Core vocabulary

Turkish numbers: count, understand prices and check quantities

Turkish numbers combine larger units before smaller ones: twenty-three is yirmi üç, literally twenty three. Learn the basic units, then practise the numbers inside a question or order. All prices in this guide are invented for language practice.

• numbers
• prices
• quantities

The building blocks

Keep kırk and dört distinct: forty is not built by adding a predictable ending to four. Say the tens in a mixed order, then switch between a written numeral and its Turkish form.

Build larger numbers

Do not insert ve, meaning and, between these parts. Ordinary counting uses yüz for one hundred and bin for one thousand. For two hundred, place iki before yüz. Start with the largest unit and work down.

Use a number with a noun

• İki bilet, lütfen. — Two tickets, please.
• Üç elma alıyorum. — I am buying three apples.
• İki tane istiyorum. — I want two of them.

After a simple counting number, the counted noun normally remains singular: iki bilet, not iki biletler. Tane is useful when the object is already clear, but it is not required after every number. Keep the item in the sentence until both speakers know what you mean.

Ask and confirm a price

• Bu ne kadar? — How much is this?
• Toplam ne kadar? — How much is it in total?
• Yüz elli lira mı? — Is it one hundred and fifty lira?

Repeat a number as a question if you are unsure. For example, in an invented shop exchange the assistant says yüz elli, and you confirm Yüz elli lira mı? This gives the speaker a chance to correct what you heard. It is a listening task, not a test of bargaining.

Try it without the translation

Write 18, 47, 203 and 1,020 in Turkish. Then ask for four tickets.

Keep practising

Use different recall exercises to practise the numbers. Then try the vocabulary self-check if you want a broader reference point. Its questions are drawn from a small general word bank, so it is not a test of this lesson or a measure of your speaking level.