Ways to say it
| Turkish | IPA |
|---|---|
| çok | /t͡ʃok/ (from spelling rules) |
| pek | /ˈpec/ |
çok is the most common and versatile word for 'very' in Turkish. You can also use Son derece to mean 'to the utmost degree' in formal contexts, or Fevkalade to denote something that is extraordinary or exceptional.
Which one should you use?
çok is the standard word for 'very', while pek is a more formal or literary alternative that is often used to mean 'particularly' or in negative constructions.
How does it change in a sentence?
çok can function as both an adverb (meaning 'very') and an adjective (meaning 'many' or 'much') depending on whether it modifies an adjective or a noun. To add emphasis, you can double the word to çok çok, which is equivalent to saying 'very, very' in English.
How do you pronounce it?
çok is pronounced /tʃok/. The /tʃ/ sound is like the [ch] in 'change' and the /k/ sound is like the [c] in 'core'.
Did you know?
- In daily conversation, Turks often replace çok with the word acayip to mean 'very'. While acayip literally means 'strange' or 'weird', it is used as a slang intensifier for things that are impressively extreme.
- While çok means 'very', the alternative pek originally meant 'firm' or 'solid'. Over time, the idea of something being solid evolved into a way to describe a high intensity of a quality.
- To express an even higher degree than çok çok, Turks may use the phrase aşırı, which literally means 'excessive' or 'over the limit'. This shifts the meaning from 'very' to 'too much'.
Examples in context
- O su çok saf.That water is very pure.Tatoeba #5252999 by deyta, translation #5252998 by CarpeLanam
- Bu ev çok iyi.This house is very good.Tatoeba #1086049 by maydoo, translation #60158 by CK
- O çok çok iyi.That's very, very good.Tatoeba #4076346 by duran, translation #3591038 by CK
- O, çok saygın bir kişidir.He is a very respectable person.
- Bu proje son derece önemli.This project is extremely important.
- 13405 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Can and Zeynep are discussing a movie they recently watched.
- CanFilm çok heyecanlıydı, değil mi?The movie was very exciting, wasn't it?
- ZeynepEvet, gerçekten çok sürükleyiciydi.Yes, it was really very gripping.
- CanZeynep, sen de çok beğendin.Zeynep, you liked it a lot too.
- ZeynepKesinlikle, harika bir filmdi.Definitely, it was a great movie.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “very” translations and entries çok, pek, 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 pek, çok, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
