Learn Turkish Dictionary | Learn Turkish Language Head Words

Turkish	English	Examples, supplements, and explanations
K (~35 entries)
kabul etmek	to accept, to agree with someone's proposal
(-e) kadar	as...as as much as, as far as up to, until	...fil kadar büyük as big as an elephant... O istediği kadar yaptı. She did as much as she wanted. Saat beşe kadar bekledi. She waited until five o'clock. See a kadar 'replacement'...
kadın (kadınlar)	woman (women) Women victims too... Left click for image enlargement and legibility.	In the news: 4 March 2005... Women victims too -- Several women, who dined out at respectable local restaurants in Istanbul and Bursa last evening, fell ill after drinking what turned out to be counterfeit rakı -- stupidly made by incompetent crooks from deadly poisonous methyl alcohol (instead of the usual ethyl alcohol, which is non-poisonous in moderation). Of those women taken ill, three died -- bringing to 23 the total number of (male and female) deaths due to poisonous counterfeit rakı since midweek. Smuggled Bulgarian and 'non-poisonous' counterfeit Turkish rakı began appearing on the underground market as the tax on legal rakı (imposed by the teetotaling religious-right ruling AKP) continued to rise steadily after the AKP took power in 2003. And, up until now, the smuggled and non-poisonous counterfeit rakı has been enjoying a brisk and thriving trade. But, when the poisonous rakı 'batch' reached the market this past week, it began killing male victims at once -- and the counterfeit rakı market started coming to a screeching halt. At first, public reaction was of the 'I told you so' variety. But now, with these first reported female deaths from the poisonous rakı, public anger at responsible AKP party leaders (including Prime Minister Erdoğan) and at their 'sin taxation' policy is growing apace. Hürriyet Gazetesi (See mini photo-article at left.)
kağıt	paper, playing card	üçkağıtçı, a swindler, con man [a three-card-player]
kalabalık	crowd, crowded	Burası çok kalabalık. It's very crowded here.
kalem	1. pencil 2. pen	kurşun kalem; lead pencil kalem açmak; sharpen a pencil kaleminden kan damlamak; to write effectively and movingly (See more -- with example sentence on the 'K' Idioms page.) Also see illustrative cartoon below.
The Lout -- a writer by trade? Left click for cartoon enlargement and translation. Gözcü Gazetesi -- 15 July 2003
kalmak	to remain, to stay in place	Şimdilik burada kalacağım. I'll stay here for now. Kalsın. Let's leave it like that for now. kala kala, only, no more than; Gelmesine kala kala bir gün kaldı. There's only one day left until he comes. kaldı ki, moreover kalsa/kalırsa, if you ask me Used with zorunda to form one of the past necessitative verb tenses; Dişçiye gitmek zorunda kaldın mı? Did you have to go to the dentist? kaldırmak, to lift
kamu	public	kamuoyu, public opinion kamuoyu yoklaması, opinion poll
kapı	door, gate	kapıcı -- an apartment-building caretaker, a caretaker of a residential building. His job is to keep the entrance and hallways clean, collect and dispose of the resident's trash, run small errands for residents, and perform general handyman work. In return he receives a modest salary -- and he and his family live rent-free in the building (usually in a basement flat). Also see kapıcı in the Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. The word kapı is used in numerous Turkish idioms, phrases, and compound word constructions, such as: kapı açmak, to mention, to bring up kapı gibi, strapping kapama, closing, closure kapamak, to close, shut kapatmak, to close, shut, cover; Lütfen pencereyi kapatınız. Close the window, please.
kara	land or black	Bir balık karada yaşayamaz. A fish can't live on land. O bir tamamen kara kedidir. That's a completely black cat.
karar	decision	karar vermek, to make a decision kararlı, determined, resolute 'Baskanı Bush çok kararlı'... 'President Bush is very determined'... [a newspaper headline that appeared after the September 2001 terrorist attacks...]
kardeş	brother, sister, sibling, 'family member' an informal means of address... Sometimes used to quickly establish a personal tie between a petitioner and a petitionee, who may even be complete strangers.	Merhaba, Susan. Bu benim kardeşim Marilee. Hi Susan. This is my sister Marilee. Kardeşim, yardım eder misin? Arabamda lastiğim patladı. Can you help me out, m'friend? The tire/tyre blew out on my car.
karı	wife
karışık	mixed, assorted confused, disorganized complicated, complex adulterated, not pure	[-la/-a] karışmak, to mix with, to get mixed up, to interfere, meddle in; Bir daha senin işine karışmam. I'll never meddle in your business again.
karşı	opposite, across from, against	A word which acts as the root of several interesting Turkish words... Used in numerous Turkish idioms, phrases, and compound word constructions, such as: karşıdan karşıya, across karşısında, opposite
kaybetmek	to lose (something)	kaybolmak, [for someone] to be lost
kaza	an accident
kazanmak	to win, to earn
-(y)ken	Suffix meaning while or when. The word iken is the stand-alone equivalent of the suffix.	Amerika'da iken amcamı birkaç kez ziyaret ettim. I visited my uncle in hospital a few times when I was in America. Click following to see a fuller treatment of the suffix... Also see -irken on the Conjunction Celebration page.
kendi	self	Click following to learn more about kendi...
kere	See explanation at tane...
kesmek	to cut	Aşçı soğanı kesti. The cook cut the onion.
keşke	A word (almost as redundant as eğer) used to reinforce the past conditional verb tense -- to express unfulfilled 'wish'.	Keşke gitmeseydi! If only he hadn't gone! Click following for an example of a full verb conjugation featuring keşke.
kez	See explanation at tane...
kırmızı	red, the color
kısa	short	kısaca, rather short, in short, briefly kısacası, in a word, in brief
kız	daughter, girl, virgin, maiden	Ansley James'in kızıdır. Ansley is James' daughter. Note the following ambiguous sentences: Kızdı. She was a virgin. (from kız, the noun meaning virgin) Kızdı. She got angry. (from kızmak, the verb meaning to get angry) Click the following for a full treatment of Turkish ambiguities.
kim	who	kimse someone, anybody no one, nobody (in a negative sentence)
kir	dirt, filth	kirli, dirty, filthy; Fırın kirlidir. The oven is dirty. kirli sepeti, dirty clothes basket/hamper
kişi	person, human being
koca	husband
kolay	easy	Bu kolay bir sorudur. This is an easy question. Kolay gelsin. Let [your work] come easily. kolaylaştırmak, to make [something] easy, to facilitate
konu	topic, subject
konuşma	speaking, talk, lecture, speech	konuşmak to speak, to talk, to discuss
korku	fear	korkmak, to fear; Siz köpeğimden korkar mısınız. Are you afraid of my dog? korkutmak, to frighten
korumak	to protect, defend	koruyucu, guardian, protector
koyun	sheep (usually mature sheep)
kötü	bad	Bu ürün iyi mi, yoksa kötü mü? Is this product good or bad?
köy	village	köylü villager; peasant person from the same village as oneself, a fellow villager köylü kızı; (innocent) village girl
kullanmak	to use	kullanılmış, second-hand, previously owned good(s)
kuru	dry
kuruluş	establishment, organization	kurmak, to establish
kusur	fault, defect, flaw	kusursuz, perfect Kusura bakma. I hope you'll pardon me; please overlook my shortcomings.
kurtarmak	to rescue	kurtulmak, to escape
kuzu	young sheep (lamb)	Tarlada bir kuzu var. There's a lamb in the field. kuzu gibi uysal, as gentle [docile] as a lamb
kuzey	north
küçük	small, little	Kızılırmakla Yeşilırmak Kara Denize, Büyük Menderesle Küçük Menderes Ege Denizine dökülür. The Kızılirmak [River] and the Yeşilirmak [River] spill into the Black Sea, and the Big and Small Menderes Rivers spill into the Aegean Sea.