Why learn Turkish?
Turkish is spoken by about 85 million people in Turkey and across a vast diaspora — Germany, France, the Netherlands, the UK, and beyond. Whether you have Turkish roots or simply want to access a rich literature, cuisine and culture, mastering Turkish opens many doors.
Whether you are part of the diaspora or simply passionate about world languages, Dialect gives you the tools to progress quickly.
The Dialect Method
Our app combines playful learning with linguistic rigor:
- Essential vocabulary: learn the words most used in everyday life.
- Clear audio: hear the clear pronunciation of every word.
- Interactive quizzes: test your knowledge and track your progress.
- Review mode: never lose what you've already learned.
The Science Behind Dialect
To be among the best educational resources, Dialect builds on cognitive neuroscience principles:
- Spaced Repetition System (SRS): our algorithm calculates the optimal time to review each word, right before you would forget it.
- Clear audio: every word comes with audio to guide your pronunciation.
- Granular learning: we break dialects into manageable units to prevent cognitive overload.
Turkish in a few facts
- Language family: Turkic language, Oghuz branch.
- Speakers: about 85 million native speakers.
- Main regions: Turkey and Northern Cyprus (official status), with large communities in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Bulgaria and all neighbors of Turkey.
- Writing systems: Latin alphabet since Atatürk's 1928 reform (previously: Ottoman alphabet derived from Arabo-Persian).
Turkish is agglutinative: you build very long words by stacking suffixes that each carry grammatical meaning (plural, possession, case, tense). Another notable feature is vowel harmony: vowels within a word must belong to the same series. The Türk Dil Kurumu has worked since the 1930s to prioritize Turkic roots over Arabic and Persian borrowings.
10 everyday Turkish words
The vocabulary people actually use at home or at the market. The right-hand column gives the full sentence in Turkish, exactly as it appears in the app.
| English | Turkish | Example |
|---|---|---|
| water | su | Su içmek istiyorum. |
| to eat | yemek | Yemek yiyorum. |
| to drink | içmek | Su içmek istiyorum. |
| house | ev | Evimiz büyük. |
| mother | anne | Annem çok iyi. |
| father | baba | Babam evde. |
| child | çocuk | Çocuk oynuyor. |
| market | pazar | Pazara gidiyorum. |
| tomorrow | yarın | Yarın geleceğim. |
| a lot | çok | Çok teşekkür ederim. |
Turkish is agglutinative and governed by vowel harmony: suffixes stack up and shift their vowel to match the word — ev-ler-im-de, “in my houses”, is one single word.
How Dialect makes learning Turkish easier
Learning a heritage language when you live in the diaspora has unique challenges: few structured resources, materials often aimed at linguists rather than daily learners, and a critical shortage of reliable audio recordings. Dialect was built to address these obstacles.
Specifically for Turkish, the app provides:
- Progress by frequency of use: you first learn words and phrases you will actually hear.
- Clear audio: consistent pronunciation from session one.
- Short sessions (5 cards a day): consistency beats intensity.
- Smart review: the spaced repetition algorithm presents each word right before you would forget it.
Hello, thank you and essential phrases in Turkish
Looking to say hello in Turkish, thank you or how are you? Here are the must-know greetings and polite phrases. Each one is available with audio in the Dialect app:
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Hello | merhaba |
| Hi | selam |
| Thank you | teşekkürler |
| Yes | evet |
| No | hayır |
| Goodbye | hoşça kal |
| Sorry | affedersiniz |
| How are you | nasılsın |
Transcriptions above are approximate: real pronunciation varies by region. To hear the pronunciation, listen to each phrase in Dialect.
Frequently asked questions about learning Turkish
How do you say hello in Turkish?
In Turkish, "hello" is "merhaba". In casual settings you can also say "selam". Hear the pronunciation in the Dialect app.
How long does it take to learn the basics of Turkish?
With Dialect, practicing 5 to 10 minutes a day, you can master essential Turkish vocabulary in 4 to 6 weeks.
Is the Dialect app free?
Dialect is free to start: every day you get one session, one quiz and the Greetings lesson of the Path. Premium unlocks everything.
Is the Turkish audio available in the Dialect app?
Yes, every word comes with clear audio in the app to help you memorise the pronunciation.
Do I need to know any Turkic language to start?
No. Dialect is designed for complete beginners.
Is Dialect available on Android?
Yes. The app is on Google Play. On desktop, Dialect runs directly in your browser through the web app (mydialect.io/app): same languages, the same audio, the same account. The native app is available on iPhone and iPad from the App Store.
Learning Turkish: the essentials
Turkish is in the big apps' catalogues, but what they teach is textbook language, built for exams. When it is your family's language you are after something else: the words of meals, of phone calls home, of summers spent there. Dialect covers Turkish with 308 words and phrases and 605 audio files in a synthetic voice, checked by ear, grouped by theme and reviewed with spaced repetition. The app is free for one session per day per language, on iPhone, iPad, Android and the browser.
Discover other languages on Dialect
Dialect offers 19 heritage languages to reconnect with your roots:
Start for free, today
Free daily session. On iPhone via the App Store, on Android via Google Play, or straight in the browser on desktop.
Scan with your phone · iPhone or Android
On a computer?
Open the web application