A1 · Alphabet and pronunciation · about 6 minutes
Stress
where the stress falls
Mostly at the end of the word, and with every ending the stress moves on.
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“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need7
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- kitapbook
- masatable
- dünyesterday
- gelmekto come
- çocukchild
- lokantarestaurant
- oturmakto sit; to live (somewhere)
Understand
RememberThe stress sits at the end and moves along with every ending.
- Signal words
- -me-
- mi
- şimdi
- nerede
The form
How it is written and said
Each row gives the rule first, then examples in Turkish that show it.
| basic rule: the last syllable | ki-TAP, öğret-MEN |
| an ending takes the stress with it | ki-tap-LAR, ki-tap-lar-DA |
| before the negative -me- | GEL-me-di, YAP-ma |
| before the question particle mi | ev-DE mi, ÇAY mı |
| place names: usually further forward | AN-ka-ra, İs-TAN-bul |
| some frequent words | ŞİM-di, NE-re-de, lo-KAN-ta |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
A word usually carries the stress on its last syllable.
Bu kitap çok güzel.This book is very good.
With every ending the stress moves back.
Kitaplar masada.The books are on the table.
The stress falls before -me- and before mi.
Ayşe dün gelmedi.Ayşe did not come yesterday.
Place names and some words carry the stress further forward.
Şimdi Ankara'dayım.I am in Ankara now.
Example sentences
Öğretmen geliyor.The teacher is coming.
Çocuklar bahçede.The children are in the garden.
Bu akşam lokantada yemek yiyoruz.This evening we are eating at a restaurant.
7 more example sentences
Nerede oturuyorsun?Where do you live?
Kahve içmedim.I did not drink any coffee.
İstanbul'a gidiyorum.I am going to İstanbul.
Evler çok eski.The houses are very old.
Bugün çalışmıyorum.I am not working today.
Çay mı, kahve mi?Tea or coffee?
Merhaba, nasılsın?Hello, how are you?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
The English ear keeps the stress on the stem and says “ki-TAP-lar”, because in English “TEACHer” and “TEACHers” are stressed in the same place. In Turkish the stem hands the stress on to the last ending. Capitals here show the stressed syllable.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
8 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself5 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
English words usually carry their stress near the front: “TEACHer”, “CHILDren”. Turkish words usually carry it on the last syllable: kitapsounds like “ki-TAP”öğretmenlike “öğret-MEN” In the table the stressed syllable is in capitals.
When an ending is added, the stress moves along to the end: kitaplar“kitap-LAR”kitaplarda“kitaplar-DA” The stem does not hold on to it the way an English ear expects.
A few pieces never take the stress: the negative -me- and the question particle mi. The stress then falls on the syllable before: gelmedi“GEL-medi”evde mi“ev-DE mi”
And some words carry their stress further forward: many place names (Ankara “AN-kara”, İstanbul “is-TAN-bul”) and some frequent words such as şimdi, nerede, merhaba and lokanta. Turkish stress is also much weaker than English stress — say every syllable equally clearly, without swallowing the unstressed ones, and you will be understood well.
A closer look
A stress that does not move
Words with their own stress keep it even when endings are added: lokantadastays “lo-KAN-tada”Ankara'dastays “AN-karada” The rule of the moving stress applies to ordinary words; you learn the exceptions with the word.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Compared with English
In English the stress stays on the stem however many endings follow — “COMfort, COMfortable, COMfortably”. In Turkish it is the other way round: the stem gives up the stress, and the last piece gets it — as long as it is not an unstressed piece like -me- or mi.
Öğretmenler geldi.The teachers have come.
Worth knowing
A light stress
Turkish word stress is much weaker than English stress — more a slight lift than a push, and unstressed vowels are never reduced to “uh”. If you stress strongly in the English way you quickly sound foreign; if you say every syllable evenly and lift slightly at the end of the word, you are almost always right.
Merhaba, nasılsınız?Hello, how are you?
The verbs on this page, in every form: gelmek · gitmek · içmek · yemek · oturmak