Turkish numbers are one of the many new words you need to learn when learning Turkish. While learning to count to ten is one of the easiest things a language learner can do, counting past ten can become more challenging. When you include things like ordinal numbers.
There are a few particularities to Turkish numbers, so here we’ll explain them all. By the end of the course, you will be able to count and speak numbers in Turkish comfortably. Let’s get started!
Counting Turkish Numbers 1 – 1,000,000,000
While it comes so naturally in English, there are actually several kinds of numbers, and some numbers do not follow a numerical pattern.
The cardinal number (what you think of as regular numbers like one, two, three, etc.) and the ordinal number (first, second, third, etc.). In addition, there are words for numbers with their own base number (such as sixty) and without (such as twenty).
As a native English speaker, you probably consider one to be the equivalent of the first, two to be the equivalent of the second, and three to be the equivalent of the third. Despite the fact that the number two is not in the word, you intuitively know that twenty is the second set of tens. It’s obvious, isn’t it?
For English language learners, it’s actually not. A closer look reveals that one and first are actually two completely different vocabulary words. There is almost nothing in common between them. The relationship between one and first, and thirty and three, needs to be committed to memory.
You first see an ordinal number containing a cardinal number when you get to the number four and its corresponding ordinal number fourth.
You don’t get it consistently until sixth and sixth grade, all the way through tenth grade. As well as the numbers that begin a new set of ten. Consistency only comes after sixty.
In addition, there are abbreviations for these ordinal numbers which act as their own vocabulary (1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.). It is not easy for someone learning English to memorize all these abbreviations.
The Turkish Cardinal Numbers
In Turkish, learning cardinal and ordinal numbers is actually easier than learning English numbers for non-native speakers.
Ordinal numbers follow simple rules that make them obvious extensions of their cardinal counterparts.
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Counting 0 Or 1 To Ten In Turkish
Before we move on to the ordinal numbers, let’s learn how to count to ten and then to one hundred in Turkish.
\(\color{red}{\mathbf{0\longrightarrow sıfır}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{1\longrightarrow bir}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{2\longrightarrow iki}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{3\longrightarrow üç}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{4\longrightarrow dört}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{5\longrightarrow beş}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{6\longrightarrow altı}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{7 \longrightarrow yedi}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{8\longrightarrow sekiz}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{9\longrightarrow dokuz}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{10\longrightarrow on}}\)
When it comes to counting, the best way to get it right is to practice over and over again. As soon as you have the first ten numbers down, you will be well prepared to learn to count higher and higher.
English does not necessarily follow a numerical pattern, with 11 and 12 having their own words.
The Turkish formula for saying a number is to say the ten places first followed by the ones place. Eleven, for example, is on bir. On means ten and bir means one, meaning “ten one”.
Nineteen is on Dokuz then. Only one more thing needs to be mentioned for this formula to work for counting practically as high as you want.
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Multiples Of 10 In Turkish
Turkish is similar to English in that some of the first numbers in a new set of ten are vocabulary words, which aren’t numerical.
Twenty, thirty, and fifty are their own vocab words in English (two for twenty, three for thirty, and five for fifty), not words based on the number they represent. Compared to forty, sixty, seventy, eighty, and ninety, which start a new set of ten, they are close but not exact.
There are just about ten new words to memorize in every new set of ten in Turkish, which makes it more complicated than English on this point.
Here are the numbers:
\(\color{red}{\mathbf{20\longrightarrow yirmi}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{30\longrightarrow otuz}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{40\longrightarrow kırk}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{50\longrightarrow elli}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{60\longrightarrow altmış}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{70\longrightarrow yetmış}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{80\longrightarrow seksen}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{90\longrightarrow doksan}}\)
Some of the latter numbers contain indications of their corresponding base numbers (altı and altmış, yedi and yetmiş, sekiz and seksen, and dokuz and doksan).
However, there is no pattern and these are words you must memorize. As soon as you have done this, saying any number you want is as simple as saying the tens place number followed by the one’s place number.
For example, 53 is elli üç. Practice saying any tens and ones place numbers several times to master saying them. It should be fairly easy by the end of the month.
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Turkish Counting To 100 and Beyond
In order to say any number you want, you only need to learn a few more words. They are as follows:
\(\color{red}{\mathbf{100\longrightarrow yüz}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{1,000\longrightarrow bin}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{1,000,000\longrightarrow bir\ milyon}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{1,000,000,000\longrightarrow bir\ milyar}}\)
Assume for now that a beginning Turkish learner can count up to a billion. Starting from the highest number place, you say each number down to one.
The following are a few examples:
\(\color{red}{\mathbf{189\longrightarrow yüz\ seksen\ dokuz}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{1762\longrightarrow bin\ yedi\ yüz\ altmış\ iki}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{45,678\longrightarrow kırk\ beş\ bin\ altı\ yüz\ yetmiş\ sekiz}}\)
In counting and saying numbers, you follow this pattern as far as you can. Although learning the vocabulary words takes some time, the pattern soon makes counting a breeze.
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Turkish Ordinal Numbers
The ordinal numbers in Turkish are actually easier than the ordinal numbers in English, as mentioned at the beginning of this article.
This is due to the fact that all ordinal numbers in Turkish contain the word of the number. In Turkish, ordinal numbers are made by adding the ending inci/ıncı/uncu/üncü.
You might need to spend some more time reviewing vowel harmony if that four-way ending scares you. Every Turkish ending (which there are tons of) relies on vowel harmony as one of its basic principles.
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The following is what each ordinal number looks like if you’re ready to proceed:
\(\color{red}{\mathbf{Bir\longrightarrow birinci}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Iki\longrightarrow ikinci}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Üç\longrightarrow üçüncü}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Dört\longrightarrow dördüncü}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Beş\longrightarrow beşinci}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Altı\longrightarrow altıncı}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Yedi\longrightarrow yedinci}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Sekiz\longrightarrow sekizinci}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Dokuz\longrightarrow dokuzuncu}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{On\longrightarrow onuncu}}\)
There is no difference in what happens to the first number in each new set of ten. It is simply a matter of adding the appropriate vowel harmonized ending to the number.
Here are two examples instead of showing you all of them:
\(\color{red}{\mathbf{Kırk\longrightarrow kırkıncı}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Yetmiş\longrightarrow yetmişinci}}\)
The same applies to hundred, thousand, million, and beyond. There is no exception to this rule for any number. As a result, learning and executing the correct ordinal number is easy.
Ordinal Numbers: How To Abbreviate Them
In the same way, there are abbreviations for ordinal numbers in English, there are also abbreviations for ordinal numbers in Turkish. Turkish is also easier to learn than English. The number should be followed by a period.
\(\color{red}{\mathbf{Birinci\longrightarrow 1.}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Ikinci\longrightarrow 2.}}\\
\color{red}{\mathbf{Üçüncü\longrightarrow 3.}}\)
Because they are all the same, there is no need to show you all of them. In order to write any of these words (or read them), you simply need to put a period after the number. There’s nothing complicated about it.
Notes On First In Turkish
Let’s look at one mistake Turkish language learners make before we wrap up this post on Turkish numbers.
First, it’s about the concept and words. Turkish has the word birinci, which refers to a number, but also the word ilk, which refers to a beginning.
In that case, when referring to the first day of school, you would say ilk gün instead of birinci snf. It may take some practice to get used to, but with practice, it becomes second nature.
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FAQs
What are the numbers from 1 to 10 in Turkish?
In addition to zero and nine, the first letter of each digit is a specific word, such as sıfır [0], bir [1], iki [2], üç [3], dört [4], beş [5], altı [6], yedi [7], sekiz [8], and dokuz [9].
What does +1 mean in Turkey?
Based on the foregoing, the most common room distribution in Turkey is 1 + 1 apartments: they consist of a bedroom plus a living room “salon”, and the kitchen is usually American-style (open).
How do you say goodbye in Turkish?
It’s gule gule. In Turkish, this means “Bye-bye”. You can use this parsing expression when speaking with strangers or friends. It literally means “leaving while smiling.” This is the Turkish version of “bye-bye.”
How do you greet in Turkish?
The most common greeting is “Nasilsiniz” (How are you?) or “Merhaba” (Hello). It is Islamic protocol to greet someone with the greeting “Asalamu alaykum”. For men, people are often addressed as “Bey” and for women as “Hanim”.