Copyright © 2018 Halit Demir

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 . TURKISH HOMONYMS

Homonyms are words that are spelt and sound the same, but are different in meaning or origin. As Turkish script is
almost like a phonetic transcription, homonyms are quite common in Turkish, and they might be confusing for learners
of Turkish. Here is a list of the most common homonyms in Turkish.

noun adjective verb

acı 1 pain 2 grief 1 hot (food) 2 poignant ache, hurt

aç – hungry open
açık – 1 open 2 clear 3 light (colour) –
al – crimson 1 take 2 buy
an moment – commemorate
arı bee pure –
at horse – throw
atlet 1 athlete 2 vest/undershirt – –
ay 1 month 2 moon – –
bağ 1 vineyard
2 tie (connection/relationship) – –
baş 1 head 2 beginning – –
ben 1 I (pronoun) 2 mole (on the skin) – –
bin thousand – ride (bike/horse)
büyü magic, spell – grow (intr)
çal – – 1 steal
2 play (a musical instrument,
a piece of music, a CD)
çay 1 tea 2 stream (small river) – –
dal branch (of a tree) – dive
dik – steep 1 sew 2 plant (tree/plants)
dil 1 tongue 2 language – slice
diz knee – line sth up (=arrange things
in a row);
string (=put things together
onto a thread, chain etc)
dolu hail full –
düş dream – fall
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1
noun adjective verb They don’t
necessarily have to be
el 1 hand 2 people other than your – – perfect strangers.
family and circle of friends 1 2
As a verb, it is in the
2 infinitive form
ekmek bread – sow
(ekmek).
emir 1 emir 2 command – –
3
geç – late 1 pass (go past a place/person/thing)
2 pass (exam/test)
3 pass [intr] (time)
4 pass (become more than)
güç power hard –
3
gül rose – laugh pass (give): uzat
pass [tr] (time): geçir
iç inside – drink
4
4 When we say, ‘I have
it dog (also for a dishonest man) – push
a dog.’, we do not use
kara land (not sea) black – it, we use köpek:

kat 1 fold 2 storey; floor – add, mix in Köpek/ğim (NOT itim)

var.
kaz goose – dig
kazan cauldron – 1 win 2 earn
kır the countryside grey (hair) break (sth into pieces)
kız girl – get angry
koca husband big –
koru small wood – protect
ocak 1 cooker 2 January – –
pazar Sunday 1 market 2 bazaar –
sağ right (≠left) alive (not dead) –
soy line, lineage – 1 peel (fruit or vegetables)
2 take sb else’s clothes off
3 rob
top 1 ball 2 cannon – – 5
It has got nothing to do
ton
5
1 tone 2 ton – – with ton in tonbalığı
‘tuna fish’.
uç tip (end) – fly 6
The root ün means
6
ünlü vowel famous – sound in the noun, and it
yaş age wet – means fame in the
adjective.
yat yacht – go to bed
yaz summer – write
yüz 1 face 2 hundred – swim
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