List of replaced loanwords in Turkish

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This selective list of replaced loanwords in Turkish includes Ottoman Turkish loanwords—mostly of Arabic and Persian, but also French, Greek, and Italian origin—which were replaced with their Turkish counterparts suggested by the Turkish Language Association (Turkish: Türk Dil Kurumu - TDK) as a part of the cultural reforms - in the broader framework of Atatürk's Reforms - following the foundation of Republic of Turkey.

The Turkish Language Association (TDK), established by Atatürk in 1932 for conducting research on Turkish language, also undertook the initiative to replace Arabic and Persian loanwords with their Turkish counterparts. The Association succeeded in removing several hundred Arabic words from the language. While most of the words introduced into the language in this process were newly derived from existing Turkish verbal roots, TDK also suggested using old Turkish words which had not been used in the language for centuries.

Older and younger people in Turkey tend to express themselves with different vocabulary. While the generations born up to the 1940s tend to use the old Arabic origin words (even the obsolete ones), the younger generations favor using the new expressions. Some new words are not used as often as their old counterparts or have failed to convey the intrinsic meanings of their old equivalents. In addition, many new words have inevitably taken up somewhat different meanings, and therefore cannot be always interchangeably used with their old words.

Contents

[edit] Lists of replaced loanwords

[edit] Loanwords of Arabic and Persian origin

The list gives the Ottoman Turkish word, the modern spelling of the word in Turkish (as suggested by TDK), the modern Turkish equivalent, and its meaning in English.

Ottoman Turkish word and its transliteration Modern spelling of the Ottoman Turkish word Modern Turkish equivalent Meaning in English Remarks
عضله ˤaḍale adale kas muscle from the verbal version kasmak which means "to oppress"
ˤaff etmek* affetmek bağışlamak to forgive In Turkish, etmek is an auxiliary verb which verbalizes a noun corresponds to the verb "to do" in English. In this case af is the Arabic loan word. Affetmek is still in popular use.
عقد ˤaqd *, مقاوله mukâvele akit, mukavele sözleşme, anlaşma contract
عامل ˤâmil amil etken factor
بارز bâriz * bariz kesin, belli obvious
بسيط basîṭ * basit kolay easy, simple the old word is used for the meaning of simple, while the new word for easy
جنوب cenûb cenup güney south
جواب cevâb * cevap yanıt answer. Cevap is still in popular use
جمله cümle * cümle tümce ** sentence. Cümle is still in popular use.
چهره çehre çehre yüz face
çeşit*,*** çeşit tür kind, variety Çeşit is still in popular use.
دفعه defˤa *, کره kere * defa, kere kez times (repetition) An example is: I did this three times. Both defa and kere are still in popular use.
درد derd * dert ağrı pain Dert changed meaning and is now used as "problem"
دور devr * devir çağ era
دوره devre * devre dönem semester The old word is used in many other meanings, and not used anymore in the meaning of "semester".
ابعاد ebˤâd * ebat boyut dimension, size. ebˤâd is the plural of بعد (buˤd, buut).
ابدى ebedî * ebedî sonsuz forever
اجداد ecdâd ecdat ata ancestry
اجل ecel ecel ölüm (predestined time of) death
اجنبی ecnebî ecnebi el, yabancı stranger, foreigner
امنيت emniyyet * emniyet güvenlik security
اثر eser * eser yapıt production (music, film)
اسير esîr * esir tutsak hostage
اوراق evrâk * evrak belge paper document In Arabic, evrāk is the plural of vārāk; in modern Turkish, evrak is used as a singular.
اول evvel * evvel önce before
فعال faˤâl * faal etkin active
فن fenn *, علم ˤilm * fen, ilim bilim science
فعل fiˤl * fiil eylem verb
غرب garb garp batı west
غير gayr gayri olmayan, başka, dışı non-, other In Arabic, "gayr-i" is a prefix which means non- as in "he is a non-Muslim"; "he is not a Muslim". The term gayrimüslim (non-Muslim) remains the politically correct term in Turkey, used frequently in newspapers etc.
گزيده güzîde *** güzide seçkin élite
hadise * hadise olay event, happening, fact, occurrence
حافظه hâfıza * hafıza bellek memory The new word is commonly used in electronics, like computer memory, i.e. önbellek for RAM
حفريات hafriyyât hafriyat kazı excavation
حق hakk * hak pay portion The old word hak has many other meanings in Turkish.
حقيقت hakîkat * hakikat gerçek reality
حاكم hâkim * hâkim yargıç judge
حال hâl *, وضعيت vazˤiyet * hâl, vaziyet durum situation
خليطه halîta halita alaşım alloy
خراب harâb *, ویران viran *** harap, viran yıkık ruin
حرارت harâret * hararet ısı ¹, sıcaklık ² heat¹, temperature² The old word can be used in both meanings in Turkish language.
حرف harf * harf ses ** letter The new word is homophonic with "sound".
hassas * hassas duyarlı sensitive
حشره haşere * haşere böcek insect
خطا hatâ *, قصور kusûr * hata, kusur yanlış mistake
خاطره hâtıra * hatıra anı memoir
حيات hayât *, عمر ömr * hayat, ömür yaşam life
حيثيت haysiyyet * haysiyet saygınlık respectability
هديه hediyye * hediye armağan gift
هنوز henüz *, *** henüz daha (not) yet
حدت hiddet * hiddet kızgınlık, öfke anger
خلاف hilâf hilaf karşıt opposite
خواجه hôca * hoca öğretmen teacher
خصوص husûs husus konu subject
حضور huzûr * huzur dirlik ** comfort
هجوم hücûm * hücum saldırı attack
حرمت hürmet * hürmet saygı respect
ابتدائی ibtidâ'î iptidai ilkel primary; primitive
افتخار iftihâr * iftihar övünme pride
ihtiyâc ihtiyaç gereksinim need
اختيار ihtiyâr * ihtiyar yaşlı old (age)
احتياط ihtiyât ihtiyat yedek backup, spare
الهام ilhâm * ilham esin inspiration
عمار ˤimâr * imar bayındırlık construction, development
امكان imkân * imkân olanak opportunity, possibility
imlâ * imla yazım spelling
imtihân imtihan sınav, yazılı examination
imtiyâz * imtiyaz ayrıcalık franchise
inhisâr inhisar tekel monopoly
insân * insan kul ** human The new word is used almost only in religious context.
irtifâˤ irtifa yükseklik altitude The old word is only used in aviation, as in "the altitude of the plane".
ارثی irsî * ırsi kalıtsal, kalıtımsal hereditary
اسم ism * isim ad name
istirâhat * istirahat dinlenme rest
استثناء istisnâ' * istisna aykırı exception
iştigâl iştigal uğraş / uğraşı occupation
iştirâk iştirak ortaklık association
izâh * izah açıklama clarification
izdivâc izdivaç evlilik marriage
kâbiliyet * kabiliyet yetenek / yeti talent, ability
kader * kader yazgı ** fate
kâfi kâfi yeter enough
كائنات kâ'inât kâinat evren universe
kalb * kalp yürek heart
kânûn * kanun yasa law
kâfiye * kafiye uyak ** rhyme
كانون اول kânûn-ı evvel aralık December
كانون ثانی kânûn-ı sânî ocak January
كلمه kelime * kelime sözcük word
kısm * kısım bölüm part
kuvvet * kuvvet güç or erk power, force In physics, the old word is used for force and the new word is used for power.
لطيفه lâtîfe latife şaka joke
لسان lisân * lisan dil language Dil means both tongue in the physical sense and language, while "lisan" does only tongue in the language sense.
لغات lûġat lügat sözlük dictionary
لزوملو lüzûmlu * lüzumlu gerekli necessary
معاش maˤâş * maaş aylık salary
maˤbed * mabet tapınak temple
mafsal * mafsal eklem ligament The old word is used for "hinge" (non-anatomical).
mağdûr * mağdur kıygın ** wronged, injured The new word is almost never used.
mahlûk * mahluk yaratık creature Sometimes the plural of the old word ("mahlukat") is used by its singular meaning.
mahsûl * mahsul ürün product The old word is used for the noun "produce".
mahsûs * mahsus özgü peculiar
maksad *, gaye *, hedef * maksat, gaye, hedef amaç or erek goal
maˤkûl * makul uygun, elverişli reasonable
maˤnâ * mâna anlam meaning
مانع mâniˤ * mani engel obstacle
مصرف masraf * masraf gider, harcama cost
مجبور mecbûr * mecbur zorunlu obligation, obligatory Both the new and the old words can be used as either a noun or an adjective.
مجهول mechûl * meçhul bilinmeyen unknown
مفهوم mefhûm * mefhum kavram concept
مهتاب mehtâb *** mehtap ay ışığı moonlight
مکروه mekrûh mekruh iğrenç disgusting The old word also has the religious meaning: Disliked, used by all Muslims.
melez * melez kırma hybrid
مملکت memleket * memleket ülke country The old word is used for "one's native region"
مراسم merâsim * merasim tören ceremony
مرثيه mersiye mersiye ağıt elegy
meselâ mesela örneğin for example
mesele mesele sorun problem
مسعود mesˤûd mesut mutlu happy
مشهور meşhûr * meşhur ünlü famous
مشروبات meşrûbât meşrubat içecek beverage
موقع mevkiˤ مكان mekân * mevki, mekân yer, konum location
ميدان meydân *, ساحه sâha meydan, saha alan ** open area, plaza While the new word is used mainly in mathematics (as in the "area" of a triangle), it is seldom used with the same meaning of the old words except in compound words like havaalanı (airport), not hava meydanı (older version).
ميل meyl meyil eğim, eğilim inclination
mirâs * miras kalıt ** inheritance The new word is almost never used, but its derivatives are in use, such as kalıtımsal (hereditary).
مسافر misâfir * misafir konuk guest
مثال misâl * misal örnek example
مسکين miskîn miskin uyuşuk supine
معامله muˤâmele * muamele davranış treatment, behavior
معما muˤammâ muamma bilmece puzzle, trivia
معاصر muˤâsır muasır çağdaş, güncel contemporary
معاون muˤâvin *, yaver *** muavin, yaver yardımcı helper
معجزه muˤcize * mucize tansık ** miracle The new word is almost never used.
محقق muhakkak* muhakkak kesin(likle) certain(ly)
محاربه muhârebe, حرب harb, جنگ cenk *** muharebe, harp, cenk savaş war
محتويات muhteviyyât muhteviyat içindekiler ingredients
مقدس mukaddes mukaddes kutsal sacred
منتظم muntazam * muntazam düzgün, düzenli tidy
مربع murabbaˤ murabba kare square
معتدل muˤtedil mutedil ılım(lı) moderate(ly)
موفقيت muvaffakıyyet muvaffakiyet başarı success
مبالغه mübalâga mübalağa abartma exaggeration
مجادله mücâdele * mücadele çaba, uğraş endeavor
مدافعه müdâfaˤa müdafaa koruma sustain, protect, defend
مداخله müdâhale * müdahale karışma intervention
مدت müddet * müddet süre duration
مؤسسه mü'essese müessese kurum foundation
مهم mühim * mühim önemli important
مؤمن mü'min mümin inanan, inançlı believer
مناسبت münâsebet * münasebet ilişki relation
مراجعت mürâcaˤat müracaat başvuru application
mürekkeb mürekkep birleşmiş, birleşik composed of The word mürekkep is still used in Turkish in another meaning: ink.
مسابقه müsâbaka müsabaka karşılaşma match, competition
مسامحه müsâmaha müsamaha hoşgörü tolerance
مستهجن müstehcen * müstehcen uygunsuz inappropriate, obscene
مسوده müsvedde * müsvedde taslak draft
مطالعه mütâlâˤa mütalâa düşünce thought
متارکه mütâreke mütareke antlaşma armistice
متفرق müteferrik müteferrik dağınık untidy
متخصص mütehassıs mütehassıs uzman expert
mütevâzî mütevazi alçakgönüllü humble
مزمن müzmin müzmin süreğen chronic The new word is seldom used.
نغمه nağme nağme ezgi melody
nafile * nafile boşuna futile
نصيحت nasîhat * nasihat öğüt advice, counsel
nâzır nazır bakan minister
نفس nefes * nefes soluk breath
nesl * nesil kuşak generation
نتيجه netîce * netice sonuç result
نهايت nihâyet * nihayet son(unda) final(ly)
نكاح nikâh * nikâh düğün wedding In modern Turkish, nikâh is generally used for the wedding ceremony, while düğün is used for the wedding reception or party.
نسبت nisbet * nispet oran ratio
نطق nutk * nutuk söylev speech
پاپوش pabuç pabuç ayakkabı shoe
رأی re'y rey oy vote
رئيس re'îs reis başkan president
rutûbet * rutubet nem moisture
رؤيا rü'ya * rüya düş dream
روزگار rüzgâr *, *** rüzgâr yel wind
ساده sâde *,*** sade yalın plain
سطح sath satıh yüzey surface
سياره sayyâre seyyare araba car
سبب sebeb * sebep neden reason
سلامت selâmet selamet esenlik health, soundness
سما semâ sema gök sky
سنه sene * sene yıl year
صحت sıhhat sıhhat sağlık health
صحبت sohbet * sohbet söyleşi chat The new word is used in somewhat different contexts.
سؤال su'âl sual soru question
صلح sulh sulh barış peace
سکوت sükût sükût sessizlik silence
sürˤat * sürat hız velocity, speed In physics, the old word word is used for speed (scalar) and the new word is used for velocity (vectoral).
şâhid * şahit tanık witness
شرق şark şark doğu east
şart * şart koşul condition
şatafat(lı) şatafat(lı) gösteriş(li) spectacular (noun and adjective)
شمال şimâl şimal kuzey north
şuˤûr * şuur bilinç conscience
şübheli şüpheli sanık suspect; someone charged with an offense
طبيعت ṭabîˤat * tabiat doğa nature
طبيعى ṭabîˤî * tabii doğal natural
taˤbîr, ifâde* tabir, ifade deyiş** narration
طلب ṭaleb * talep istek request, demand, wish
طلبه ṭalebe talebe öğrenci student (plural of طالب ṭâlib, "seeker" [of knowledge])
تعمير taˤmîr *, تعديلات taˤdîlât * tamir, tadilat onarım repair, renovation
tasavvur tasavvur canlandırma, tasarı imagine
tasdîk tasdik onay approve
tashîh tashih düzeltme correction
تصوير tasvîr * tasvir betimleme description
طياره tayyâre tayyare uçak airplane
توصيه tavsiye * tavsiye öneri advice
تعادل teˤâdül teadül denklik equivalence
تعامل teˤâmül teamül tepkime, davranış reaction, behavior
tebessüm tebessüm gülümseme smile
تبديل tebdîl tebdil değişiklik change
تبريك tebrîk * tebrik kutlama congratulate The new word also has the meaning "celebration".
تجلى tecellî tecelli belirme emerge, appear
تجسم tecessüm tecessüm görünme appearance, manifestation
tecrübe * tecrübe deneyim experience
techîzât teçhizat donanım equipment
tedbîr * tedbir önlem precaution
te'essür teessür üzüntü agony
تكامل tekâmül tekamül evrim, başkalaşım maturation, metamorphosis, evolution
تقاعد tekaˤüd tekaüt emeklilik retirement
tekeffül tekeffül yükümlenme standing surety
تكليف teklîf * teklif öneri proposal
tekrar * tekrar yine again
تلاش telâş * telaş tasa, kaygı worry
tenâsüb tenasüp uyum congruity
تنبيه tenbîh * tembih uyarı warning
تنبل tenbel *, *** tembel haylaz lazy
tercîh etmek * tercih etmek yeğlemek to prefer
tercüme * tercüme çeviri translation
تشرين اول teşrîn-i evvel ekim October
تشرين ثانی teşrîn-i sânî kasım November
usûl * usul yöntem method
vaˤd * vaat söz promise (noun)
vakˤâ vaka olay event
vakûr vakur ağır başlı dignified The Turkish expression literally means heavy headed.
vasf * vasıf nitelik feature, quality
vâsi vâsi engin vast
vaz geçmek * vazgeçmek caymak ** to change one's mind; to give up (on something7someone) Here, vaz is the Persian loan word, and geçmek is a Turkish auxiliary verb.
وضيفه vazîfe * vazife görev task, mission
vilâyet* vilayet il province
yekpâre *** yekpare bütün whole
tefsîr * tefsir yorum interpretation, analysis, comment
ضمير zamîr * zamir adıl ** pronoun
زور zôr *, ***,مشكل müşkül zor, müşkül çetin ** difficult

* Old words that are still used in modern Turkish together with their new Turkish counterparts.
** New words that are not as frequently used as the old words.
*** Old words that are of Persian origin.

[edit] Loanwords of other origin

Please note that the list is highly incomplete.

Loanword Turkish equivalent Meaning in English Remarks
alternatif * seçenek alternative (noun)
detay * ayrıntı detail Loanword is of French origin
doktrin * öğreti doctrine Loanword is of French origin
kalite * nitelik quality Loanword is of French origin
karakter * kişilik character, personality Loanword is of French origin
konsonant * ünsüz consonant Loanword is of German origin [1]
kuaför * güzellik salonu/berber beauty/hair salon, barber Loanword is of French origin
kundura * ayakkabı shoe Loanword is of Greek origin
lokanta * aşevi restaurant Loanword is of Italian origin
meridyen * boylam longitude Loanword is of French origin
metot * yöntem method Loanword is of French origin
paralel * enlem latitude Loanword is of Greek origin
otoban * otoyol highway Loanword is of German origin
plaj * kumsal beach Loanword is of French origin
plato * yayla plateau Loanword is of French origin
problem * sorun problem Loanword is of French origin
proje * tasarı project Loanword is of French origin
restoran * aşevi restaurant Loanword is of French origin
spesiyal * özel special Loanword is of French origin
teori * kuram theory Loanword is of French origin
trotu[v]ar * kaldırım pavement / sidewalk Loanword is of French origin (trottoir)
vokal * ünlü vowel Loanword is of German origin [2]

* Words that are still used in modern Turkish together with their new Turkish counterparts.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ TDK Online Dictionary - konsonant
  2. ^ TDK Online Dictionary - vokal

[edit] Sources