Capital Letters in Turkish: Rules and Examples

Turkish capital letters (büyük harfler) usually follow English patterns, with a few differences. In this post, we’ll go over these patterns and differences with clear comparisons and examples.

A. Like in English, we use capital letters (büyük harfler):

1. To begin sentences

Example:

• Ben Türkçe öğreniyorum. → I’m learning Turkish.

2. For the names of people, places, nationalities, languages, institutions, holidays, etc.

Examples:

• Arhan Demir

• Jane Page

• Türkiye

• İngiltere

• Türk

• İngiliz

• Topkapı Sarayı → Topkapı Palace (in the city of Istanbul)

• İzmir Konak Meydanı → İzmir Konak Square (in the city of İzmir)

• Uludağ Üniversitesi → Uludağ University (in the city of Bursa)

• Tunalı Hilmi Caddesi → Tunalı Hilmi Street (in the capital city of Ankara)

• Türk Dil Kurumu → the Turkish Language Association

• Dışişleri Bakanlığı → the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

• Anneler Günü → Mother’s Day

• Ramazan Bayramı → Eid ul-Fitr (celebrated at the end of Ramadan)

• Kurban Bayramı → Eid ul-Adha (celebrated at the end of the Haj)

3. For certain personal titles (e.g. Bey and Hanım)

Examples:

• Demir Bey → Mr. Demir

• Ayşe Hanım → Ms. Ayşe

4. For the titles of books, plays, films, etc.

Examples:

• Benim Adım Kırmızı → My Name is Red

• Kassandra Damgası → Cassandra’s Brand

• Romeo ve Juliet → Romeo and Juliet

• Bülbülü Öldürmek → To Kill a Mockingbird

• 12 Öfkeli Adam → 12 Angry Men

B. Unlike in English, we do not use capital letters for days and months.

Examples:

• Ben cumartesi Ankara’ya gidiyorum. → I’m going to Ankara on Saturday.

• Türkiye’de okullar eylülde açılıyor. → In Turkey schools open in September.

However, months and days should begin with capital letters when we write dates.

Examples:

• Bu sene okullar 19 Eylül’de açılıyor. → This year schools open on 19 September.

• Okullar 19 Eylül Pazartesi günü açılıyor. → Schools open on Monday, 19 September.

Let’s remember days and months in Turkish:

Days: pazartesi, salı, çarşamba, perşembe, cuma, cumartesi, pazar

Months: ocak, şubat, mart, nisan, mayıs, haziran, temmuz, ağustos, eylül, ekim, kasım, aralık

I included this lesson as an appendix in my book easy Turkish Grammar with answers 1 (A1–A2), along with 10 other appendices, in addition to the 36 main units. Check out the book here.

Capital letters and apostrophe use often go together. See Turkish apostrophe rules and examples.