When we’re learning a new language, it’s always a relief to find out that our target language uses a bunch of words from our native tongue.

The good news for you is that there are plenty of English words used in Turkish! Memorizing these words can give you a huge vocabulary boost with very little effort on your part and make the Turkish language seem a little less daunting. 

In this article, you’ll learn about the most common English words in Turkish as well as the language phenomenon known as Turklish. We’ll even introduce you to several English words borrowed from Turkish to show you how deep the vocabulary exchange is between these two languages. 

Let’s get started.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Turklish
2. English Loanwords in Turkish
3. English Words of Turkic Origin
4. Words with Similar Spelling / Pronunciation (But Different Meanings)
5. Famous People, Franchise, and Movie Names in Turkish
6. Learn More with TurkishClass101!

Introduction to Turklish 

Although we will mainly talk about loanwords in this article, we’ll start by introducing you to the concept of Turklish (Türkilizce). This refers to native Turkish speakers using a mixture of Turkish and English words when speaking.

As we all know, English is the dominant language in almost all aspects of life, from science to technology. Hollywood movies have undoubtedly played a role in spreading the influence of English even farther.

There are around two million Turkish people living and studying in English-speaking countries such as the U.S.A., Canada, the U.K., and Australia. These people often use a combination of Turkish and English when communicating with each other—a phenomenon that came to be known as Turklish in 1994. Furthermore, it’s common for Turks who also speak English to use Turklish in corporate or international companies in Turkey.

Of course, Turkish linguists are opposed to the use of Turklish. They say it ruins the Turkish language and that people, especially those who use this new language hybrid within Turkey, do so just to evoke admiration and to sound more knowledgeable than they really are.

Here are a few examples of Turklish:

• Check etmek              –       To check
• Feedback vermek      –       To give feedback
• Cool görünmek          –       To look cool
• Download etmek        –       To download
• Spoiler vermek           –       To give away a spoiler
• Mail göndermek         –       To send mail
• Print etmek                  –       To print
• Save etmek                 –       To save
• Login olmak                –       To login
• Logout olmak              –       To logout
• Register olmak           –       To register
• Password’ü unutmak   –       To forget password
• Post etmek                  –       To post

English Loanwords in Turkish

With the progress of technology and the growing popularity of social media, the use of English seems inevitable—even in countries where English is not an official language. 

Aside from Turklish phrases like those mentioned above, there are also borrowed English words in the Turkish language that retain their original (or a similar) meaning and spelling. But while these words may look similar on paper, they’re normally pronounced according to Turkish phonology. 

A lot of Turkish people (especially the younger generations) love to use these loanwords. Some might even do so because they think it will make them sound cool. However, linguists are not very happy about this situation.

Can you guess what any of these loanwords are? Let’s take a look. 

Loanwords spelled exactly the same way

The list of English loanwords in Turkish is pretty long. The examples below have exactly the same meaning and spelling as their English counterparts, but the majority of them are pronounced differently. 

Please note that on our list, you may also notice a few words that are not originally English—such as sauna (Finnish) and yoga (Sanskrit)—but which have become an integral part of the language over time. 

Atom	Holding	Mini	Plan	Silo
Bar	Ideal	Minimum	Poker	Salon
Banker	Jet	Net	Pop	Siren
Bravo	Kilogram	Normal	Printer	Slogan
CV	Laptop	Modern	Problem	Spiral
Depo	Latin	Motel	Program	Tablet
Diploma	Lens	Online	Protein	Taboo
Fan	Liberal	Organ	Radar	Tank
Film	Limit	Oval	Real	Trend
Final	Link	Park	Reform	TV
Form	Market	Partner	Risk	Video
Global	Metal	Patent	Robot	Vitamin
Gram	Meteor	Pedagog	Sauna	Yoga
Hamburger	Midi	Pilot	Set	Zebra

Loanwords spelled differently

Below is a list of English words in the Turkish language with slightly different spellings than their English counterparts. 

English	Turkish	English	Turkish
Abnormal	Anormal	Active	Aktif
Academy	Akademi	Adaptation	Adaptasyon
Acetone	Aseton	Address	Adres
English	Turkish	English	Turkish
Action	Aksiyon	Advocate	Avukat
Actor	Aktör	Balcony	Balkon
Acid	Asit	Balloon	Balon
Acne	Akne	Bank	Banka
Bazaar	Pazar	Laser	Lazer
Cake	Kek	Mask	Maske
Card	Kart	Material	Materyal
Catalog	Katalog	Mission	Misyon
Comic	Komik	Negative	Negatif
Dance	Dans	Obese	Obez
Diesel	Dizel	Office	Ofis
Diet	Diyet	Panic	Panik
Discipline	Disiplin	Party	Parti
Editor	Editör	Project	Proje
Elastic	Elastik	Reference	Referans
Empathy	Empati	Score	Skor
Factor	Faktör	Service	Servis
English	Turkish	English	Turkish
Filter	Filtre	Technic	Teknik
Group	Grup	Tour	Tur
Hobby	Hobi	Unit	Ünite
Honor	Onur	University	Üniversite
Industry	Endüstri	Vision	Vizyon
Inventory	Envanter	Version	Versiyon
Jury	Jüri	Yacht	Yat
Kangaroo	Kangru	Zeppelin	Zeplin

English Words of Turkic Origin

Now, let’s see the other side of the coin! This language exchange has gone in both directions, and there are several English words from Turkish. 

Here are some Turkish words in the English language that have exactly the same meaning in both languages:

English	Turkish	English	Turkish	English	Turkish
Aga/Agha	Ağa	Doner Kebab	Döner Kebap	Pastrami	Pastırma
Ayran	Ayran	Fez	Fes	Pilaf	Pilav
Bairam	Bayram	Kaftan	Kaftan	Seljuk	Selçuk
Baklava	Baklava	Kalpak	Kalpak	Shaman	Şaman
English	Turkish	English	Turkish	English	Turkish
Balkan	Balkan	Khan	Han	Shish Kebab	Şiş Kebap
Boza	Boza	Kismet	Kısmet	Tughra	Tuğra
Bulgar	Bulgar	Kurbash	Kırbaç	Turk	Türk
Bulgur	Bulgur	Kurus	Kuruş	Yogurt/Yoghurt	Yoğurt
Dolmush	Dolmuş	Pasha	Paşa	Yurt	Yurt

Words with Similar Spelling / Pronunciation (But Different Meanings)

Now let’s cover another interesting concept: words that are spelled or pronounced the same way in English and Turkish, but have completely different meanings. Learning these might help you remember certain Turkish words more easily!

Same Spelling, Different Meanings

The only thing these words have in common is that they’re spelled the same way in both languages. Other than that, their pronunciation (in most cases) and their meanings are different.

English/Turkish	Meaning in Turkish	English/Turkish	Meaning in Turkish
An	Moment	Mum	Candle
At	Horse	Nine	Grandma
Can	Life	On	Ten
Cam	Glass	Pat	Aster
English/Turkish	Meaning in Turkish	English/Turkish	Meaning in Turkish
Fare	Mouse	Post	Fleece
Gel	Come	Pot	Blunder
Gem	Bit	Saf	Pure
Gene	Again	Seven	Loving
Ham	Raw	Son	Final/Last
Hat	Line	Sun	Offer
Her	Every	Sure	Sura
His	Feeling	Tan	Dawn
Men	Preclusion	Ten	Skin
Mine	Enamel/Verbena	Top	Ball

Same Pronunciation, Different Meanings

The following words are pronounced the same way, but have different meanings and spellings:

English	Turkish	Meaning in Turkish	English	Turkish	Meaning in Turkish
Car	Kar	Snow	Pick	Pik	Peak
Cut	Kat	Floor/Layer	Tape	Teyp	Stereo/Cassette Recorder
English	Turkish	Meaning in Turkish	English	Turkish	Meaning in Turkish
Cup	Kap	Container	Tick	Tik	Twitch/Teak
I	Ay	Moon	Top	Tap	Worship/Adore

Famous People, Franchise, and Movie Names in Turkish

All proper names are written in Turkish just as they are in English, though they may be pronounced differently. Examples include: 

Brand Names

• Nike
• Skechers
• Nine West
• Calvin Klein
• Levi’s

Food Chains

• McDonald’s 
• Burger King
• Subway
• Starbucks
• Arby’s

Celebrities

• Johnny Depp
• Julia Roberts
• Clint Eastwood
• Halle Berry

Series and movie names, however, are usually translated into Turkish. This is probably for commercial reasons, as marketers try to come up with Turkish names that will appeal to the culture and draw more attention so they can get higher ratings and make more money.

Here are some examples you might find interesting:

Name of the movie	Translated into Turkish
Mission Impossible	Görevimiz Tehlike (Our Mission is Danger)
Two for the Money	Kirli Para (Dirty Money)
A Beautiful Mind	Akıl Oyunları (Games of the Mind)
Rush Hour	Bitirim İkili (Crack Couple)
Sliding Doors	Rastlantının Böylesi (Such a Coincidence)
Name of the movie	Translated into Turkish
Sweet November	Kasım’da Aşk Başkadır (Love is Different in November)
Good Will Hunting	Can Dostum (My Best Friend)
Suicide Squad	Gerçek Kötüler (Real Villains)

Learn More with TurkishClass101!

Now that you’ve learned all of these English words used in Turkish, we hope that learning the language won’t be so daunting for you anymore. To make your language learning process even smoother and more worry-free, continue exploring TurkishClass101.com! 

We provide an array of practical learning materials, including numerous audio recordings, tons of vocabulary lists, and free resources (including our Turkish-English dictionary). It’s our aim to help you master the language and get a feel for the culture.

Don’t forget that you can also sign up for a Premium PLUS account to use our MyTeacher service, which will allow you to learn and practice with a private teacher.

Best of all, you can download the app for free and use it wherever you are.

Before you go, let us know in the comments if any of the words on our list surprised you or if you have any questions. We look forward to hearing from you!