A1 · Beginner38 words and phrases Audio for every word
Family Members in Turkish
Family in Turkish is , and Turkish has more family words than English: an older sister is , and an aunt is or depending on which side of the family she’s on. Here are the words for parents and children, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and in-laws. Every word and sentence has audio.
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Parents and children
aile
family
Ailem İzmir'de yaşıyor.
My family lives in Izmir.
anne
mother, mom
Annem çok güzel yemek yapıyor.
My mom is a great cook.
baba
father, dad
Babam bir bankada çalışıyor.
My dad works at a bank.
anne baba
parents · ebeveyn is the formal word
Anne babam hafta sonu bize geliyor.
My parents are coming to see us this weekend.
çocuk
child
Çocuklar bahçede oynuyor.
The children are playing in the garden.
oğul
son · my son is oğlum
Oğlum on yaşında.
My son is ten years old.
kız
daughter · also “girl”
Kızım üniversitede okuyor.
My daughter is at university.
bebek
baby
Bebek uyuyor, sessiz olun.
The baby is sleeping, please be quiet.
Brothers and sisters
is a brother or sister, usually a younger one. For older siblings Turkish has special words, and , and younger siblings usually call them by these words instead of their names.
kardeş
sibling, brother or sister
Benim iki kardeşim var.
I have two siblings.
erkek kardeş
brother (usually younger)
Erkek kardeşim futbol oynuyor.
My brother plays soccer.
kız kardeş
sister (usually younger)
Kız kardeşim Ankara'da öğrenci.
My sister is a student in Ankara.
abla
older sister
Ablam benden beş yaş büyük.
My older sister is five years older than me.
abi
older brother · written ağabey, said abi
Abim Almanya'da yaşıyor.
My older brother lives in Germany.
ikiz
twin
Onlar ikiz ama birbirlerine hiç benzemiyorlar.
They’re twins, but they look nothing alike.
Kaç kardeşsiniz?
How many children are in your family? · the answer counts you too
Biz üç kardeşiz: ben, ablam ve erkek kardeşim.
There are three of us: me, my older sister and my brother.
Grandparents and grandchildren
Turkish names a grandmother by her side of the family: is your mother’s mother, your father’s mother.
dede
grandfather, grandpa
Dedem her sabah parkta yürüyüş yapıyor.
My grandpa goes for a walk in the park every morning.
anneanne
grandmother (your mother’s mother) · literally “mother mother”
Yazları anneannemde kalıyoruz.
We stay at my grandma’s in the summer.
babaanne
grandmother (your father’s mother) · literally “father mother”
Babaannem çok güzel börek yapıyor.
My grandma makes amazing börek.
büyükanne
grandmother (either side) · büyükbaba is grandfather
Büyükannem ve büyükbabam köyde yaşıyor.
My grandparents live in a village.
torun
grandchild
Dedemin altı torunu var.
My grandpa has six grandchildren.
Aunts, uncles and cousins
English has one word for aunt and one for uncle. Turkish has two of each: on your mother’s side and , on your father’s side and .
teyze
aunt (your mother’s sister) · also a friendly way to address an older woman
Teyzem her pazar bize geliyor.
My aunt comes over every Sunday.
hala
aunt (your father’s sister)
Halam İstanbul'da öğretmen.
My aunt is a teacher in Istanbul.
dayı
uncle (your mother’s brother)
Dayımın bir lokantası var.
My uncle has a restaurant.
amca
uncle (your father’s brother) · also a polite way to address an older man
Amcam bizimle aynı apartmanda oturuyor.
My uncle lives in the same apartment building as us.
yenge
aunt by marriage, an uncle’s wife · also your brother’s wife
Yengem çok sıcakkanlı biri.
My uncle’s wife is a really warm person.
enişte
uncle by marriage, an aunt’s husband · also your sister’s husband
Eniştem çok komik biri.
My aunt’s husband is really funny.
kuzen
cousin
Kuzenimle aynı okula gidiyoruz.
My cousin and I go to the same school.
yeğen
niece, nephew
Yeğenim çok tatlı.
My niece is so sweet.
Marriage and in-laws
is the polite, neutral word for a husband or wife. Your spouse’s parents are your and .
eş
spouse, husband or wife
Eşim doktor.
My wife is a doctor.
koca
husband · everyday, a bit informal
Kocası çok iyi biri.
Her husband is a really nice man.
karı koca
husband and wife (as a couple) · karı alone can sound rude: say eşim
Onlar karı koca.
They’re husband and wife.
nişanlı
fiancé, fiancée; engaged
Nişanlımla gelecek yaz evleniyoruz.
My fiancé and I are getting married next summer.
evli
married
Ablam evli ve iki çocuğu var.
My older sister is married with two children.
bekâr
single, unmarried · also written bekar
Abim hâlâ bekâr.
My older brother is still single.
kayınvalide
mother-in-law · in everyday speech, kaynana
Kayınvalidem her hafta sonu bizi yemeğe çağırıyor.
My mother-in-law invites us to dinner every weekend.
kayınpeder
father-in-law
Kayınpederim emekli bir öğretmen.
My father-in-law is a retired teacher.
gelin
bride; daughter-in-law
Annem gelinini çok seviyor.
My mom really loves her daughter-in-law.
damat
groom; son-in-law
Damat çok heyecanlı.
The groom is really excited.
Good to know
- Turkish says “my” with an ending, not a separate word: (my mother), (my father), (my sibling). You’ll hear these forms far more often than the bare words.
- , , and aren’t only for family. People use them to address strangers warmly: a shopkeeper might be , an older neighbor .
- If you forget a word, describe the person instead: (my mother’s sister) means the same as (my aunt), and everyone will understand you.
- To give ages, you’ll need numbers in Turkish: (My dad is fifty.)
Learn these words in real Turkish
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