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Asking the way in Turkish

18 words in Turkish on the topic “asking the way”: nerede? — where?, burada — here, orada — there, sağ — right. 18 words can be played from recordings.

Updated September 1, 2026 · Lingofly

18 words on the topic

  • nerede?
    where?
    nere is "what place", -de is the "in/at" ending. Turkish has no prepositions; everything glues on.
  • burada
    here
    bura plus the same -da: "in this place".
  • orada
    there
    Turkish runs three steps where English has two: bu ("this, near me") — şu ("that, near you") — o ("that, over there"). orada is the where form of o: "in that place".
  • sağ
    right
    ğ is not pronounced, it only stretches the vowel: SAA
  • sol
    left
    Like sağ, it works as both adverb and adjective: sola dön is "turn left", sol taraf is "the left side".
  • düz
    straight
    Both "straight" of motion and "flat, even" of a surface: düz yol is "a flat road". "Go straight" is düz gidin, with no preposition at all.
  • yakın
    close
    Demands the -a/-e tail: eve yakın is "close to the house", not "ev yakın". From it, yakında means both "nearby" and "soon".
  • uzak
    far
    The partner of yakın, but it governs the from-where form: şehirden uzak is "far from the city". The voiceless k voices before a vowel: uzağa, uzakta.
  • nasıl gidilir
    how do I get there?
    The impersonal gidilir — "how is it walked": the destination stands in the directional case.
  • ulaşmak
    to reach
    Takes the directional -e: otele ulaşmak, "to reach the hotel". The same verb reaches a person by phone.
  • karşı tarafta
    on the other side
    the where form goes dull after the voiceless f too: taraf becomes tarafta. To cross over: karşıya geçmek.
  • iki adım ötede
    two steps away
    After a number the noun stays singular: iki adım, not adımlar.
  • köşeyi dönünce
    around the corner
    Literally 'once you turn the corner': köşe in the object form, and -ince as the 'the moment that' tail.
  • solunda
    to the left of
    The word before it takes the owner tail while sol wears the possessive tail: kapının solunda.
  • sağında
    to the right of
    The same owner form-plus-tail bond; sağ softens already in the stem: sağ becomes sağında.
  • ortada
    in the middle
    orta is "the middle", -da the where form. "In the middle of something" takes the owner tail: odanın ortasında.
  • sonraki dönemeç
    the next turn
    dönemeç is a bend in the road; dönüş is a turn as an action. The final ç voices: dönemeç becomes dönemeci.
  • yol üstünde
    on the way
    Literally "on the road": an errand on the way is yol üstünde; simply being on the road is yolda.

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

nerede? — where? Nere is "what place", -de is the "in/at" ending. Turkish has no prepositions; everything glues on.

burada — here. Bura plus the same -da: "in this place".

orada — there. Turkish runs three steps where English has two: bu ("this, near me") — şu ("that, near you") — o ("that, over there"). orada is the where form of o: "in that place".

sağ — right. One word for the direction and the trait: sağa dön is "turn right", sağ el is "the right hand". sağ also means "alive, sound" — hence sağ ol, "be well", that is, thanks.

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 “where?” in Turkish?

  2. How do you say “far” in Turkish?

  3. How do you say “to the right of” in Turkish?

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

  5. How do you say “on the other side” in Turkish?

How to learn the set instead of just reading it

Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.

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 “where?” in Turkish?

«nerede?» Nere is "what place", -de is the "in/at" ending. Turkish has no prepositions; everything glues on. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.

How many direction words do you need to start?

The whole set on this page is 18 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, 18 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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