Published by Halaal Travels. Last updated: 29 October 2022
Disclaimer: Some of these links may be affiliate links
When it comes to navigating through Istanbul, it is quite simple with the trams. However, if you plan on visiting other cities such as Ankara, Antalya and Izmir these phrases will come in handy. They will also help you if you are planning to go to more rural areas as well.
- Otobus nerede? (ot-o-boos, ner-ay-day): Where is the bus?
- Havalimanı nerede? (ha-va-li-ma-ni, ner-ay-day): Where is the airport?
- Taksi nerede? (tak-si, ner-ay-day): Where is the taxi?
- Taksi ne kadar? (tak-si, nay, ka-dar): How much is the taxi?
- AVM nerede? (ah-ve-mey, ner-ay-day): Where is the mall?
AVM is an abbreviation that is commonly used for the words that mean shopping mall.
Hastane nerede? (has-ta-ne, ner-ay-day) Where is the hospital?
…nerede? (ner-ay-de): nerede means where. This is a nice word to know. You will know when someone is asking you a question. This is also helpful as you can add a place or any word in front of nerede.
And this last phrase in the category of transport, has nothing to do with transport. Well unless you consider the transportation of waste. 🙂 But never the less, this phrase is super essential to know especially if you are travelling with kids.
Tuvalet nerede? (to-let, ner-ay-day): Where is the bathroom?
You can pronounce toilet as you do in English and they will know what you mean.
Turkish Phrases when Eating Out
These phrases and words will definitely come in handy when you are eating out. Which I am sure you will be doing all the time in a country like Turkey, where you are surrounded by delicious food everywhere.
- Menu alabilir miyim? (men-u, al-a-bil-ir, mee-yum): Can I have a menu?
- Fiyat ne kadar? (fee-yacht, nay, kad-ar): How much?
- Tavuk (ta-vook): Chicken
- Et (et): Beef
- Kuzu eti (koo-zoo, et-ee): Lamb meat
- Balik (bal-ick): Fish
- Ekmek (ek-mek) : Bread
- Pasta (Pas-ta) : Cake
- Su (Soo) : Water
- Sut : Milk
- Peynir (Pay-neer) : Cheese
- Vejetaryen (vej-e-tar-yen): Vegetarian
- Allerji (all-er-ji): Allergy
- Çok lezzetli (choke, lezz-et-lee): Very delicious
- Hesap alabilir miyim? (hey-sap, al-a-bil-ir, mee-yum): Can I get the bill?
- Evet (E-vet) : Yes
- Hayir (Hayr) : No
Turkish Phrases when Shopping
You can’t go to Turkey, especially Istanbul, and not go shopping. For tourists, the two most famous and fun shopping areas are Taksim Square and the Grand Bazaar.
If you want to experience how Turkish people live, you can also try to go to a modern-day bazaar, held in most neighbourhoods at least once a week.
- Kapalı çarşı (cop-al-a, char-sh-a): The Turkish name for the Grand Bazaar
- Pazar (pa-zar): The name for a modern, local, open-air market
- Ne kadar? (nay, ka-dar): How much?
Turkish phrases you can use in an emergency
- Imdat (eem-dat): Emergency, use the phrase if you feel threatened by someone.
- Hastane (has-taa-ne): Hospital
- Doktor (Dok-tor) : Doctor
- Yardim Edin (Yar-dim E-din) : Help
A really great language app to use is Duolingo. It is simple and very user friendly. Within just a few days you will be mastering phrases of a new language. It is really fun to use. You can try it out here.
Have you visited Turkey and used any of the above phrases? If you are familiar with the Turkish language, what other phrases would you add to the above? Please comment below.