anlamıyorum
“anlamıyorum” — I do not understand in Turkish. Phrase, level A0, topic — phrases that save you. Negation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front. In a live sentence: “Pardon, anlamıyorum” — Excuse me, I do not understand. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 20 words in the set “phrases that save you” in the Turkish course.
In short
| Written in Turkish | anlamıyorum |
| Translation | I do not understand |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A0 |
- anlamıyorumI do not understand
Why it looks that way
Negation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front.
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Pardon, anlamıyorumExcuse me, I do not understand
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- yavaşslowlySaying it twice, yavaş yavaş, means "take it easy, little by little" — a very Turkish trick of doubling words.
- tekrar, lütfenagain, please"tekrar" means "again, a repeat"; add lütfen and you have a polite request. The full version, "could you repeat", is tekrar eder misiniz.
- İngilizce biliyor musunuz?do you speak English?Literally "do you know English?". The little particle "mu" is the question mark made audible.
- yardım!help!The noun "help", used as the cry itself. To ask for help in full: yardım eder misiniz. From it, yardımcı — "helper".
- kayboldumI am lostkaybolmak is "to vanish, to get lost"; -dum is "I" in the past. The same verb speaks of things: çantam kayboldu, "my bag has gone missing".
- çalışmıyorit does not workThe familiar çalışmak serves people and machines alike. Negation is an -mı- slipped into the middle: çalışıyor becomes çalışmıyor.
- Tamirci çağırıncall a repairmanğ is silent, it stretches the vowel: cha-uh-RUHN
- Bir dakika bekleyinwait a momentIn speech it is usually cut down to bir dakika, "one sec". Even shorter, very Istanbul: bi dakka.
- AçamıyorumI cannot open itaçmak is "to open", the insert -ama- is "cannot": açıyorum ("I open") becomes açamıyorum ("I cannot open").
- ambulansambulanceCalled at 112 — one number for every service. The emergency room is acil, "the urgent".
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I do not understand” in Turkish?
Negation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front.
- How do you say “call a repairman” in Turkish?
çağırmak is "to call". The tail -ın is a polite command to "you", as in the familiar gidin.
- How do you say “do you speak English?” in Turkish?
Literally "do you know English?". The little particle "mu" is the question mark made audible.
- How do you say “ambulance” in Turkish?
Called at 112 — one number for every service. The emergency room is acil, "the urgent".
- How do you say “it does not work” in Turkish?
The familiar çalışmak serves people and machines alike. Negation is an -mı- slipped into the middle: çalışıyor becomes çalışmıyor.
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “I do not understand” in Turkish?
«anlamıyorum». In a live sentence: “Pardon, anlamıyorum” — Excuse me, I do not understand. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A0, from the set “phrases that save you”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Negation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.