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Numeral Mania !
All the ways there are to use numbers in Turkish
Now with sound!
Overheard at the
Animal Trader's Convention
near Selçuk
in the midst of the din during the
pig-squealing contest...
Do you know the difference between a cardinal and an ordinal, Marvin?
Let's see now...
A cardinal is a chirpy l'il warbler with red head-feathers, ain't it Mabel.
So, I reckon an ordinal is a sorry lookin' buzzard with a big ole bald-spot --
much like yer Uncle Pharful. [snigger snigger snigger]
It's very unkind of you to make fun of
Uncle Pharful's physical defects that way Marv. He can't help how he looks...
Oh really?
Would you rather I recount a few 'Pharful stories' that reveal his
lamebrain character defects? Like his trial-marriage plans with that female-impersonator in Vegas?? Why... if I hadn'ta intervened, he'd still be barkin' up the wrong tree-stump...
Then there was the time he puked Roma Rocket on his lawyer --
just after the jury brought in a not-proved verdict at his
drunk-driving trial.
And, don' forget that incident in Bethany Beach when...
You certainly have a memory for gory details, Marvin...
except when it comes to yer own shortcomings.
Fer example, what about the time you were caught in the
Özdere old-folks home after visitin' hours in yer long-johns?
The local tabloid had a real field-day with that one, I recall...
Hold it right there Mabel...
No need to go uppin' the ante, this late in the game.
Yez...
I thought you'd see the light.
|
Cardinal numbers - asal sayılar -
Turkish |
English | How to depict it with numerals in Turkish | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| sıfır 
(10k bytes)
| the 'number' zero | 0 | Denize sıfır bir evde oturuyorum. I'm living in a house that is right on the beach. (..a house that is zero distance to the sea.)
(25k bytes)
Sıfır kilometre yeni bir Ford arabası satın aldım. I bought a brand-new Ford. (...a Ford with zero kilometers, that is, a Ford with no previous owners.)
(33k bytes) |
| bir
(Only on CD) | the number one | 1 | Ağaçtan bir tane elma koparabilir miyim? May I pick an apple from the tree?
(Only on CD)
Bir bilet almak istiyorum. I want to buy a ticket.
(Only on CD)
Amaçlarımız bir. Our aims are the same.
(Only on CD) |
| iki
(10k bytes) |
two | 2 | Bebeğim için iki litre süt aldım. I bought two liters of milk for my baby.
(Only on CD) |
| üç
(Only on CD) |
three | 3 | Kasaptan üç kilo dana kıyma alır mısın? Would you (please) buy three kilos of ground beef from the butcher?
(Only on CD) |
| dört
(Only on CD) |
four | 4 | Bugün ayın dördü. Today is the fourth day of the month.
(Only on CD) |
| beş
(Only on CD) |
five | 5 | Yaşasın! İngilizceden beş aldım, sınıfı geçtim. Great news! I got a '5' in English [the highest grade/mark] and graduated from the class.
(37k bytes) |
| altı |
six | 6 | |
| yedi |
seven | 7 | |
| sekiz |
eight | 8 | |
| dokuz |
nine | 9 | |
| on |
ten | 10 | |
on bir
[or onbir] |
eleven | 11 | |
on iki
[or oniki] |
twelve | 12 | |
on üç
[or onüç] |
thirteen | 13 | |
on dört
[or ondört] |
fourteen | 14 | |
on beş
[or onbeş] |
fifteen | 15 | |
on altı
[or onaltı] |
sixteen | 16 | |
on yedi
[or onyedi] |
seventeen | 17 | |
on sekiz
[or onsekiz] |
eighteen | 18 | |
on dokuz
[or ondokuz] |
nineteen | 19 | |
| yirmi |
twenty | 20 | |
yirmi bir
[or yirmibir] |
twenty-one | 21 | |
| otuz |
thirty | 30 | |
| kırk
(Only on CD) |
forty | 40 | Eşimle tam kırk yıl mutlu bir hayat yaşadık. My wife and I were happily married for forty years.
(Only on CD)
Interesting uses of kırk...
Besides its use literally as the number (40), kırk is also used figuratively when one wants to indicate 'very many, far too many' -- or any number that is indefinitely high. We English-speakers often use 'a million' for such purposes, e.g., She's one in a million! Usage of kırk in Turkish is traceable to the Koran (where the number forty is employed for both literal and figurative purposes). Figurative-use examples of kırk that are found in everyday Turkish include:
In idioms...
kırk bir kere maşallah 
kırk yılda bir [gün], once in a 'blue moon'
kırkından sonra azmak, to behave like a randy young buck after one has reached a more 'mature' age
In proverbs...
Bir adama kırk gün deli dersen, deli olur.
If you call a man crazy for forty days, he will become crazy.
Kırk hırsız bir çiplağı soyamamış.
Forty thieves could not rob a naked man.
In compound words...
kırkmerak, overly curious
kırkayak, centipede
Thanks to JG for the reminder...
16 October 2002 |
| elli |
fifty | 50 | |
| altmış |
sixty | 60 | |
| yetmiş |
seventy | 70 | |
| seksen |
eighty | 80 | |
| doksan |
ninety | 90 | |
| yüz (or bir yüz) |
one-hundred or a hundred | 100 | Exercise care when using yüz, as it can have several other meanings besides a hundred.
For example, iki yüz does indeed mean two hundred,
but iki yüzlü means two-faced...
Click following to see some other examples...
|
| yüz bir (or yüzbir) |
one-hundred and one | 101 | |
| yüz on (or yüzon) |
one-hundred and ten | 110 | |
| yüz on bir (or yüzonbir) |
one-hundred and eleven | 111 | |
| iki yüz (or ikiyüz) |
two-hundred | 200 | |
| bin |
one-thousand | 1000 or 1.000 | |
| bir milyon |
one-million | 1.000.000 | |
| bir milyar |
one-billion (USA) or one-thousand million (UK) | 1.000.000.000 | |
| iki yüz altmış sekiz milyon dört yüz doksan dokuz bin üç yüz elli yedi | two-hundred sixty-eight million four-hundred ninety-nine thousand three-hundred and fifty-seven or 268,499,357 | 268.499.357 | Usually, you'll see large numbers spelled out, without any separating spaces, e.g.,
kırkbeşbinotuziki (45,032 English or
45.032 Turkish) |
Ordinal numbers
- sıra sayıları -
Turkish | English | How to depict it with numerals in Turkish | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| birinci
(Only on CD) | first or 1st | 1'inci or 1. | 'A', İngiliz ile Türk alfabesinin birinci harfi. 'A' is the first letter in the English and Turkish alphabets.
(Only on CD) |
| ikinci | second or 2nd | 2'inci or 2. | |
| üçüncü | third or 3rd | 3'üncü or 3. | |
| dördüncü | fourth or 4th | 4'üncü or 4. | |
| beşinci | fifth or 5th | 5'inci or 5. | |
| altıncı | sixth or 6th | 6'ıncı or 6. | Use this ordinal number with care.
See why, by clicking here...
|
| yedinci | seventh or 7th | 7'inci or 7. | |
| sekizinci | eighth or 8th | 8'inci or 8. | |
| dokuzuncu | ninth or 9th | 9'uncu or 9. | |
| onuncu | tenth or 10th | 10'uncu or 10. | |
| on birinci or onbirinci | eleventh or 11th | 11'inci or 11. | |
| on yedinci or onyedinci
(Only on CD) | seventeenth or 17th | 17'inci or 17. | Cevri Çelebi, 17. yüzyılın ünlü şairlerindendi. Cevri Çelebi was among the famous poets of the 17th Century.
(Only on CD) |
| yirminci | twentieth or 20th | 20'inci or 20. | |
| yirmi birinci | twenty-first or 21st | 21'inci or 21. | |
| otuzuncu | thirtieth or 30th | 30'uncu or 30. | |
| kırkıncı | fortieth or 40th | 40'ıncı or 40. | |
| ellinci | fiftieth or 50th | 50'inci or 50. | |
| altmışıncı | sixtieth or 60th | 60'ıncı or 60. | |
| yetmişinci | seventieth or 70th | 70'inci or 70. | |
| sekseninci | eightieth or 80th | 80'inci or 80. | |
| doksanıncı | ninetieth or 90th | 90'ıncı or 90. | |
| yüzüncü | one-hundredth or 100th | 100'üncü or 100. | |
| bininci | one-thousandth or 1000th | 1000'inci or 1000. | |
| milyonuncu | one-millionth or 1,000,000th | 1.000.000'uncu or 1.000.000. | |
| milyarıncı | one-billionth (USA); one-thousand millionth (UK) or 1,000,000,000th | 1.000.000.000'ıncı or1.000.000.000. | |
Decimal numbers
Turkish | English | How to depict it with numerals in Turkish | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| sıfır virgül bir | 'point one' or 'zero point one' or 0.1 | 0,1 | |
| bir virgül bir | 'one point one' or 1.1 | 1,1 | |
| iki bin dört yüz on beş virgül yedi | two thousand four hundred fifteen point seven or 2,415.7 | 2.415,7 | |
Fractions - kesirler -
Turkish | English | How to depict it with numerals in Turkish | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| çeyrek | one-quarter
or 1/4 | 4/1 | |
| ikide bir | one-half
or 1/2 | 2/1 | |
| üçte bir | one-third
or 1/3 | 3/1 | |
| dörtte bir | one-fourth
or 1/4 | 4/1 | |
| beşte bir | one-fifth
or 1/5 | 5/1 | |
| onda bir | one-tenth
or 1/10 | 10/1 | |
buçuk
Only used after whole numbers... | ...and a half
or
...and 1/2 | 2/1 | |
| iki buçuk | two and a half
or 2 1/2 | 2 2/1 | |
| dokuz yedide üç | nine and three-sevenths
or 9 3/7 | 9 7/3 | |
| yarı
(Only on CD) | - half of the, half the
- half of, mid-
- half time, the half [in a sports match]
- halfway, half, only partially, semi
| not applicable | - Misafirlerin sadece yarısı geldi. Only half the guests have come.
(Only on CD) - gece yarısı midnight
- Yarı işim bitti. I finished half my work.
- Yarı yolda kaldık. We were left stranded in mid-journey.
- yarı gece midnight
- yarı yün yarı poliyester bir süveter a sweater that is half wool and half polyester
- yarı açık half open
- Yarı anladım. I half understood.
- yarı pişmiş tavuk half-cooked [underdone] chicken
- yarı resmi semi-official
|
| yarım
| a half ... | not applicable | - yarım saat a half an hour
- yarım kilo patates half a kilo of potatoes
- Idiomatic use:
Yarımda görüşürüz. We'll meet at half past twelve (12:30 AM or PM).
|
One each of, two each of...
Portionate numbers - üleştirme numaralar -
Turkish | English | How to depict it with numerals in Turkish | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| yarımşar | half each (of), half apiece | not applicable | |
| birer | one each (of), one apiece | not applicable | |
| ikişer
(Only on CD) | two each (of), two apiece | not applicable | Dört fahişe ikişer ay on beşer gün cezaevinde mahkum edilmişlerdir. Four prostitutes were each sentenced to two months and fifteen days in prison.
(In numerals:...2'şer ay 15'şer gün...)
(Only on CD) |
| üçer
(Only on CD) | three each (of), three apiece | not applicable | Çocuklar üçer kişilik sıralar halinde dizildiler. The children lined up in rows, three by three.
(Only on CD) |
| dörder | four each (of), four apiece | not applicable | |
| beşer | five each (of), five apiece | not applicable | Bütün çocuklara beşer elma veriniz. Give all the children 5 apples each. |
| altışar | six each (of), four apiece | not applicable | |
| yedişer | seven each (of), seven apiece | not applicable | |
| sekizer | eight each (of), eight apiece | not applicable | |
| dokuzar
(Only on CD) | nine each (of), nine apiece | not applicable | Her bahçeye dokuzar ağaç dikiniz. Plant nine trees in each garden.
(Only on CD) |
| onar | ten each (of), ten apiece | not applicable |
- Bir manga onar kişilik askerlerden oluşur. A squad of soldiers is made up of 10 soldiers each.
- onar onar in groups of ten each, ten at a time, in tens
- Beware the ambiguity that can arise from onar, the third-person wide-tense of the verb onamak to approve, ratify, certify.
|
on birer
also onbirer
Please note the norm, in which the suffix is attached to the last element in the compound-word... There are exceptions though -- as you'll see further below. | eleven each (of), eleven apiece | not applicable | |
| yirmişer | twenty each (of), twenty apiece | not applicable | yermişer yermişer in groups of twenty, twenty at a time
yirmi beşer twenty-five each (of), twenty-five apiece |
| otuzar | thirty each (of), thirty apiece | not applicable | |
| kırkar | forty each (of), forty apiece | not applicable | |
| ellişer | fifty each (of), fifty apiece | not applicable | |
| yüzer | a hundred each (of), a hundred apiece | not applicable | üç yüz seksen dokuzar
three-hundred eighty-nine each
Exception, with whole hundreds...
ikişer yüz [not iki yüzer]
two hundred apiece |
| biner | a thousand each (of), a thousand apiece | not applicable | Exception, with whole thousands...
ikişer bin [not iki biner]
two hundred apiece |
| birer milyon not milyonar nor bir milyonar | a million each (of), a million apiece | not applicable | don't confuse with milyoner, millionaire... |
| ikişer milyar not iki milyarar | two billion each (of), two billion apiece | not applicable | |
Percentages...
Turkish | English | How to depict it with numerals in Turkish | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| yüzde bir | one percent or 1% | %1 | |
| yüzde on | ten percent or 10% | %10 | |
| yüzde yirmi beş | twenty-five percent or 25% | %25 | gelirimin yüzde yirmi beşi twenty-five percent of my income
Using numbers, the phrase above would appear as:
gelirimin %25'i |
| yüzde elli | fifty percent or 50% | %50 | |
| yüzde yetmiş beş
(Only on CD) | seventy-five percent or 75% | %75 | Dünyanın yüz ölçümünün yüzde yetmiş dört virgul ikisi suyla kaplıdır. Of the earth's total surface, 74.2% is covered with water.
(Only on CD)
Using numbers, the phrase above would appear as:
Dünyanın yüz ölçümünün %74,2'si suyla kaplıdır. |
| yüzde yüz | one hundred percent or 100% | %100 | Bu yıl fiyatlara yüzde yüz zam yapıldı. Prices increased by 100% this year. (...a 100% increase was made.) |
Roman Numerals...
- Romen rakamı -
Turkish | English | How to depict it with numerals in Turkish | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| I or I. | I -- the Roman Numeral one | see first column | I Selim or I. Selim Selim the First (The ninth Ottoman sultan and father of Suleyman the Magnificent was also known as Selim the Grim.)
Note: In Turkish, the sultan's name is read aloud as birinci Selim. |
| II or II. | II -- the Roman Numeral two | see first column | II Selim or II. Selim Selim the Second (The eleventh Ottoman sultan and son of Suleyman the Magnificent was also known as Selim the Sot.)
Note: In Turkish, the sultan's name is read aloud as ikinci Selim. |
| III or III. | III -- the Roman Numeral three | see first column | III Selim or III. Selim Selim the third (The twenty-eighth Ottoman sultan reigned between 1789 and 1807.)
Note: In Turkish, the sultan's name is read aloud as üçüncü Selim. |
| IV or IV. | IV -- the Roman Numeral four | see first column | IV Mustafa or IV. Mustafa Mustafa the Fourth (The twenty-nineth Ottoman sultan had a short reign between 1807 and 1808.)
Note: In Turkish, the sultan's name is read aloud as dördüncü Mustafa. |
| XX or XX. | XX -- the Roman Numeral twenty | see first column | XX asır or XX. asır the twentieth century
XXI asır or XXI. asır the twenty-first century |
| LXIII or LXIII. | LXIII -- the Roman Numeral sixty-three | see first column | LXIII İzmir Enternasyonal Fuarı or LXIII. İzmir Enternasyonal Fuarı the sixty-third International Fair of Izmir (held in 1994) |
Playing Cards...
- oyun kağıdılar -
Turkish | English | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| [bir] sinek, karo, kupa, maça | [a] club, diamond, heart, spade | |
| as | the ace,
when used with a value above the king...
Also see birli below. | Sinek ası attım.
I played the ace of clubs. |
| papaz | [the] king | Karo papazı istedi. He wanted the king of diamonds. |
| kız | [the] queen | Kupa kızına ithiyacım vardı. I needed the queen of hearts. |
| vale | [the] jack, knave | Maça valeyi çekti. She drew the jack of spades. |
| onlu | [the] ten | O sinek onluyu attı. He discarded the 10 of clubs. |
| dokuzlu | [the] nine | |
| sekizli | [the] eight | |
| yedili | [the] seven | |
| altılı | [the] six | |
| beşli | [the] five | |
| dörtlü | [the] four | |
| üçlü | [the] three | |
| ikili | [the] two | |
| birli | [the] ace,
when used with a value of 1 | |
'Everyday' words and phrases
to use together with numbers and numerals...
Turkish | English | Examples, supplements, and explanations |
| artı | plus | |
| asıl sayılar | cardinal numbers | 1, 2, 3, etc. |
| azami | [a] maximum | |
| boy | height, length | |
| bölü | divided by | |
| bölünmek | to be divided | |
| çarpan | multiplier | |
| çarpı | - multiplication sign
- times, multiplied by
| |
| çarpma | multiplication | |
| çarpmak | to multiply [one number] by [another] | |
| çıkarma | subtraction | |
| çıkarmak | to subtract [an amount] from [another] | |
| çıkmak | to be subtracted from | |
| çift | [a] pair,
[an] even number | |
| dakika | minute | |
| derece | degree (of temperature) | |
| eksi | minus, negative | |
| elde var bir | and carry one | |
| eşit | equals, is equal to | |
| etmek | to equal, make | |
| kalan | remainder, difference | |
| kare | square | beş metre kare five square meters |
| kesir | fraction | |
| masraf | cost | |
| mesafe | distance | |
| minimum | [a] minimum | |
| nokta | point | used to designate a comma in Turkish -- for separating thousands, millions, etc. For example,
4.036.001 in Turkish is
4,036,001 in English -- or four million thirty-six thousand and one, in English. |
| rakam |
digit, numeral | |
| Romen rakamı | Roman numeral | |
| saat | hour | Saat kaç?
What time is it?
[How many hours is it?]
Saat ondur.
It's ten o'clock. |
| sınırsız sayı | infinity | |
| sıra sayıları | ordinal numbers | first (1st), second (2nd), third (3rd), etc. |
| sonsuzküçük | infinitesimal | |
| tarih | date | |
| taksim | division sign | |
| -i/e taksim etmek | to divide [one figure] into/
by [another] | |
| tek | [an] odd number | |
| toplam | total | |
| toplama | addition | |
| toplama işareti or toplama imi | plus sign | |
| toplamak | to add, add up,
to total | |
| uzak | far | uzaklık distance |
| vakit | time | Vakitiniz varsa, yardım edebilir misin(iz)? If you have time, can you help [me] out?
On dakikalık vaktim var.
I have ten minutes time [for you]. |
| virgül | comma | used to designate a decimal point in Turkish -- for separating a whole number from its decimal postion...For example,
4,036 in Turkish is
4.036 in English -- or four point zero thirty-six, in English. |
| yakın | near | çok yakın very near, very close |
| yükseklik | altitude | |
yüzde,
yüzde oranı | percentage | |
| zaman | time | Paranızı varsa yavrum, zamanımı var. If you got the money honey, I got the time! |
Thanks to G.L. Lewis and Mehmet Hengirmen
for some of the ideas and material that appear on this page...
With fond appreciation to
Selami Tangör
(our friend and distinguished Turkish elder)
for many of the finely-rendered voice recordings,
you hear above...
September 2002
|
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