A1 · 50 words
The most important verbs in Turkish
Coming and going, eating and drinking, seeing, saying, living and the other verbs you can say almost anything with.
Practise this list
From these 50 words, as many per round as you like — up to all of them: first what is due today, then new ones. First you choose, then you fill the gap, then you write it yourself. Mistakes come back again shortly.
More about this list
The dictionary form is the infinitive in -mek or -mak; take that off and you have the stem everything else is attached to: gel-mek → gel-iyor-um “I am coming”. More important than the conjugation, which has almost no exceptions, is the case a verb takes — and it is often not what English would lead you to expect. You get on “to the bus” (otobüse binmek), ask “to the teacher” (öğretmene sormak), and wait for someone without any “for” (seni bekliyorum). So the note under each verb gives its case, and its aorist where that breaks the rule.
The words
Verb (50)
olmakto be, to becomeVerbA1
“To become” with no ending on the noun: doktor olmak. Aorist olur.
gelmekto comeVerbA1
Where from: ablative (-den); where to: dative (bize gel). Aorist gelir.
gitmekto goVerbA1
Where to: dative, okula gitmek. The t becomes d before a vowel: gidiyorum.
yapmakto do, to makeVerbA1
A definite object takes the accusative: ödevi yapmak.
etmekto do (with a noun)VerbA1
Almost only after a noun: telefon etmek (to whom: dative), yardım etmek. Before a vowel ed-: ediyor.
istemekto want, would likeVerbA1
A definite object takes the accusative; “to want to do”: with the infinitive, gitmek istiyorum.
bilmekto know (a fact), to be able toVerbA1
Accusative: adresi biliyorum. Aorist bilir. To know a person is tanımak.
görmekto seeVerbA1
Accusative: seni gördüm. Aorist görür.
bakmakto look (at); to look afterVerbA1
Dative, not accusative: bana bak “look at me”. “To look after” too: çocuğa bakmak.
almakto take, to buy, to getVerbA1
A definite object takes the accusative; from whom or where: ablative. Aorist alır.
vermekto giveVerbA1
To whom: dative; what: accusative, kitabı Ali'ye verdim. Aorist verir.
yemekto eatVerbA1
A definite object takes the accusative. Before -iyor and y the e becomes i: yiyorum, yiyecek. As a noun the same word means “food, meal”.
içmekto drinkVerbA1
Also for soup and tablets; “to smoke” is sigara içmek, literally “to drink a cigarette”.
söylemekto say, to tellVerbA1
To whom: dative; what: accusative.
demekto say; to meanVerbA1
Before -iyor and y the e becomes i: diyor, diyecek. To whom: dative, ona ne dedin?
konuşmakto speak, to talkVerbA1
With whom: ile, annemle. A language with no ending: Türkçe konuşmak.
anlamakto understandVerbA1
Accusative: seni anlıyorum.
sormakto askVerbA1
The person asked is dative, the thing asked accusative: öğretmene soruyu sordum — literally “I asked the question to the teacher”.
okumakto read; to studyVerbA1
A definite object takes the accusative: bu kitabı okudum. “To study at university”: üniversitede okumak.
yazmakto writeVerbA1
To whom: dative; what: accusative.
dinlemekto listen (to)VerbA1
Accusative, with no “to”: beni dinle “listen to me”.
çalışmakto work; to studyVerbA1
Where: locative. To study for something: dative, sınava çalışmak.
oturmakto sit; to live (somewhere)VerbA1
Where: locative. To sit down on: dative, sandalyeye oturmak.
kalkmakto get up; to leave (vehicle)VerbA1
Out of what: ablative, yataktan kalkmak. A train or bus “departs”: tren kalkıyor.
uyumakto sleepVerbA1
No object; where: locative. Aorist uyur.
kalmakto stay; to be leftVerbA1
Where: locative. Aorist kalır.
beklemekto wait (for), to expectVerbA1
Accusative, with no “for”: seni bekliyorum.
açmakto open; to switch onVerbA1
Accusative: kapıyı açmak, ışığı açmak “switch on the light”.
kapatmakto close; to switch offVerbA1
Accusative: kapıyı kapatmak.
başlamakto begin, to startVerbA1
What you start: dative, işe başlamak, derse başlamak.
bitmekto end, to run outVerbA1
No object: film bitti. “To finish something” is bitirmek with the accusative.
sevmekto love, to likeVerbA1
Accusative: seni seviyorum. “To like doing”: yüzmeyi seviyorum.
beğenmekto like (find good)VerbA1
For something you have seen or tried; the thing is in the accusative.
bulmakto findVerbA1
aramakto look for; to call (phone)VerbA1
Accusative: seni arıyorum means “I am looking for you” or “I am calling you”.
öğrenmekto learn; to find outVerbA1
A language with no ending; something definite in the accusative: haberi öğrendim “I found out the news”.
binmekto get on, to rideVerbA1
Dative, never accusative: otobüse binmek, bisiklete binmek.
inmekto get off; to go downVerbA1
Out of what: ablative, otobüsten inmek; where to: dative.
dönmekto return; to turnVerbA1
Where to: dative, eve dönmek, sağa dönmek “turn right”.
girmekto enter, to go inVerbA1
Where to: dative, odaya girmek — not “enter the room” with an object as in English.
çıkmakto go out; to go upVerbA1
Out of what: ablative, evden çıkmak; up onto: dative, dağa çıkmak.
getirmekto bringVerbA1
To whom: dative; what: accusative.
koymakto putVerbA1
Where to: dative, not locative — masaya koymak, “onto the table”.
ödemekto payVerbA1
What: accusative; with what: ile, kartla ödemek.
yaşamakto liveVerbA1
tanımakto know (a person)VerbA1
Accusative: onu tanıyorum. For facts, bilmek.
unutmakto forgetVerbA1
Accusative: adını unuttum “I have forgotten his name”.
düşünmekto thinkVerbA1
Of whom: accusative, seni düşünüyorum.
yürümekto walkVerbA1
Where to: dative, eve yürümek.
yardım etmekto helpVerbA1
Whom: dative, bana yardım et — “give help to me”.
This list belongs to Basic words: numbers, pronouns, verbs — 16 lists and 674 words that can also be practised as a whole.