Beginning Turkish

Watch video and learn about greetings, shopping, food, dining out, weather, education, literature, holiday traditions, and more. With our specially designed video player for language learning you can pause the video at any point and scroll the transcription. Read annotations about culture and grammar. Click on almost any word or sentence to hear it spoken, along with translations.

This course can be used either by independent learners or by students in a traditional or self-instructional classroom setting, and is the equivalent of the material covered in a one-year college course.

Classroom-Tested and Peer-Reviewed

Beginning Turkish was developed and peer-reviewed by Turkish language experts, and used by college students as their textbook. It was originally published as part of the well-reviewed University of Arizona Critical Languages Series. We have added many tablet and mobile-friendly features. The course contains 20 lessons featuring 29 videos of native speakers with transcriptions, translations, and annotations. Includes 9,400 word and sentence audio recordings.

Multiple Choice, Fill in the blank, and Listening Dictation exercises are provided for each lesson. A searchable audio glossary with thousands of words and translations helps you find every occurrence of a word or part of a word in all of the lessons.

A custom on-screen keyboard is provided for Turkish.

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Our Interactive Video Player for Language Learning

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Table of Contents and Free Sample Lessons

Try one of the sample lessons below with video, transcriptions, annotations, translations, and individual word and sentence audio recordings:

Units

1. Okul (School), Try a Listening Dictation Exercise or Audio Flashcards
2. Merhaba (Hello), Try Audio Flashcards
3. Biraz üşütmüşüm (I have a cold)
4. Karakolda (At the police station)
5. Ankara’dan mektup (A letter from Ankara)
6. Telefon numarası (Telephone number)
7. Saat kaç? (What time is it?)
8. Arabanızı bulduk (We found your car)
9. Trafik kazası (Traffic accident)
10. Kaç kardeşsiniz? (How many siblings do you have?)
11. Geçmiş Olsun (May it soon pass)
12. Takside (In a Taxi)
13. Alışveriş (Shopping)
14. Otelde (At a hotel)
15. Ne Iş Yapıyor? (What does he do for a living?)
16. Kapalıçarşıda Alışveriş (Shopping at the bazaar)
17. İstanbul’da Ulaşım (Moving around in Istanbul)
18. Anıtkabir’i Ziyaret (A visit to Anıtkabir)
19. Bugün Hava Nasıl? (How is the weather today?)
20. Hoşçakal (Stay well)

Alphabet, Phonology, and Grammar

1. The Turkish Alphabet
2. Phonology I
3. Phonology II
4. Nouns
5. The verb “to be”
6. Postpositions
7. Pronouns
8. Adjectives
9. Particles
10. Numbers

Cultural Dimensions of Turkish

1. Relative Times
2. Temperature Table
3. The Times of the Day
4. The Five Mandatory Prayers
5. Colors
6. The Five Fingers
7. The Four Seasons
8. Zones
9. Names of the Months
10. The Four Cardinal Points
11. Major Rivers
12. Days of the Week
13. Turkish Dishes
14. Turkish Banks
15. Foreign Currencies
16. Cities to Visit
17. Major Secular and Religious Holidays
18. Political Parties
19. Famous Mosques

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What our Students are Saying

“I love that in your lessons, I can click on each word individually for both pronunciation and meaning in English. I really need the pronunciation aspect in my language learning, and this is so helpful…”

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About the Author

András J E Bodrogligeti received MAs from Loránd Eötvös University, Budapest in Indo-European Studies and Oriental Studies, with specialization in Turkic and Iranian languages. He received his Ph.D. from Loránd Eötvös in Turkic and Iranian languages and literatures. Dr. Bodrogligeti was formerly a Professor of Turkic and Iranian Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Other Turkish Resources

Turkish Language – Wikipedia

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Course materials © 1995–2026 Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona. Used under license.

Frequently asked questions

How much material does Beginning Turkish cover?

Beginning Turkish covers the equivalent of a full year of college-level Turkish instruction — roughly 120 hours of material — delivered as structured video lessons with full transcriptions and translations.

Do I need any prior experience to take Beginning Turkish?

No. Beginning Turkish starts from the very beginning — the alphabet, sounds, and essential phrases — and assumes no prior knowledge of Turkish.

How are the lessons delivered?

The course is fully online and self-paced. You learn from native-speaker videos with on-screen transcriptions and translations, then practice with interactive exercises — on any device, on your own schedule.

How much does Beginning Turkish cost?

Access is $9.99/month with a three-month minimum, and one subscription unlocks the entire course.

Who created Beginning Turkish?

Beginning Turkish was originally created by the University of Arizona Critical Languages Program as part of the Critical Languages Series. It was designed by Prof. András J. E. Bodrogligeti, published by Language Canvas, and used under license.