The Turkish Alphabet: 29 Letters and How They Sound
Turkish is written in a Latin alphabet of 29 letters, in use since 1928. Spelling follows pronunciation closely: with few exceptions, each letter stands for one sound.
There are 8 vowels (a, e, ı, i, o, ö, u, ü) and 21 consonants. Q, W and X are not part of the alphabet. Six letters are not in the English alphabet: ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş and ü. The dotted İ and the dotless I are two different letters.
All 29 letters
| Letter | Name | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| A a | “a” | a as in "father" | arabacar |
| B b | “be” | b as in "boy" | balıkfish |
| C c | “ce” | j as in "jam" | camglass |
| Ç ç | “çe” | ch as in "chair" | çaytea |
| D d | “de” | d as in "dog" | denizsea |
| E e | “e” | e as in "bed" | evhouse |
| F f | “fe” | f as in "fun" | filelephant |
| G g | “ge” | g as in "go" | gülrose |
| Ğ ğ | “yumuşak ge” | silent, lengthens the vowel before it | dağmountain |
| H h | “he” | h as in "hat" | havaair / weather |
| I ı | “ı” | the "uh" in "circus", no dot | ışıklight |
| İ i | “i” | ee as in "see" | iğneneedle |
| J j | “je” | s as in "measure" | jetontoken |
| K k | “ke” | k as in "kite" | kedicat |
| L l | “le” | l as in "love" | limonlemon |
| M m | “me” | m as in "moon" | masatable |
| N n | “ne” | n as in "net" | narpomegranate |
| O o | “o” | o as in "more" | okulschool |
| Ö ö | “ö” | like "ur" in "fur" (rounded) | gözeye |
| P p | “pe” | p as in "pen" | paramoney |
| R r | “re” | lightly rolled r | renkcolour |
| S s | “se” | s as in "sun" | suwater |
| Ş ş | “şe” | sh as in "ship" | şekersugar / candy |
| T t | “te” | t as in "top" | tuzsalt |
| U u | “u” | oo as in "boot" | uçakplane |
| Ü ü | “ü” | like "ew" said with rounded lips | üzümgrape |
| V v | “ve” | v as in "van" | vazovase |
| Y y | “ye” | y as in "yes" | yıldızstar |
| Z z | “ze” | z as in "zoo" | zamantime |
Letters to watch
- C cC sounds like English "j", not "k" or "s".
- Ç çÇ is the "ch" sound. Different letter from C.
- Ğ ğ"Soft g" is never at the start of a word. It has no sound of its own; it stretches the previous vowel.
- I ıDotless ı is a back vowel. Note the capital is I (no dot).
- İ iDotted i keeps its dot even when capital: İ.
- J jThe soft "zh" sound, mostly in loanwords.
- Ö öRound your lips and say "e". Not in English.
- Ş şŞ is the "sh" sound. Different letter from S.
- Ü üRound your lips and say "ee". Not in English.