# Turkish

/ˈtɝkɪʃ/ (US)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/turkish
Updated: 2026-08-08

## Senses

### 1. from Turkey

adjective · CEFR A1

coming from or relating to the country of Turkey, its culture, or its people.

For teachers: relating to the Republic of Turkey, its inhabitants, or their cultural heritage.

- We went to a Turkish restaurant and had some delicious kebabs.
- The Turkish government recently announced new measures to protect historical sites along the Aegean coast.

### 2. the language

noun · CEFR A1

the language spoken in Turkey and Northern Cyprus.

For teachers: the official language of Turkey and one of the official languages of Cyprus, belonging to the Turkic language family.

- She is learning Turkish because she plans to work in Istanbul next year.
- Although he had lived in Ankara for three years, he still found the nuances of Turkish grammar quite challenging.

### 3. Turkic

adjective · CEFR C1 · Academic · Technical

related to the wider group of people and languages across Central Asia that are similar to Turkish.

For teachers: pertaining to the Turkic ethnic groups or the Turkic language family as a whole.

- The museum has a large collection of ancient Turkish art from Central Asia.
- Scholars often debate the exact historical migration patterns of the early Turkish tribes across the Eurasian steppe.

## Examples

- I am learning how to speak Turkish.
- The local community center offers free classes for anyone interested in learning Turkish or exploring the country's history.
- Modern Turkish was significantly reshaped during the early twentieth century through a series of linguistic reforms that replaced the Arabic script with a Latin-based alphabet.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.