dinlenmek
“dinlenmek” — to rest in Turkish. Verb, level A1, topic — everyday life and routine. A trap: it looks like dinlemek, "to listen", but it is a different verb. The difference is one letter. In a live sentence: “Biraz dinlenmem lazım” — I need to rest a little. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 12 words in the set “everyday life and routine” in the Turkish course.
In short
| Written in Turkish | dinlenmek |
| Translation | to rest |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- dinlenmekto rest
Why it looks that way
A trap: it looks like dinlemek, "to listen", but it is a different verb. The difference is one letter.
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.
- Biraz dinlenmem lazımI need to rest a little
Nearby words: everyday life and routine
Work, home, rest, errands. The words the answer to “how are things?” is made of.
- işworkBoth work as occupation and business as a task: işim var is "I have things to do". The workplace is iş yeri.
- çalışmakto workAlso "to study, to prepare": sınava çalışıyorum is "I am preparing for the exam". Said of machines too — çalışmıyor, "it is not working".
- uyanmakto wake upThe partner of uyumak, "to sleep". To wake someone else is the causative uyandırmak.
- kalkmakto get upAlso "to depart" about transport: tren kalkıyor is "the train is leaving".
- yüz yıkamakto wash one's faceLiterally "to wash the face" — Turkish names what gets washed. yıkanmak with no object means washing the whole self.
- taranmakto comb one's hairThe reflexive of taramak, "to comb". The tail -n is what turns the action back on oneself.
- tıraş olmakto shavetıraş olmak is to shave oneself, tıraş etmek is to shave someone. olmak and etmek split the roles.
- giyinmekto get dressedThe reflexive of giymek, "to put on". giymek demands a thing; giyinmek does not.
- soyunmakto undressThe partner of giyinmek, built with the same tail -n. soyunma odası is "the changing room".
- oturmakto sit downTo sit down, to sit, and to live somewhere: İstanbul'da oturuyorum is "I live in Istanbul".
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “everyday life and routine”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “to rest” in Turkish?
A trap: it looks like dinlemek, "to listen", but it is a different verb. The difference is one letter.
- How do you say “to shave” in Turkish?
tıraş olmak is to shave oneself, tıraş etmek is to shave someone. olmak and etmek split the roles.
- How do you say “to wake up” in Turkish?
The partner of uyumak, "to sleep". To wake someone else is the causative uyandırmak.
- How do you say “to sit down” in Turkish?
To sit down, to sit, and to live somewhere: İstanbul'da oturuyorum is "I live in Istanbul".
- How do you say “to comb one's hair” in Turkish?
The reflexive of taramak, "to comb". The tail -n is what turns the action back on oneself.
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 “to rest” in Turkish?
«dinlenmek». In a live sentence: “Biraz dinlenmem lazım” — I need to rest a little. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “everyday life and routine”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
A trap: it looks like dinlemek, "to listen", but it is a different verb. The difference is one letter. 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.