Are you a foreign student who is planning to study in Turkey or are you a teacher who will be teaching in Turkey? In both cases, you will need to learn Turkish classroom words and phrases Turkish native speakers use.

If you are a student, you need to know school related vocabulary such as supplies, equipment, subjects etc. Furthermore, you should be able to understand the instructions given by your teacher. There are quite a number of Turkish classroom phrases for students in this article, which will make your life easier.

Dear teachers, I got you covered as well. I also included classroom phrases for teachers in Turkish so that you can communicate with your students smoothly.

Now, 1, 2, 3, eyes on me everybody; we are starting!

Table of Contents

1. School Related Vocabulary
2. Teacher’s Phrases
3. Student’s Phrases
4. Tests/Quizzes/Exams
5. Learn More with TurkishClass101!

 1.   School Related Vocabulary

Here is a huge list of school related vocabulary you can refer to.

 1.      General vocabulary

 Let’s follow the “general to specific” structure and start with general vocabulary.  

Turkish	English
Devlet okulu	“Public school”
Özel okul	“Private school”
İlkokul	“Elementary school”
Ortaokul	“Middle school”
Lise	“High school”
Üniversite	“University”
Dönem	“Semester”
Sömestr tatili	“Semester break”
Ödev	“Homework”
Not	“Grade”
Karne	“Report card”

2. School buildings and rooms

 There will be times when you need to find your way around in your school. The following vocabulary will be very helpful at those times: 

Turkish	English
Ana bina	“Main building”
Sınıf	“Classroom”
Kantin	“Canteen”
Kafeterya	“Cafeteria”
Kütüphane	“Library”;
Amfi	“Amphitheater”
Müzik odası	“Music room”
Öğretmenler odası	“Teachers’ room”
Sekreterlik	“Secretariat”

3.      Classroom equipment

Every classroom has some equipment used by students and teachers. Let’s see what they are called in Turkish.  

Turkish	English
Tahta	“Blackboard”
Akıllı tahta	“Smart board”
Tahta silgisi	“Blackboard eraser”
Tebeşir	“Chalk”
Tahta kalemi	“Board marker”
Bilgisayar	“Computer”
Projektör	“Projector”

4.      School supplies

Can you imagine that you forgot one of your school supplies at home and wanted to borrow it from a friend and you don’t know what it is called in Turkish? There is always a solution; maybe you can show it to your friend, so he/she would understand what you want. However, is this an efficient communication? Of course not. Why should you struggle? Just note the following list: 

Turkish	English
Okul çantası	“School bag”
Defter	“Notebook”
Kitap	“Book”
Kurşun kalem	“Pencil”
Tükenmez kalem	“Pen”
Silgi	“Eraser”
Kalemtıraş	“Pencil sharpener”
Kalem kutusu	“Pencil case”
Tablet	“Tablet”

 5.      List of school subjects

Here comes Turkish to English translations of some vocabulary related to school subjects, which is important for both students and teachers:  

Turkish	English
Türkçe	“Turkish”
Türk dili ve edebiyatı	“Turkish Language and Literature”
İngilizce	“English”
Matematik	“Math”
Geometri	“Geometry”
Coğrafya	“Geography”
Tarih	“History”
Biyoloji	“Biology”
Kimya	“Chemistry”
Fizik	“Physics”
Müzik	“Music”
Resim	“Art”
Beden Eğitimi	“Physical Education”
Ekonomi	“Economics”
Felsefe	“Philosophy”

2.   Teacher’s Phrases

Our beloved teachers here comes your part where I will cover some classroom phrases for teachers in Turkish. 

1.      Greetings

Let’s begin with basic Turkish classroom greetings . Turkish native speakers use

Turkish	English
Günaydın çocuklar/gençler	“Good morning children/youth”
Tünaydın	“Good afternoon”
İyi günler	“Good day”
Kendinize iyi bakın	“Take care of yourselves”
İyi dersler	“Enjoy your classes”

2.      Instructions

 If you are looking for the answer to the question “How should a teacher give instructions in Turkish?” go ahead and check the basic Turkish phrases below:   

Turkish	English
Dikkatli dinleyin.	“Listen carefully.”
Tahtaya bakın lütfen.	“Look at the board, please.”
Hep beraber tekrar edelim.	“Let’s repeat together.”
Sorunuz varsa elinizi kaldırın.	“Raise your hand if you have a question.”
Sayfa 5’i açın.	“Open page 5.”
3’lü gruplar oluşturun.	“Form groups of 3.”

3.      Questions

Teachers use questions as a teaching tool; sometimes they are used to find out what students have learnt or haven’t learnt and at times, they are used to make students participate. Let’s take a look at some questions teachers can use in a classroom where Turkish is spoken.  

Turkish	English
Bugün herkes burada mı?	“Is everybody here today?”
Herkes ödevini yaptı mı?	“Has everyone done their homework?”
Buraya kadar anladınız mı?	“Did you understand up to here?”
Kim cevap vermek ister?	“Who wants to answer?”
Bu konuyu kim anlatmak ister?	“Who wants to explain this topic?”
Kim okumak ister?	“Who wants to read?”
Herhangi bir sorunuz var mı?	“Do you have any questions?”
Sıra kimde?	“Who is next?”
Herkes bitirdi mi?	“Has everyone finished?”

4.      Discipline 

When you are dealing with kids, sometimes things may go out of control. At that point, teachers have to use certain phrases to maintain discipline in the classroom. Make sure to note the following basic Turkish phrases; one day you might need them.

Turkish	English
Oturun!	“Take a seat!”
Susun!	“Quit talking!”
Sessiz olun!	“Be quiet!”
Sorunuz varsa, elinizi kaldırın.	“Please raise your hand if you have a question.”
Cevabı biliyorsanız elinizi kaldırın.	“Raise your hand if you know the answer.”

5.      Praise and motivation 

I believe the power of praise and motivation is unquestionable in education. Therefore, the Turkish classroom phrases below, will be another strong tool for teachers.  

Turkish	English
Aferin!	“Good job!”
Tebrikler!	“Congratulations!”
Aferin, böyle devam et.	“Keep up the good work.”
Tam isabet!	“Right on!”
İngilizceniz çok gelişti.	“Your English has improved a lot.”

3.   Student’s Phrases

Dear students, here are some Turkish classroom phrases for students you can use in different cases. 

1.      Greetings  

Here are a few Turkish classroom greetings for students they can use to greet their teacher:  

Turkish	English
Günaydın hocam/öğretmenim	“Good morning teacher”
Tünaydın hocam	“Good afternoon teacher”
Hoşçakalın	“Good-bye”

2.      Concerns and questions

Are you wondering how you can address your concerns with your teacher in Turkish? Also, would you like to know how you can ask your questions in Turkish? Here comes a little help for you:  

Turkish	English
Anlamadım.	“I didn’t understand.”
Bunu tekrar edebilir misiniz lütfen?	“Can you repeat that please?”
Biraz daha yavaş anlatabilir misiniz?	Can you explain a little slower?”
Hangi sayfadayız?	“Which page are we on?”
Bir kere daha anlatabilir misiniz?	“Can you explain it one more time?”
Bana hiç anlamlı gelmiyor.	“It doesn’t make any sense to me?”
Bu doğru mu?	“Is this correct?”
Bana yardım edebilir misiniz?	“Can you help me?”;
Bir soru sorabilir miyim?	“May I ask a question?”
‘xxx’ ne demek?	“What does ‘xxx’ mean?”

 3.      Talking about problems

Problems are everywhere, even in classrooms. Following basic Turkish phrases will help you to talk about your problems:

Turkish	English
Kendimi iyi hissetmiyorum, dışarı çıkabilir miyim?	“I am not feeling well, may I go out?”
Kitabımı kaybettim.	“I lost my book.”
Kitabımı evde unuttum.	“I forgot my book at home.”
Ödevimi yapamadım.	“I couldn’t do my homework.”
Tuvalete gidebilir miyim?	“Can I go to the restroom?”
Geç kaldığım için özür dilerim.	“I apologize for being late.”
Daha fazla süreye ihtiyacım var.	“I need more time.”
Alıştırmaları bitiremedim.	“I couldn’t complete the exercises.”
Yarın okula gelemeyeceğim.	“I won’t be able to come to school tomorrow.”

4.      Talking about school subjects

If you are a student, talking about school subjects is inevitable. Here is how you can do it in Turkish: 

Turkish	English
En sevdiğim ders ‘xxxx’.	“My favorite subject is ‘xxxx.”
Matematikte hiç iyi değilim.	“I am not good at Math, at all.”
Tarih dersini hiç sevmiyorum.	“I don’t like history class, at all.”

4.   Tests/Quizzes/Exams

Exams are parts of the education system, but also, they are the nightmares of most students. Let’s take a look at some Turkish classroom phrases for students related to exams.

1.      Basic vocabulary

 Here is Turkish to English translations of some vocabulary related with tests and exams you can refer to: 

Turkish	English
Test	“Test”
Sınav	“Exam”
Quiz	“Quiz”
Sınava girmek	“To take an exam”
Sınavı geçmek	“To pass the exam”
Sınavdan kalmak	“To fail an exam”

2.      Instructions 

Reading the instructions in an exam can be as important as studying for the exam. You might know the answer, but if you don’t do exactly what the instructions tell you to do, you might fail your exam. Therefore, I strongly suggest that you pay attention to the following test instructions in Turkish.

Turkish	English
Metni okuyun.	“Read the text.”
Boşlukları doldurun.	“Fill in the blanks”
Bu cümleleri tamamlayın.	“Complete these sentences.”
Doğru seçeneği işaretleyin.	“Mark the correct option.”

5.   Learn More with TurkishClass101!

In this article, you learned quite a number of Turkish classroom phrases for students and classroom phrases for teachers in Turkish. However, there are a lot more useful classroom phrases in Turkish!

Therefore, visit TurkishClass101, which has numerous audio recordings, tons of vocabulary lists and free resources including the dictionary you can refer to, in order to learn Turkish language faster or to improve your Turkish language learning. 

Don’t forget that there is also MyTeacher, which is the premium service of TurkishClass101 that you can use to practice with a private teacher.

Do you know what is also good about it? You can download the app for free and use it wherever you are.

Last but not the least; please continue to provide us feedback about all the resources provided at TurkishClass101!