hayır
“hayır” — no in Turkish. Particle, level A0, topic — basic words. Turks often sweeten a refusal with a tongue click and a small upward nod — that little package is a "no" too. In a live sentence: “Hayır, teşekkürler” — No, thanks. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 314 words in the set “basic words” in the Turkish course.
In short
| Written in Turkish | hayır |
| Translation | no |
| Part of speech | particle |
| Level | A0 |
- hayırno
Why it looks that way
Turks often sweeten a refusal with a tongue click and a small upward nod — that little package is a "no" too.
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.
- Hayır, teşekkürlerNo, thanks
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- evetyesPlain agreement, no fine print. Mind the gesture that can replace it: head tipped back with a quick tongue click means "no", even though from afar it looks like a nod.
- iyiyimI am fine"iyi" ("good") plus "-yim" ("I"): literally "I am good". The verb "to be" is just an ending here.
- iyigoodOne word serves as adjective and adverb alike: iyi bir kitap is "a good book", iyi uyudum is "I slept well". English needs two words where Turkish makes do with one.
- kötübadö — pucker your lips as for "oo" and say "e" as in "bed": kö-tü
- çok iyivery well"çok" means "very" and always stands right before the word it boosts, just like English "very".
- veandAn Arabic conjunction, often replaced in live speech by the tail -le/-la: annemle babam is "mom and dad". In a list ve appears only before the last item.
- amabutThe most common "but". The bookish one is fakat; the conversational booster is ama yani. It opens the second clause, as in English.
- yarımhalfdotless ı: ya-RUHM
- Bana gerek yokI do not need itLiterally "I have no need" — with the familiar yok. The polite refusal for a pushy seller.
- bir tane dahaone moretane is a counting word like "piece": bir tane, iki tane. daha is "more", and it always comes after.
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “no” in Turkish?
Turks often sweeten a refusal with a tongue click and a small upward nod — that little package is a "no" too.
- How do you say “but” in Turkish?
The most common "but". The bookish one is fakat; the conversational booster is ama yani. It opens the second clause, as in English.
- How do you say “good” in Turkish?
One word serves as adjective and adverb alike: iyi bir kitap is "a good book", iyi uyudum is "I slept well". English needs two words where Turkish makes do with one.
- How do you say “one more” in Turkish?
tane is a counting word like "piece": bir tane, iki tane. daha is "more", and it always comes after.
- How do you say “and” in Turkish?
An Arabic conjunction, often replaced in live speech by the tail -le/-la: annemle babam is "mom and dad". In a list ve appears only before the last item.
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 “no” in Turkish?
«hayır». In a live sentence: “Hayır, teşekkürler” — No, thanks. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Particle, level A0, from the set “basic words”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Turks often sweeten a refusal with a tongue click and a small upward nod — that little package is a "no" too. 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.