kendini tutmak
“kendini tutmak” — hold back in Turkish. Verb, level B1, topic — people and family. kendi is oneself, tutmak to hold: "to hold oneself". About anger and laughter alike: gülmemek için kendimi tuttum. In a live sentence: “Bağırmamak için kendimi tuttum” — So as not to shout I held back. You can hear how it sounds right here. One of 140 words in the set “people and family” in the Turkish course.
In short
| Written in Turkish | kendini tutmak |
| Translation | hold back |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | B1 |
- kendini tutmakhold back
Why it looks that way
kendi is oneself, tutmak to hold: "to hold oneself". About anger and laughter alike: gülmemek için kendimi tuttum.
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.
- Bağırmamak için kendimi tuttumSo as not to shout I held back
Nearby words: people and family
Mum, friend, child, neighbour. The first thing people ask you about, and the first thing you tell about yourself.
- arkadaşfriendFrom arka, "the back": literally "the one at your back". Both a buddy and a colleague; a close friend is a dost.
- ailefamilyAn Arabic word, no harmony in the root. From it, ailece — "as a family": the tail -ce turns a noun into an adverb.
- annemomThe ordinary word for mother, not baby talk — adults say it too. An older woman outside the family is teyze, "aunt", never anne.
- babadadLike anne, it suits child and adult alike. An older man outside the family is amca, "uncle". From it, babaanne — the grandmother on the father's side.
- çocukchildboth ç like "ch" in "church": cho-DJUK
- satıcısellerboth ı dotless, c as "j" in "jam": sa-tuh-JUH
- müştericustomerAn Arabic word. One word for the buyer, the client and the café regular.
- komşuneighborş is "sh": kom-SHU
- ev sahibilandlordsahip is "owner", and the p voices before the tail: sahip becomes sahibi. Also "the host of the house" who receives guests.
- emekliretireeemek is "labor", -li "with labor behind one". Not "a restee" but "one who has earned it".
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “people and family”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hold back” in Turkish?
kendi is oneself, tutmak to hold: "to hold oneself". About anger and laughter alike: gülmemek için kendimi tuttum.
- How do you say “customer” in Turkish?
An Arabic word. One word for the buyer, the client and the café regular.
- How do you say “mom” in Turkish?
The ordinary word for mother, not baby talk — adults say it too. An older woman outside the family is teyze, "aunt", never anne.
- How do you say “retiree” in Turkish?
emek is "labor", -li "with labor behind one". Not "a restee" but "one who has earned it".
- How do you say “seller” in Turkish?
satmak is "to sell", and -ıcı makes the doer. The same suffix in yazıcı — "printer".
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 “hold back” in Turkish?
«kendini tutmak». In a live sentence: “Bağırmamak için kendimi tuttum” — So as not to shout I held back. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level B1, from the set “people and family”.
Why does this word look the way it does?
kendi is oneself, tutmak to hold: "to hold oneself". About anger and laughter alike: gülmemek için kendimi tuttum. 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.