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Turkish short stories
Short stories written for learners, level by level. Tap any sentence to hear it and see its English, or let the whole story play. Each one ends with its key words and a few questions.
A1 · Beginner
FreeKayıp KediThe Lost CatElif and Can can’t find their white cat, Pamuk. They look in the kitchen, the bedroom and the garden. Where is she? 3 min AudioA1
PremiumPazardaAt the BazaarIt’s Sunday, and Ayşe goes to the bazaar. She buys fruit and vegetables, asks the prices and pays. How much change does she get? 3 min AudioA1
A2 · Elementary
FreeAdalarda Bir GünA Day on the IslandsLast Saturday, two friends took the ferry to Büyükada, the biggest of Istanbul’s Princes’ Islands. Bikes, fish, seagulls and one lost ice cream. 4 min AudioA2
PremiumTelefonum Nerede?Where Is My Phone?Selin comes home from a café in Kadıköy, opens her bag and her phone isn’t there. She calls her own number, and a stranger answers. 4 min AudioA2
B1 · Intermediate
FreeYeni İşte İlk GünFirst Day at the New JobZeynep has just moved to Istanbul, and today is her first day at an advertising agency. Then, at the door of the building, her coffee ends up on her white shirt. 5 min AudioB1
PremiumAnneannemin SırrıGrandma’s SecretNobody in the family can make sarma like Grandma, and she never tells her secret. Before moving to Ankara, her grandson asks her to teach him, and learns more than a recipe. 6 min AudioB1
B2 · Upper intermediate
FreeYanlış AnlaşılmaThe MisunderstandingEce says she is going to Germany on Friday, and then the line drops. By Thursday her friends are throwing her a surprise farewell party. But is she really leaving? 5 min AudioB2
Premiumİş GörüşmesiThe Job InterviewAfter three months of looking for work, Emre finally has a job interview. When the hardest question comes, he drops his memorized answer and tells the truth. 5 min AudioB2
C1 · Advanced
FreeSon SahafThe Last BooksellerJournalist Elif interviews Ahmet Bey, whose fifty-year-old second-hand bookshop in Kadıköy is about to close. Halfway through, the formal interview turns into a reunion. 7 min AudioC1
PremiumEski Bir Dosta MektupA Letter to an Old FriendTwelve years after a falling-out, Selin finds a letter from her best friend from high school under the bakery door. It starts very formally, but not for long. 7 min AudioC1
C2 · Mastery
FreeKadıköy VapuruThe Kadıköy FerryA ferry horn takes the narrator back to Sunday mornings with his grandfather: simit for the gulls, tea on the deck, and words he only understood years later. 7 min AudioC2
PremiumDurmuş SaatThe Stopped WatchThree days after Uncle Nuri’s funeral, Mehmet arrives at the old family yalı to find the will missing. The only clue is a silver pocket watch stopped at 3:17. 8 min AudioC2
More stories are on the way. Meanwhile, keep going with the Turkish course.