays singular after a number, so it is iki bira, not a plural form. To refer back to one of the two as the object of a verb, use birini, as in handing one to someone.
How do you pronounce it?
In iki bira each i sounds like the ee in creek, the k sounds like the k in skew and the r is a quick tap like the t in American English atom.
What mistakes should you avoid?
Do not add a plural ending to bira after a number.
Did you know?
- If you are in a traditional Turkish tavern known as a 'meyhane', ordering iki bira might actually stand out. These historic establishments are primarily dedicated to serving 'rakı', a potent anise-flavored spirit.
- The Turkish word bira is a linguistic cousin to the English word 'beer', having traveled from Italian and German into Ottoman Turkish.
- When ordering iki bira, you may need to specify şişe bira for bottles or fıçı bira for draft, as the default varies by venue.
Examples in context
- Sadece bir ya da iki bira içeceğim.I'll just have one or two beers.iki bira here means one or two beers, a modest amount.Tatoeba #3187580 by duran, translation #2133975 by Hybrid
- Tom buzdolabından iki bira çıkardı ve birini Mary'ye uzattı.Tom got two beers out of the refrigerator and handed one to Mary.birini means one of them, the beer Tom handed to Mary.Tatoeba #1144000 by duran, translation #1040635 by CK
- İki bira lütfen.Two beers, please.İki bira lütfen is the simplest way to order two beers.Tatoeba #1255165 by duran, translation #34846 by CK
- İki adet bira istiyorum.I would like two beers.
- İki bira alır mısın?Could you get two beers?
- İki Efes, lütfen.Two Efes beers, please.
Example conversation
Merve and Mehmet are ordering drinks at a bar.
- MerveGarson, iki bira alabilir miyiz?Waiter, can we have two beers?
- MehmetTabii, hemen getiriyorum.Of course, I'll bring them right away.
- MerveTeşekkürler, iki bira yeterli.Thanks, two beers are enough.
- MehmetRica ederim, afiyet olsun.You're welcome, enjoy your drink.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Turkish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bira, iki, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
