A1 · Beginner35 words and phrases Audio for every word
Jobs and Professions in Turkish
To ask someone’s job in Turkish, say (What do you do?). The answer is short: the job plus the ending for “I am”, with no word for “a”: (I’m a teacher.) Many job names end in -ci or -cı, which turns a thing into the person who works with it: (fish) becomes , the fisherman. Every word and sentence has audio.
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Asking and talking about work
means job and work. is to work, and also to study.
iş
job, work
İşten saat altıda çıkıyorum.
I leave work at six.
meslek
profession
Öğretmenlik güzel bir meslek.
Teaching is a wonderful profession.
Ne iş yapıyorsun?
What do you do? · polite: Ne iş yapıyorsunuz?
Ne iş yapıyorsun? — Hemşireyim.
What do you do? — I’m a nurse.
Nerede çalışıyorsun?
Where do you work?
Nerede çalışıyorsun? — Bir bankada çalışıyorum.
Where do you work? — I work at a bank.
Öğretmenim.
I’m a teacher. · job + “I am” ending
Öğretmenim, lisede İngilizce öğretiyorum.
I’m a teacher; I teach English at a high school.
garson olarak çalışmak
to work as a waiter · olarak: as
Yazın bir otelde garson olarak çalışıyorum.
In the summer, I work as a waiter in a hotel.
çalışmak
to work · also “to study”
Bugün çalışmıyorum, izinliyim.
I’m not working today; I have the day off.
öğrenci
student
Ben öğrenciyim, üniversitede okuyorum.
I’m a student; I study at university.
emekli
retired
Dedem emekli, bütün gün bahçeyle uğraşıyor.
My grandpa is retired; he spends all day in the garden.
Common jobs
Some job words are international, so you already know them: , , and from French garçon.
öğretmen
teacher
Annem ilkokul öğretmeni.
My mom is a primary school teacher.
doktor
doctor
Kızım doktor olmak istiyor.
My daughter wants to be a doctor.
hemşire
nurse
Hemşire birazdan gelecek.
The nurse will be here soon.
mühendis
engineer
Eşim inşaat mühendisi.
My wife is a civil engineer.
avukat
lawyer
Bu konuda bir avukatla konuşmalısın.
You should talk to a lawyer about this.
polis
police officer · also “the police”
Bir polise sor, o bilir.
Ask a police officer; they’ll know.
garson
waiter, server
Garson çok güler yüzlü.
The waiter is very friendly.
aşçı
cook, chef
Bu restoranın aşçısı çok iyi.
The chef at this restaurant is very good.
şoför
driver
Amcam otobüs şoförü.
My uncle is a bus driver.
memur
civil servant · a very common job in Türkiye
Babam belediyede memur.
My dad is a civil servant at the town hall.
berber
barber
Cumartesi berbere gideceğim.
I’m going to the barber on Saturday.
Jobs ending in -ci and -cı
Add -ci to a noun and you get the person who works with it. The vowel follows vowel harmony (-ci, -cı, -cu, -cü), and after a hard consonant like k, ş or f it becomes -çi, -çı, -çu or -çü.
işçi
worker · iş (work) + -çi
Fabrikada iki yüz işçi çalışıyor.
Two hundred workers work at the factory.
gazeteci
journalist · gazete (newspaper) + -ci
Gazeteciler sabahtan beri kapıda bekliyor.
Journalists have been waiting at the door since this morning.
fotoğrafçı
photographer · fotoğraf (photo) + -çı
Düğün için bir fotoğrafçı arıyoruz.
We’re looking for a photographer for the wedding.
balıkçı
fisherman, fishmonger · balık (fish) + -çı
Balıkçıdan taze hamsi aldık.
We bought fresh anchovies from the fishmonger.
eczacı
pharmacist · ecza (medicine) + -cı
Eczacı bana bir şurup verdi.
The pharmacist gave me some syrup.
yazılımcı
software developer · yazılım (software) + -cı
Abim Berlin'de yazılımcı.
My older brother is a software developer in Berlin.
tamirci
mechanic, repairman · tamir (repair) + -ci
Araba yine bozuldu, tamirciye götürüyorum.
The car broke down again; I’m taking it to the mechanic.
kapıcı
doorman, building caretaker · kapı (door) + -cı
Kapıcı her sabah ekmek getiriyor.
The doorman brings us bread every morning.
taksici
taxi driver · taksi + -ci
Taksici bütün yol boyunca konuştu.
The taxi driver talked the whole way.
şarkıcı
singer · şarkı (song) + -cı
En sevdiğin Türk şarkıcısı kim?
Who’s your favorite Turkish singer?
Places of work
To say where you work, add -de/-da to the place: , , .
ofis
office
Pazartesi ve salı ofisteyim, diğer günler evden çalışıyorum.
I’m in the office on Mondays and Tuesdays and work from home the other days.
hastane
hospital
Ablam bir hastanede hemşire.
My older sister is a nurse at a hospital.
okul
school
Çocuklar saat üçe kadar okulda.
The kids are at school until three.
fabrika
factory
Babam otuz yıl bu fabrikada çalıştı.
My dad worked at this factory for thirty years.
dükkân
shop, store · also spelled dükkan
Dayımın küçük bir dükkânı var.
My uncle has a small shop.
Good to know
- To say “I’m a …”, add the ending for “I am” to the job: , , . Turkish needs no word for “a”. More in the verb “to be” in Turkish.
- Job words have no gender: can be a man or a woman, and so can .
- The -ci ending changes its vowel to match the word, so it’s but . The vowel harmony guide shows how it works.
- With an adult you don’t know, use the polite form:
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