LingoflyPhrases that save you in Turkish
20 words in Turkish on the topic “phrases that save you”: anlamıyorum — I do not understand, yavaş — slowly, tekrar, lütfen — again, please, İngilizce biliyor musunuz? — do you speak English? 20 words can be played from recordings.
20 words on the topic
- anlamıyorumI do not understandNegation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front.
- yavaşslowlySaying it twice, yavaş yavaş, means "take it easy, little by little" — a very Turkish trick of doubling words.
- tekrar, lütfenagain, please"tekrar" means "again, a repeat"; add lütfen and you have a polite request. The full version, "could you repeat", is tekrar eder misiniz.
- İngilizce biliyor musunuz?do you speak English?Literally "do you know English?". The little particle "mu" is the question mark made audible.
- yardım!help!The noun "help", used as the cry itself. To ask for help in full: yardım eder misiniz. From it, yardımcı — "helper".
- kayboldumI am lostkaybolmak is "to vanish, to get lost"; -dum is "I" in the past. The same verb speaks of things: çantam kayboldu, "my bag has gone missing".
- çalışmıyorit does not workçalışmak serves people and machines alike. Negation is an -mı- slipped into the middle: çalışıyor becomes çalışmıyor.
- Tamirci çağırıncall a repairmanğ is silent, it stretches the vowel: cha-uh-RUHN
- Bir dakika bekleyinwait a momentIn speech it is usually cut down to bir dakika, "one sec". Even shorter, very Istanbul: bi dakka.
- AçamıyorumI cannot open itaçmak is "to open", the insert -ama- is "cannot": açıyorum ("I open") becomes açamıyorum ("I cannot open").
- ambulansambulanceCalled at 112 — one number for every service. The emergency room is acil, "the urgent".
- Bana doktor lazımI need a doctorlazım is "needed", and it demands bana — "to me". An Arabic word, and few everyday words get more use.
- Dikkat!cautionThe word on every warning sign. dikkat etmek is "to pay attention".
- tehlikelidangeroustehlike is "danger", -li is "with". The same suffix as in lezzetli and pahalı.
- Polis çağırıncall the policeThe same verb as with the repairman: çağırın. The police are 155, but 112 works for everything at once.
- Pasaportumu kaybettimI lost my passportpasaport + -um ("my") + -u (object form): three pieces in one word. Beside it stands kayboldum, "I got lost".
- Kendimi kötü hissediyorumI feel unwellLiterally "I feel myself bad": kendim is "I myself". Shorter and sharper is fenalaştım.
- Dokunmayındo not touchdokunmak "to touch", -ma- negation, -yın the polite command: "do not touch".
- Bir daha açıklar mısınız?could you explain again?bir daha is "once more"; açıklamak is "to explain", from açık, "open, clear": "to make clear".
- Tekrar eder misiniz, lütfen?could you repeat that?The question with -er misiniz IS the polite request; lütfen only softens it. The bare tekrar, lütfen is shorter and blunter. Bir daha söyler misiniz says the same, differently.
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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
anlamıyorum — I do not understand. Negation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front.
yavaş — slowly. Saying it twice, yavaş yavaş, means "take it easy, little by little" — a very Turkish trick of doubling words.
tekrar, lütfen — again, please. "tekrar" means "again, a repeat"; add lütfen and you have a polite request. The full version, "could you repeat", is tekrar eder misiniz.
İngilizce biliyor musunuz? — do you speak English? Literally "do you know English?". The little particle "mu" is the question mark made audible.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is anlamıyorum — I do not understand.
- What is this word?
It is Tamirci çağırın — call a repairman.
- What is this word?
It is Polis çağırın — call the police.
- What is this word?
It is yavaş — slowly.
- What is this word?
It is Bir dakika bekleyin — wait a moment.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I do not understand” in Turkish?
Negation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front.
- How do you say “call a repairman” in Turkish?
çağırmak is "to call". The tail -ın is a polite command to "you", as in gidin.
- How do you say “call the police” in Turkish?
The same verb as with the repairman: çağırın. The police are 155, but 112 works for everything at once.
- How do you say “slowly” in Turkish?
Saying it twice, yavaş yavaş, means "take it easy, little by little" — a very Turkish trick of doubling words.
- How do you say “wait a moment” in Turkish?
In speech it is usually cut down to bir dakika, "one sec". Even shorter, very Istanbul: bi dakka.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
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.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “I do not understand” in Turkish?
«anlamıyorum». Negation is the syllable -ma-/-mı- slipped inside the word: anlıyorum ("I understand") becomes anlamıyorum. The negative hides in the middle, not in front. It is one of 20 words in the set “phrases that save you” — the rest are in the table above.
How many emergency phrases do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 20 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, 20 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.