Turkish Vocabulary – 100 Words for Everyday Life

Learning Turkish can feel overwhelming at first—especially when you don’t know which words actually matter in daily life. The fastest way to make real progress is to focus on high-frequency vocabulary: the words you’ll hear in conversations, on the street, in shops, and in basic messages.

In this guide, you’ll find 100 essential Turkish words for everyday life, grouped by topic so they’re easier to learn and remember.

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Everyday Turkish words: greetings and basic phrases (1–15)

  1. Merhaba — Hello

  2. Selam — Hi

  3. Günaydın — Good morning

  4. İyi akşamlar — Good evening

  5. İyi geceler — Good night

  6. Hoş geldin — Welcome (informal)

  7. Hoş geldiniz — Welcome (polite/plural)

  8. Nasılsın? — How are you? (informal)

  9. Nasılsınız? — How are you? (polite/plural)

  10. İyiyim — I’m fine

  11. Teşekkürler — Thanks

  12. Teşekkür ederim — Thank you (more polite)

  13. Rica ederim — You’re welcome

  14. Lütfen — Please

  15. Evet / Hayır — Yes / No

Polite words you’ll use constantly (16–25)

  1. Affedersiniz — Excuse me (polite)

  2. Pardon — Sorry / pardon

  3. Özür dilerim — I’m sorry

  4. Tamam — OK

  5. Olur — Sure / that works

  6. Olmaz — No / not possible

  7. Belki — Maybe

  8. Tabii — Of course

  9. Lazım — Necessary / need

  10. Mümkün — Possible

People and relationships (26–35)

  1. Ben — I

  2. Sen — You (informal)

  3. Siz — You (polite/plural)

  4. O — He / she / it

  5. Arkadaş — Friend

  6. Aile — Family

  7. Anne — Mother

  8. Baba — Father

  9. Kardeş — Sibling

  10. Çocuk — Child

Numbers and time basics (36–45)

  1. Bir — One

  2. İki — Two

  3. Üç — Three

  4. Dört — Four

  5. Beş — Five

  6. Bugün — Today

  7. Yarın — Tomorrow

  8. Dün — Yesterday

  9. Şimdi — Now

  10. Sonra — Later

Places you’ll talk about (46–55)

  1. Ev — House / home

  2. Okul — School

  3. İş — Work / job

  4. Market — Grocery store

  5. Restoran — Restaurant

  6. Hastane — Hospital

  7. Eczane — Pharmacy

  8. Otobüs — Bus

  9. Havalimanı — Airport

  10. Şehir — City

Food and drink vocabulary (56–70)

  1. Su — Water

  2. Çay — Tea

  3. Kahve — Coffee

  4. Ekmek — Bread

  5. Yemek — Food / meal

  6. Kahvaltı — Breakfast

  7. Öğle yemeği — Lunch

  8. Akşam yemeği — Dinner

  9. Et — Meat

  10. Tavuk — Chicken

  11. Balık — Fish

  12. Sebze — Vegetables

  13. Meyve — Fruit

  14. Şeker — Sugar

  15. Tuz — Salt

Shopping and money (71–80)

  1. Para — Money

  2. Fiyat — Price

  3. Ucuz — Cheap

  4. Pahalı — Expensive

  5. Kaç para? — How much is it?

  6. Kredi kartı — Credit card

  7. Nakit — Cash

  8. İndirim — Discount

  9. Almak — To buy

  10. Satmak — To sell

Useful verbs for daily life (81–90)

  1. Gitmek — To go

  2. Gelmek — To come

  3. Yapmak — To do / make

  4. İstemek — To want

  5. Sevmek — To love / like

  6. Bilmek — To know

  7. Anlamak — To understand

  8. Konuşmak — To speak

  9. Söylemek — To say / tell

  10. Görmek — To see

Common adjectives (91–100)

  1. İyi — Good

  2. Kötü — Bad

  3. Güzel — Beautiful / nice

  4. Büyük — Big

  5. Küçük — Small

  6. Sıcak — Hot / warm

  7. Soğuk — Cold

  8. Hızlı — Fast

  9. Yavaş — Slow

  10. Kolay — Easy

Bonus: Turkish words that unlock culture

If you want to go beyond basic vocabulary and understand Turkish humor, emotions, and culture, these three topics are great next steps:

Learn playful (and rude) Turkish vocabulary

Turkish insults are very expressive, but you should learn them carefully and use them only if you fully understand the context.

👉 5 insults in Turkish
https://speakturkishonline.com/en/5-insults-in-turkish/

Learn Turkish wisdom through proverbs

Proverbs are one of the best ways to understand how Turkish people think and speak.

👉 5 Turkish Proverbs
https://speakturkishonline.com/en/5-turkish-proverbs/

Learn romantic Turkish through poetry

Turkish is a very emotional language, and love poems are a beautiful way to pick up natural expressions.

👉 5 Love Poems in Turkish
https://speakturkishonline.com/en/5-love-poems-in-turkish/

Final tips: how to learn these 100 Turkish words faster

The best way to remember vocabulary is to use it daily:

  • Make short sentences with 10 words per day

  • Write a mini dialogue using greetings + verbs

  • Learn words in groups (food, places, verbs)

  • Repeat out loud (Turkish pronunciation improves fast this way)

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