Time, days and hours in Turkish
138 words Turkish words on the topic “time, days and hours”: saat — hour, gün — day, bugün — today, yarın — tomorrow. 138 words can be played from recordings.
138 words on the topic
- saathourThe same word names clocks — wrist and wall — and the time they show: Saat kaç? is "what time is it?"
- gündayBoth the 24 hours and the daylight. The days of the week all end in it or in -si: pazartesi, cumartesi. And "in the daytime" is gündüz, a separate word.
- bugüntodaybu ("this") plus gün ("day"). Two familiar words fused.
- yarıntomorrowı dotless. Stands bare in the sentence, no preposition: yarın geliyorum. The day after is öbür gün, "the other day", not "after tomorrow".
- dünyesterdayLike yarın, it stands with no preposition: dün geldim. The day before is evvelki gün. "Yesterday's" is dünkü — the tail -ki turns time into a trait.
- akşameveningThe root of iyi akşamlar, "good evening", with the plural ending on top.
- gecenightİyi geceler, "good night", is only for parting.
- Ne zaman gelirsiniz?when will you come?ne zaman is "at what time". The -ir form speaks of an arrangement and a promise, not of what is happening now.
- günde iki keztwice a daygün plus -de is "in a day". kez and defa both mean "times", with almost no difference.
- yemekten sonraafter mealssonra demands the ablative -ten: yemekten sonra, dersten sonra. After a voiceless k the ending goes voiceless: not -den but -ten.
- Saat kaçta?at what time?kaç is "how many", -ta "at". After the voiceless ç the ending goes voiceless: not -da but -ta.
- Geç kalıyorumI am running lategeç is "late", kalmak "to remain": "I remain late". Already late: geç kaldım.
- Artık geç olduit is too late nowartık is "by now, from now on", always about a change: it was not late before, and now it is.
- ilk önceto begin withilk "the very first" + önce "before": doubling for emphasis. Step one, announced twice
- sonrathenthe all-purpose "after, then": "önce iş, sonra eğlence" — first work, then fun
- bundan sonraafter that"after this": ablative -dan pointing at the previous thing. Sequences made visible
- sonundafinally"at the end": son the end + -da. Relief included at no charge
- -kenwhilsta suffix worn as a word: it glues "while doing" onto verbs. The story walks and you talk
- aynı andaat the same time"in the same moment": aynı "same" + anda, the locative of an. Multitasking, dated
- -meden öncebeforea chopped old verb "being" glued to once, "before": until the moment of. Lights go off, doors get locked, before leaving
- -dikten sonraafter doing thatanother fossil: "having done" + sonra. Meals, then walks — the natural order
- -ir -mezas soon asthe -ir/-mez tail of the verb, worn into a conjunction: the moment that… no sooner said than done
- o zamandan berisince then"from that time until now": zaman + ablative + beri "since". Reunions measured with it
- her zamanalways"every time": her the every-word + zaman. Habit, stated for eternity
- sık sıkoftensık "tight, frequent" doubled: tight-tight. Doubled adverbs hum with frequency
- nadirenrarelynadir Arabic "rare" + -en: the adverb of scarcity. Steak, holidays and honesty
- bazensometimesbazı "some" + -en: some-times. The honest middle of every frequency scale
- hiçbir zamannever"no time at all": hiç "none" + bir + zaman. Needs the verb negated: never do
- genellikleusuallygenel "general" + -likle: generally speaking. The default setting of habits
- uzun sürefor a long time"long duration": uzun + süre, "a span of lasting". Waiting measured in it
- her seferindeevery time"every going": sefer Arabic "journey" — each trip, each occasion. Repetition, itemized
- ara sırafrom time to time"gap-gap": ara, the interval, doubled for the adverb. Occasional by design — theater trips, cousins, rain
- şimdiye kadarso far"until this moment": şimdi "now" + -ye "up to" + kadar "until". Records and complaints both use it
- birdensuddenly"from one": from one to another without warning. Doors slam birden
- öncedenin advance"from before": önce the earlier wearing the ablative. Tickets bought in advance smile
- zamanındaon time"in its time": zaman + possessive + locative. Trains, payments and apologies do best in it
- acilenurgentlyacil "urgent" + -en: with urgency. Bureaucratic doors open faster with it
- hemenright awayold Turkic "at once": the word every waiter, parent and dog knows
- yavaş yavaşslowly but surelyyavaş "slow" doubled: slow-slow. Doubled words walk at their own pace
- son andaat the last moment"at the last minute": son + an, Arabic "moment". Plans change there, reliably
- er ya da geçsooner or laterearly or passing: er "early" + ya da "or" + geç "late". Truth and buses arrive this way
- bir zamanlaronce upon a time"in one time": the tale-opener. Cinemas and shops live here now, only in memory
- çocukkenas a childçocukken — cho-jook-KEN
- o zamanlarin those days"in those times": o "that" + zamanlar. Grandparents speak from here
- Uzun zaman önceydiit was long agoUzun zaman önceydi — oo-ZOON za-MAN un-jey-DI
- ilk kezfor the first time"the first time": ilk + kez, "an occasion". First times get remembered forever
- gelecekthe futurethe participle of gelmek "to come": the coming. Next week, next year, the future — all gelecek
- geçmişthe pastgeçmiş — gech-MISH
- önümüzdeki planlarupcoming plansönümüzdeki planlar — u-nuu-muuz-de-KI plan-LAR
- bir yıl sonrain a yearbir yıl sonra — bir yuhl son-RA
- sürekliall the timesürekli — suu-rek-LI
- geçici olaraktemporarilygeçici olarak — ge-chi-JI o-la-RAK
- uygun saata convenient timeuygun from uymak, "to fit": the fitting time. Receptionists live by it
- saat belirlemekto set a time"to determine the hour": belirlemek is "to pin down, make definite". First, pin the hour
- öğleden sonrain the afternoonöğleden sonra — uh-le-DEN son-RA
- akşama doğrutoward eveningakşama doğru — ak-sha-MA doh-ROO
- istediğin zamananytimeistediğin zaman — is-te-dii-IN za-MAN
- Beşten önce olmaznot before fiveBeşten önce olmaz — besh-TEN un-JE ol-MAZ
- Zamanında orada olurumI'll be there on timeZamanında orada olurum — za-ma-nuhn-DA o-ra-DA o-loo-ROOM
- -ene kadaruntilA participle on -en plus kadar: "up to the point that". Turkish puts no negation here although the sense asks for one: gelene kadar bekle — wait until I come.
- yüzyılcenturyü rounded, dotless ı: yüz-YIL
- çağeraç like "ch", ğ stretches the a: CHA-a
- on yıldecadeThere is no single word for "decade": it is counted literally — on yıl. Son on yılda — over the last decade.
- dönemperiodö rounded: dö-NEM
- aninstantA short Arabic word. O anda — at that instant, bir an — for an instant, şu an — right now. One of the commonest words of Turkish storytelling.
- uzun sürelilong-termuzun is long, süre a term, -li "with": "with a long term". Its pair is kısa süreli, short-term.
- geçenlerdethe other daygeçen is past, then the plural and the locative: "in the past days". Always about the past; "the other day" about the future is birkaç güne kadar.
- günümüzdenowadaysü twice: gü-NÜ-MÜZ-de
- öteden berisince time immemorialöte is the far side, then the ablative and the postposition beri, since: "from that side and hither". The phrase is frozen whole.
- dakikalar içindewithin minutesLiterally "inside the minutes". The same build works with any span: saatler içinde, günler içinde.
- çağdaşcontemporaryç like "ch", ş like "sh": ça-DAŞ
- antikancientAbout antiquity and archaeology: antik kent, antik çağ. Do not confuse with antika from wave 5 — that one is about an old thing at the antique shop, not about millennia.
- mazidays gone byArabic, with a shade of sadness. Geçmiş, the past, is already in the course and neutral; mazi is what is gone beyond return: mazide kaldı.
- arada sıradaonce in a whileara is a gap, sıra a turn: "in a gap, in a turn". It is also said shorter — ara sıra; the meaning is the same.
- günlük olarakon a daily basisgün is a day, -lük makes the adjective "daily", olarak the adverb. On a schedule they write günlük, in speech they say her gün.
- düzenli olarakregularlyü rounded: dü-zen-LI o-la-RAK
- ilk defafor the very first timedefa is an occasion (Arabic), kez the same in Turkish. Ilk kez from wave 4 means "the first time"; ilk defa is the same sense in another word.
- yeni baştanover againyeni is new, baş a start, -tan the ablative: "from a new start". People also say simply baştan.
- giderek daha sıkmore and more oftendotless ı: gi-de-REK da-HA SIK
- hafta içion weekdayshafta is a week, iç the inside: "inside the week". Its pair is hafta sonu, the weekend; shop signs spell out the hours this way.
- iki seferde birevery other timesefer is an occasion, a trip. The frame "-de bir" sets the frequency: yılda bir once a year, ayda bir once a month, iki seferde bir every other time.
- yılda bironce a yearThe same build "-de bir": the year in the locative plus "one". haftada bir and günde üç kez are built the same way.
- ikide birconstantlyLiterally "once in two", but it means not frequency so much as exasperation: ikide bir soruyor — he is forever asking. Always with a light irritation.
- bu sıradameanwhilesıra is a turn, a moment: "at this moment". The similar bu arada is already in the course, but there it means "by the way".
- eş zamanlı olaraksimultaneouslyeş is a pair, an equal; zamanlı "with time". Literally "of equal time". In geometry parallel lines are called differently — paralel.
- o zamana kadaruntil thenThe postposition kadar, until, demands the dative: o zamana, akşama, sabaha kadar. It stands after the noun, like all Turkish postpositions.
- sonradanafterwardssonra is later, -dan the ablative: "already after". Often with the shade of "after the fact": sonradan öğrendim — I learned only afterwards.
- bir gün öncethe day beforeö rounded: bir GÜN ÖN-che
- ilerleyen zamanlardadown the lineilerlemek is to advance, ilerleyen advancing: "in the times that are coming". In speech the shorter ileride.
- bu seferthis timesefer is an occasion and a trip at once. Bu sefer, geçen sefer, bir dahaki sefere — three phrases that hold the whole story of repeats.
- vaktindein due timevakit is time (Arabic); before the ending the vowel drops: vakit gives vaktinde. Zamanında, on time, is already in the course and means almost the same.
- geriye dönükretroactivelygeriye is backward, dönük turned: "turned backward". In bookkeeping and law this is "with retroactive force": geriye dönük ödeme.
- vakit kaybetmedenwithout delayvakit is time, kaybetmek to lose, -meden "not doing": "without losing time". The tail -meden makes a negative adverbial participle.
- şubatFebruaryş is "sh": shu-BAT
- martMarchLatin Mars, as elsewhere in Europe. "In March" is martta — the locative with a doubled t: mart + ta.
- nisanAprilAlso a Semitic name, not a Latin one. There is a female name Nisan too — from the month, and in Turkey it took hold.
- mayısMaydotless ı, unvoiced: ma-YUHS
- haziranJuneAn Arabic name, from the root for "heat". Turks count the start of summer from it: haziranda yaz başlar.
- ağustosAugustğ is not pronounced, it only stretches the a: AA-us-tus
- eylülSeptemberü with rounded lips: ey-LÜL
- ekimOctoberThe only month with a transparent Turkish meaning: ekmek is "to sow", ekim is "sowing", the time of winter crops. The collision with ekmek, "bread", is an accident.
- kasımNovemberdotless ı: ka-SUHM
- aralıkDecemberThe same word as "gap, interval": December is the crack between two years. Hence also "the door is ajar" — kapı aralık.
- yılyeardotless ı, unvoiced: YUHL
- yirmi dört saattwenty-four hoursNo separate word for the 24-hour day: people say "twenty-four hours" or simply gün. The sign 24 saat açık is "open around the clock".
- asıra century (bookish)dotless ı: a-SUHR
- dakikaminuteBir dakika! — "Just a minute!" — is the word's most common job. After a number there is no plural: beş dakika, not dakikalar.
- saniyesecond (of time)Arabic for "the second" — the second share of the hour after the minute. In speech bir saniye works like bir dakika: "one sec, wait".
- yarım saathalf an houryarım is a half of something not counted whole: yarım saat, yarım ekmek. But half WITH a number is buçuk: bir buçuk saat, one and a half hours.
- öğlenoonö with rounded lips, ğ silent and stretching the ö: EH-le
- gece yarısımidnightLiterally "the middle of the night": the familiar gece plus yarı with the possessive -sı. yıl başı ("new year") and hafta sonu ("the weekend") are built the same way.
- şimdinowş is "sh", ı dotless: SHIM-di
- süretermü with rounded lips: sew-RE
- sonrakinextFrom sonra ("after") plus the tail -ki, which turns an adverb into an adjective — Turkish's own way of saying "the one after".
- geçenlast (just past)A participle of geçmek, "to pass": literally "the passing one". Geçen hafta is "last week".
- geç kalmakto be lateLiterally "to remain late". Being late TO something takes the -a/-e case: işe geç kalmak.
- yetişmekto make it in timeMaking it TO something takes the -a/-e case: trene yetişmek, "to catch the train". Also "to grow up", about a child.
- tekraragainAlso the noun "a repeat". tekrar etmek is "to repeat".
- yakındasoonFrom yakın ("near") plus the locative. The same word means "nearby" about place.
- çok öncelong agoLiterally "much earlier". uzun zamandır is "for a long time now" — a different shade.
- geçenlerderecentlyFrom geçen ("past") in the plural and locative. Literally "in the past [times]".
- geçlateFrom geçmek, "to pass": late means "the time has passed". Its pair is erken.
- erkenearlyBoth adverb and adjective: erken tren is "an early train".
- hızlıfastBoth adverb and adjective — one form. From hız, "speed".
- az öncejust nowLiterally "a little earlier". The synonym demin is shorter and more conversational.
- sabahleyinin the morningThe tail -leyin is a fossil: it never changes with vowel harmony and only ever appears with sabah, akşam and gece.
- gündüzduring the dayThe light part of the day, the partner of gece ("night"). Noon is a different word already: öğleyin.
- akşamleyinin the eveningThe same unchanging tail as in sabahleyin. In living speech people more often say akşamları.
- geceleyinat nightBare gece works as an adverb too: gece geldi, "he came at night".
- her günevery day"her" cannot stand a plural: only her gün, never her günler.
- bütün günall daybütün is "whole, untouched". The same idea can also be said as gün boyu — "from morning till night".
- anmomentOne syllable, and in speech it almost always lives in phrases: bir an is "for a moment", şu anda is "right now".
- saatclock (the device)The same word as "hour". When it matters, people specify: kol saati is a wristwatch, duvar saati is a wall clock.
- saat kaçwhat time is it?Literally "hour [is] how much". The answer flips the order back: saat üç is "three o'clock".
- bir günsomedayLiterally "one day". About the future it is "someday", about the past "once upon a time". For "have you ever" a question takes hiç, not this: Hiç İstanbul'a gittin mi?
- sabahmorningA bare noun: sabah is "morning", sabahleyin (which the course knows) is "in the morning", and bare sabah works as an adverb too — sabah kalktım, "I got up in the morning". The greeting günaydın is not related to it.
- iki keztwicekez, kere and defa are interchangeable here: the course knows ilk kez and günde iki kez. It counts repeats, not people — for people there is iki kişi.
- sürmekto lastOnly about time: iki saat sürdü — it took two hours. The same verb drives a car: araba sürmek — to drive.
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
saat — hour. The same word names clocks — wrist and wall — and the time they show: Saat kaç? is "what time is it?"
gün — day. Both the 24 hours and the daylight. The days of the week all end in it or in -si: pazartesi, cumartesi. And "in the daytime" is gündüz, a separate word.
bugün — today. bu ("this") plus gün ("day"). Two familiar words fused.
yarın — tomorrow. ı dotless. Stands bare in the sentence, no preposition: yarın geliyorum. The day after is öbür gün, "the other day", not "after tomorrow".
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is saat — hour.
- What is this word?
It is Ne zaman gelirsiniz? — when will you come?.
- What is this word?
It is sonra — then.
- What is this word?
It is -ir -mez — as soon as.
- What is this word?
It is genellikle — usually.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hour” in Turkish?
The same word names clocks — wrist and wall — and the time they show: Saat kaç? is "what time is it?"
- How do you say “when will you come?” in Turkish?
ne zaman is "at what time". The -ir form speaks of an arrangement and a promise, not of what is happening now.
- How do you say “then” in Turkish?
the all-purpose "after, then": "önce iş, sonra eğlence" — first work, then fun
- How do you say “as soon as” in Turkish?
the -ir/-mez tail of the verb, worn into a conjunction: the moment that… no sooner said than done
- How do you say “usually” in Turkish?
genel "general" + -likle: generally speaking. The default setting of habits
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Today, tomorrow, in the morning, at six. You cannot arrange to meet without these — let alone understand the answer.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “hour” in Turkish?
«saat». The same word names clocks — wrist and wall — and the time they show: Saat kaç? is "what time is it?" It is one of 138 words in the set “time, days and hours” — the rest are in the table above.
How many time words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 138 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 138 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.