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The city and its places in Turkish

83 words in Turkish on the topic “the city and its places”: şehir — city, sokak — street, banka — bank, eczane — pharmacy. 83 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

83 words on the topic

  • şehir
    city
    A Persian word. Before a vowel-initial ending the second syllable's vowel drops: şehir becomes şehre, şehrin. burun ("nose") and ağız ("mouth") behave the same way.
  • sokak
    street
    A small street. The avenue is cadde; signs and addresses shorten them to Cad. and Sok.
  • banka
    bank
    Do not confuse with banko — that is a counter, a desk in an office. Both words are Italian, but in Turkish they split into two.
  • eczane
    pharmacy
    c sounds like "j" in "jam": ej-za-NE
  • sıra
    line (queue)
    both ı dotless: suh-RA
  • trafik ışığı
    traffic light
    trafik ışığı — dotless ı, silent ğ: tra-FEEK uh-shuh-UH
  • bisiklet
    bicycle
    French bicyclette. "To ride a bike" is bisiklete binmek — the same binmek as the bus and the plane
  • otobüs durağı
    bus stop sign
    durmak is "to stand", durak the place of stopping. With the linker the k goes to ğ: durak → durağı
  • ulaşım kartı
    transit card
    ulaşım kartı — ş is "sh", both ı dotless: u-la-SHUM kar-TUH
  • güzergâh
    route
    güzergâh — round lips for ü, â softens the g: guu-zer-GYAH
  • yaya geçidi
    crosswalk
    yaya is "on foot, a pedestrian"; geçmek "cross", geçit "crossing". With the linker the t voices to d: geçit → geçidi
  • trafik sıkışıklığı
    traffic jam
    trafik sıkışıklığı — five dotless ı: suh-kuh-shuhk-luh-UH
  • otopark
    parking lot
    oto plus park, compounded in Turkish from two loans. The street sign "P" is labeled exactly so
  • benzin istasyonu
    gas station
    istasyon with the linker -u: the last vowel is o, so lip harmony gives u, not ı. Diesel is motorin
  • park
    park
    French parc. The same word says 'to park': park etmek — that sense came from English park
  • kütüphane
    library
    kütüphane — two lip-rounded ü: kuu-tuup-ha-NE
  • müze
    museum
    French musée. The tail is front-vowel: müzeye gidiyorum — I am going to the museum
  • tiyatro
    theater
    Italian teatro. The vowels i-a-o together — no harmony here and cannot be: the word is foreign
  • sinema
    cinema
    French cinéma — the building and cinema as an art. The film itself is film
  • kilise
    church
    Greek ekklesia. Istanbul has many, and on the map they are labeled exactly so
  • stadyum
    stadium
    starting a word with two consonants is un-Turkish, so the older generation says 'istadyum', with a vowel up front
  • kavşak
    intersection
    kavşak — kav-SHAK
  • kaldırım
    sidewalk
    kaldırım — kal-duh-RUHM
  • cadde
    avenue
    cadde — jad-DE
  • ara sokak
    side street
    ara means "gap, between"; ara sokak is a side street between the big ones. A dead end is çıkmaz sokak, "street with no way out," and the same phrase describes a hopeless situation.
  • sahil yolu
    seaside promenade
    sahil is the seashore (kıyı is any shore or bank), and sahil yolu is the road running along it. In İzmir everyone calls that seafront road Kordon, which is a proper name, not a common word.
  • köprü
    bridge
    köprü — kup-RUU
  • tünel
    tunnel
    tünel — tuu-NEL
  • sokak lambası
    streetlight
    sokak lambası — so-KAK lam-ba-SUH
  • bank
    bench
    Looks almost like banka (bank), but bank is a park bench; only the final letter differs. A backless bench is sıra, and a shop counter is tezgâh.
  • çöp kutusu
    trash bin
    çöp kutusu — chup koo-too-SOO
  • otobüs şoförü
    bus driver
    otobüs şoförü — o-to-BUUS sho-fu-RUU
  • son durak
    last stop
    Literally "last stop." Figuratively it can mean the end of the road in life: "burası benim son durağım." The first stop of a route is ilk durak or başlangıç.
  • hat numarası
    route number
    hat numarası — hat noo-ma-ra-SUH
  • yoğun saat
    rush hour
    yoğun saat — yoo-OON sa-AT
  • otobüs saatleri
    bus schedule
    otobüs saatleri — o-to-BUUS sa-at-le-RI
  • yol parası ödemek
    to pay the fare
    yol parası ödemek — yol pa-ra-SUH u-de-MEK
  • yer tutmak
    to save a seat
    Works both ways: saving a seat for a friend, and taking up space yourself, as in "bu dolap çok yer tutuyor," "this cabinet takes up a lot of room." To reserve in advance is yer ayırtmak.
  • taksi çağırmak
    to call a taxi
    taksi çağırmak — TAK-si chaa-uhr-MAK
  • sonraki durakta inmek
    to get off at the next stop
    inmek means "to go down," and it is the verb for getting off a vehicle; getting on is binmek. English "get out" is not çıkmak here, since çıkmak means leaving a room or building.
  • semt
    city district
    Turkish keeps three circles: mahalle is the neighborhood where people know you by sight, semt a district of the city, bölge a region of the country. A single English word like "area" can cover all three, so choose by size.
  • şehir merkezi
    city center
    şehir merkezi — she-HIR mer-ke-ZI
  • kenar mahalle
    outskirts
    kenar means edge or rim. The word is slightly disparaging, like saying "the outskirts" with a sneer; the neutral phrase is şehrin dışı. Houses thrown up without permits are gecekondu, "built overnight."
  • inşaat
    building site
    inşaat — in-sha-AT
  • yol çalışması
    roadworks
    yol çalışması — yol cha-luhsh-ma-SUH
  • yön levhası
    signpost
    yön levhası — yun lev-ha-SUH
  • umumi tuvalet
    public toilet
    Signs use the old Arabic umumi, "general, public." In everyday speech people say halka açık tuvalet, or just ask: tuvalet nerede?
  • temiz
    clean
    Said of things and of people: temiz iş is neat, well-done work, temiz kalpli is pure-hearted. Cleaning comes from the same root: temizlik.
  • kirli
    dirty
    kir is dirt, and -li means "with": kirli is "with dirt." Dirty laundry is kirli çamaşır, and kirli çamaşırları ortaya dökmek means exactly "to air your dirty laundry." A road after rain is çamurlu, "muddy."
  • kalabalık
    crowded
    kalabalık — ka-la-ba-LUHK
  • köy
    village
    köy — kuy
  • başkent
    capital city
    ş like "sh": baş-KENT
  • toplu taşıma
    public transport
    ş like "sh", dotless ı: top-LU ta-şı-MA
  • anaokulu
    kindergarten
    ana is mother, okul school: a "mother school". A crèche for the tiniest ones is kreş, a separate institution.
  • çocuk parkı
    playground
    ç like "ch", dotless ı: ço-JUK par-KI
  • fıskiye
    fountain
    dotless ı: fıs-ki-YE
  • mezarlık
    cemetery
    dotless ı: me-zar-LIK
  • itfaiye aracı
    fire truck
    c like "j", dotless ı: it-fa-i-YE a-ra-JI
  • mahalle
    neighborhood
    Both the part of town where everyone knows everyone and the official unit of an address.
  • küçük park
    pocket park
    Turkish has no special word: a patch of green on the corner is just called a little park.
  • kule
    tower
    In names it takes the link: Galata Kulesi, "the Galata Tower".
  • banliyö
    suburb
    French banlieue. The commuter train is banliyö treni.
  • kasaba
    small town
    Smaller than a şehir, bigger than a köy: one square and one market.
  • yoldan geçen
    passerby
    The participle -en does the job of a separate word: "one passing along the road".
  • yaya
    pedestrian
    Works as an adverb too: yaya gitmek is "to go on foot". The crosswalk is yaya geçidi.
  • tabela
    sign
    The sign above a shop and the road sign on a post alike.
  • çöp kovası
    trash can
    kova is "a bucket": the street bin gets the same name as the kitchen one.
  • sokak feneri
    street lamp
    fener is a lamp with a glass; people more often say sokak lambası.
  • çim
    lawn
    çim is the grass itself; the green patch in front of the house is often çimenlik. Wild grass is ot.
  • çiçek tarhı
    flower bed
    A link: tarh takes the possessive tail -ı — literally "a bed of flowers".
  • giriş merdiveni
    front steps
    No special word: a Turk says "the stairs of the entrance", a link. The sill under the door is eşik.
  • basamak
    step
    One step is a basamak, the whole staircase is merdiven. The final k softens: basamak becomes basamağa.
  • kapı numarası
    house number
    A link: numara becomes numarası. A Turk numbers not the house but the door; the apartment number is daire numarası.
  • sokak adı
    street name
    A link: ad becomes adı. The plaque with it on the corner is sokak tabelası.
  • direk
    pole
    A pole, a mast, a support. The final k softens: direk becomes direğe; a lamppost is aydınlatma direği.
  • eski şehir
    old town
    Modifier in front, no tail — no link here. In Istanbul the same place is also called tarihi yarımada, "the historic peninsula".
  • konut binası
    residential building
    konut is housing in officialese, as in konut kredisi; in everyday speech the same building is an apartman.
  • sessizlik
    silence
    A ladder of suffixes: ses is "sound", sessiz is "soundless", sessizlik is "silence".
  • bina
    building
    Any building, usually multi-story; konut binası is a residential building. ev is not a building but a home, a house as one's own place.
  • meydan
    town square
    The square of a city, not the shape. Taksim Meydanı — Taksim Square: in names it is the second word that takes the ending -ı.
  • bakkal
    corner store
    unlike a market chain, a bakkal is usually family-run
  • pazarlık
    haggling
    in a chain store there is no haggling, and it's not worth trying
  • İstiklal
    Istiklal
    A heritage tram runs along the street: the old line closed in the early 1960s and was restored in 1990.

Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet

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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

şehir — city. A Persian word. Before a vowel-initial ending the second syllable's vowel drops: şehir becomes şehre, şehrin. burun ("nose") and ağız ("mouth") behave the same way.

sokak — street. A small street. The avenue is cadde; signs and addresses shorten them to Cad. and Sok.

banka — bank. Do not confuse with banko — that is a counter, a desk in an office. Both words are Italian, but in Turkish they split into two.

eczane — pharmacy. The Persian tail -hane ("house, establishment") wore down to -ane: ecza ("medicines") plus house. hastane ("hospital") and postane ("post office") are built the same way.

Test yourself

First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.

  1. What is this word?

  2. What is this word?

  3. What is this word?

  4. What is this word?

  5. What is this word?

Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.

  1. How do you say “city” in Turkish?

  2. How do you say “bus stop sign” in Turkish?

  3. How do you say “park” in Turkish?

  4. How do you say “intersection” in Turkish?

  5. How do you say “streetlight” in Turkish?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Street, square, pharmacy, bank. An address is built out of these, and an address is something you have to both say and understand.

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.

Frequently asked

How do you say “city” in Turkish?

«şehir». A Persian word. Before a vowel-initial ending the second syllable's vowel drops: şehir becomes şehre, şehrin. burun ("nose") and ağız ("mouth") behave the same way. It is one of 83 words in the set “the city and its places” — the rest are in the table above.

How many street and place words do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 83 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.

Is there audio?

Yes, 83 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.

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