Learn to speak Turkish

1. 1

   Week 1: sounds and greetings

   Say hello (Merhaba) and thank you (Teşekkürler) until they feel natural. Learn the sounds that differ from English, and say ten short sentences about yourself. Turkish vowels follow a harmony rule: the endings change to match the vowels in the word. Saying whole sentences aloud makes the pattern feel natural before you can explain it.

2. 2

   Week 2: everyday requests

   Learn to order, ask the price, ask where things are and say you do not understand. Build each as a full sentence and say it three times.

3. 3

   Week 3: questions and answers

   Practise question words and the answers to them. Listen to each Turkish sentence first, then say it, then compare.

4. 4

   Week 4: short exchanges

   Chain sentences into a mini conversation: greet, introduce yourself, ask a question, answer one. Record yourself and listen back.

Turkish uses the Latin alphabet, so you can read and sound out words from day one.

The grammar is unlike English, but it is very regular. Spelling matches sound almost exactly, which makes speaking easier than most learners expect.

A good first target sentence: Ben öğrenciyim. (I am a student.).

• Ten to twenty minutes, same time every day.
• Say everything out loud, even when alone.
• Learn whole sentences, not isolated words.
• Repeat yesterday's sentences before learning new ones.
• After a couple of weeks, find a conversation partner or tutor and use what you have practised. At 30 minutes a day, Turkish reaches working proficiency in roughly 6 years, and you will be speaking well before that.