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.