Turkish Vowels: Pronunciation of A, E, I, İ, O, Ö, U, Ü
- Halit Demir
- Oct 15
- 2 min read
Turkish has eight vowels: Aa, Ee, Iı, İi, Oo, Öö, Uu, and Üü.
In this lesson, we’ll learn how to pronounce each vowel in the following order, in pairs, and make comparisons for better understanding.
1. Turkish Vowels: A and E
A
A has a similar sound to the English u in up or but.
Example Turkish words with A:
adam → man
baba → father
araba → car
E
E has a similar sound to the English e in bed or alphabet.
Example Turkish words with E:
el → hand
elma → apple
alfabe → alphabet
2. Turkish Vowels: O and Ö
O
O has the sound more like the English o in boy or joy without the final y sound (bɔɪ). Or we can say it is the o in more or small, but only shorter.
First say the following English word and then the Turkish word:
more
mor → purple
Ö
Ö is a rounded e. You can produce the ö sound by rounding your lips while saying e.
Say:
el → hand (n)
öl → die (v)
3. Turkish Vowels: U and Ü
U
U has a similar sound to the English u in put or push.
Example Turkish words with U:
un → flour
unut → forget
koyun → sheep
Ü
Ü is a rounded i. You can produce the ü sound by rounding your lips while saying i.
Say:
iç → drink (v)
üç → three
4. Turkish Vowels: I and İ
I
I is an unrounded u. You can produce the ı sound by unrounding your lips while saying u.
It is also similar to the schwa sound (ə) in the second syllable of butcher or carrot.
Say:
ulu → Almighty
ılı → get tepid
İ
İ has a similar sound to the English i in sit or knit.
Example Turkish words with İ:
iç → drink (v)
kedi → cat
isim → name
A Tricky Point with ı and i
Be careful not to dot lowercase ı’s — many learners mistakenly do, and it can completely change the meaning of a word!
Examples:
Ben fena sıkıldım. → I'm dead bored.
Seni sıkıyor muyum? → Am I boring you?
Note: If you accidentally dot the ı’s, these sentences will completely change their meaning, which we can’t express in this lesson — you can ask ChatGPT what they mean instead. 😄
This lesson is a part of the Unit 1 in my book easy Turkish Grammar with answers 1 (A1-A2). You can also study these vowels and consonants with audio support here, which is included in the free first three units.