Just like English Turkish has reduplication of words to intensify meaning. Some of these words are not true words alone, just as English examples pell mell, helter skelter. Turkish also has the added change of meaning with the use of suffixes. Very often these meanings have become special as günden güne - daily, so sometimes it is best not to guess what is being said, but to use a good dictionary to learn these specialized meanings. Reading is one of the best ways to assimilate these kinds of examples, as they appear everywhere, in novels, signs and newspapers. It is all part of the learning process.
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individual words (201)
| Intensified and reduplicated words | |
|---|---|
| abur cubur | in a haphazard manner |
| açık seçik (açık saçik) | clean cut, direct, definite, clear |
| adım adım | step by step, incrementally |
| afal afal | bewildered, stupefied |
| ağır ağır | slow and gradual, ateşte ağır ağır kaynamak, to simmer |
| ahım şahım | beautiful, excellent, favourable (of a thing) |
| akın akın | rushing, surging |
| akça pakça | pretty (white skinned, pale complexion) girl |
| alacalı bulacalı (alaca bulaca) | many coloured, spotted |
| alet edevat | paraphernalia, gadgets |
| alık alık | stupidly, alık alık bakmak, to gawk, to gorpe at |
| allak bullak | shambolic, allak bullak etmek, to jumble up |
| allı pullu | colorful and decked out with spangles, showily dressed |
| anlı şanlı | flamboyant, renowned |
| apul apul | with waddling steps, toddling |
| ardı ardına | back to back |
| aval aval | stupidly (slang) |
| avuç avuç | lavishly, in handfuls |
| bangır bangır | at the top of one's voice, bangır bangır bağırmak, to shout loudly |
| bas bas | at the top of one's voice, bas bas bağırmak, to shout at the top of one's voice |
| başa baş | neck-and-neck, dead equal, par |
| başka başka | one by one, separately, different |
| başka bırı | someone else |
| başlı başına | on one's own, in its own right, independent |
| baştan başa | from top to bottom, end to end, through and through |
| bata çıka | to come down to, with difficulty, to flounder |
| belli belirsiz | uncertain, indistinct |
| bıcı bıcı | bıcı bıcı yapmak, to take a bath (child language) |
| bıngıl bıngıl | fat and bulging, blubbery, quivering like jelly |
| bili bili | chuckie, chuckie (a call for chickens) |
| bire bir | one to one |
| boğum boğum | gnarled |
| boşu boşuna | in vain, needlessly, unnecessarily, uselessly |
| bön bön | vacantly, bön bön bakmak, to look vacantly |
| buram buram | a lot, in clouds of |
| burcu burcu | fragrant smelling |
| büklüm büklüm | curly, in curls |
| cayır cayır | fiercely, burning furiously |
| cazır cazır | burning with a crackly noise |
| cır cır | chattering continuously, a cırcır is a cicada |
| cıvık cıvık | yıvış yıvış |
| cıvıl cıvıl | alive and kicking, frisky |
| cıyak cıyak | with a screech; with a squawk |
| cızır cızır | with a sizzling noise |
| cik cik | with a sizzling or sputtering sound |
| cümbür cemaat | the whole lot, the whole caboodle |
| çalı çırpı | sticks and twigs, brushwood |
| çangıl çungul | with a clatter or a crash |
| çangır çungur | with a clatter or a crash |
| çatır çatır | with a crackling noise, with a crunching noise, by force, willy-nilly, easily, with no difficulty |
| çatır çutur | breaking with a crack or a crunch |
| çeşit çeşit | assorted, varied, all kinds of |
| çıldır çıldır | brightly, with a sparkle, brilliantly |
| çıngır çıngır | tinklingly, with a tinkle or a rattle |
| çıpı çıpı | child's language taking a bath |
| çıt çıt or çıtçıt | a snap fastener, press-stud, nail-clipper |
| çıtı pıtı | petite, dainty |
| çıtır çıtır | with a crackling sound, crispy, crunchy |
| çoluk çocuk | wife and children, household |
| çör çöp or çer çöp | litter, sweepings, trash |
| daldan dala | from branch to branch, always on the move |
| darı darına or dar darına | narrowly, hardly, barely ,narrowly, hardly, barely |
| derin derin | deeply |
| dırdır | continuous grumbling, nagging |
| dişe diş | tit for tat, retaliation (from diş, tooth) |
| diz dize | with knees together |
| doğru düzgün | straight and correct |
| düşe kalka | with great difficulty, struggling along/on |
| eciş bücüş | shapeless, crooked, distorted |
| eğri büğrü | crinkly, contorted, twisted, gnarled |
| el ele | hand in hand, hand by hand, hand to hand |
| elden ele | from hand to hand |
| enine boyuna | in length and breadth, broadly, in length, in depth |
| eski püskü | shabby, ragged, worn-out, threadbare, tattered, tatty |
| estek köstek | so so, that's the way it is |
| ev bark | hose and home, home and family |
| falan feşmekan | and so on, etcetera, blah blah |
| falan filan | and so on, etcetera, blah blah |
| feryat figan | wailing, in squalls |
| fıkır fıkır | lively and flirtatious |
| fır fır | around and around (from fırlamak, to dodge about, pop up) |
| fırıl fırıl | whirling around |
| fırt fırt | bumpety bump |
| fıs fıs | in whispers, whispering |
| fısıl fısıl | in whispers, whispering |
| fısır fısır | with a sizzle or a hissing |
| fış fış | with a swish or a rustle |
| fışır fışır | with a swishing or a rustling |
| fokur fokur | bubblingly hot and noisy, frothing up |
| gani gani | abundantly |
| gıcır gıcır | squeaky clean, brand new |
| gıdım gıdım | inching along, bit by bit |
| gide gide (gitgide) | as it goes, gradually |
| göz göze | eye to eye, to eyeball s.o. |
| göze göz | an eye for an eye, (a tooth for a tooth) |
| güm güm | with loud thumps, bangs, bumps |
| gümbür gümbür | thundering, with a thunder, rumblingly, with a rumble |
| günden güne | from day to day, daily |
| günü gününe | to the very day |
| gürül gürül | with a gurgling sound, in a loud/rich voice |
| güzel güzel | calmly and quietly, peacefully |
| haldır haldır | speedily and noisily |
| hıpur hupur | scoffing food, guzzling |
| harıl harıl | assiduously, diligently, intensely, intensively |
| hava cıva | nonsense, stuff and nonsense, bosh, naff |
| hırıl hırıl | wheezy, rattling |
| hışır hışır | with a rustling sound |
| hop hop | stop!, a warning shout |
| horul horul | snoring loudly |
| hüngür hüngür | crying one's eyes out, sobbing uncontrollably |
| ıvır zıvır | bits and pieces, unimportant details, trifling things |
| içten içe | inwardly, secretly |
| incik boncuk | cheap and tawdry jewelry, baubles, trinkets |
| kapış kapış | greedily, in a mad scramble |
| kara kara | brooding(ly) |
| karınca kararınca | in a small way |
| karış karış | every inch of, inch by inch |
| kaşık kaşık | by/in spoonfuls |
| kerli ferli | (middle-aged or elderly man) who is dignified and dressed to the nines |
| kıkır kıkır | gigglingly, laughing internally |
| kıpır kıpır | fidgety, restless |
| kıtır kıtır | crisp, crackly, crunchy |
| konu komşu | the neighbours, the whole neighbourhood |
| körü körüne | hit or miss, blindly, carelessly |
| kös kös | looking neither right nor left |
| kucak kucak | by the armloads, by the armfuls, in abundance |
| kuçu kuçu | child's language doggie, bow-wow, woof-woof, used to call a dog |
| küt küt | pit a pat, a knocking |
| lami cimi | There are no "buts" about it!, That's the way it's got to be!, And that's final! |
| lapa lapa | (for snow to fall) in big flakes |
| mırıl mırıl | with a mutter, in low, mumbling tones; in a grumbling murmur |
| mışıl mışıl | (sleeping) soundly |
| omuz omuza | shoulder to shoulder, side by side |
| paldır güldür | headlong, pell-mell, helter-skelter |
| parıl parıl | brilliantly, glitteringly, sparklingly |
| pat pat | chug chug |
| peşi peşine | One after another |
| pılı pırtı | worn-out things, junk, rummage |
| pır pır | whirring, Get going!, Make tracks!, Head for the hills |
| pırıl pırıl | squeaky clean, gleaming |
| pış pış | nasty |
| pıt pıt | pit a pat |
| pıtır pıtır | pit a pat, clickety click |
| pisi pisi | child's language pussycat, pussy, kitty, used in calling cats |
| pisi pisine | in vain, uselessly, for nothing |
| poh poh | flattery, fulsome praise |
| pütür pütür | chapped, cracked, or chilblained |
| saati saatine | punctually |
| saçma sapan | stuff and nonsense |
| salkım saçak | hanging down untidily |
| sapır sapır | in great quantities and continuously |
| sere serpe | (moving around) freely, comfortably, (stretched out) at full length, |
| sıcağı sıcağına | while the iron is hot |
| soy sop | family relations, ancestors |
| sus pus | silent and cowering |
| süklüm püklüm | in a crestfallen manner, in a hangdog manner, sheepish |
| sürüm sürüm | to live a life of great misery, be driven from pillar to post |
| sütliman | very still and silent, dead calm |
| süzüm süzüm | to behave very coquettishly (refers to bodily movements and facial expressions) |
| şakır şakır | with a jingle, rattle, or clack. |
| şap şap | kissy kissy |
| şap şup | lip smacking, noisy eating |
| şapır şupur | lip smacking, noisy eating |
| şıkır şıkır | with a jingling, clinking, or clicking noise |
| şıp şıp | a drip drop sound |
| şıpır şıpır | continuous dripping |
| şırıl şırıl | (flowing) with a gentle, continuous splashing |
| şöyle böyle | so so, indifferent, comme ci comme ca |
| tak tak | rat tat tat, knock knock |
| takım takım | in groups, in platoons |
| takır takır | very stiff and dry, very stale food |
| takır tukur | clatter bang wallop, used to indicate a rattling, clattering, or banging noise which is unpleasantly loud |
| tamı tamına | exact, exactly, just so |
| tangır tangır | clatteringly, with a racket |
| tangır tungur | with a rude clatter |
| teke tek | one to one |
| tık tık | tick tock, rat a tat |
| tıkır tıkır | perfectly, without hesitating or faltering, like clockwork, with a regular click |
| tıkış tıkış | crowded |
| tıklım tıklım | Very crowded, packed, jammed (with people), congested |
| tıngır tıngır | with a continual clanging or rattling sound, completely empty |
| tir tir | shivering, trembling |
| tiril tiril | spotlessly clean, gauzy, gossamer like |
| topu topu | all in all, all told, altogether |
| ucu ucuna | ent to end, just about, narrowly |
| uslu uslu | polite(ly) |
| vızır vızır | (working, moving) continually, constantly |
| viyak viyak | squawking |
| yaka paça | forcibly |
| yan yana | alongside, adjacent |
| yana yakıla | complaining(ly) |
| yarım yamalak | sloppy, slipshod |
| yavaş yavaş | slowly, easingly |
| yıldan yıla | annually, year on year |
| zangır zangır | shaking violently, rattling |
| zehir zemberek | very poisonous and bitter, vitriolic |
| zır zır | noisy in an incessant, nerve-racking way |
| zırıl zırıl | incessantly and unpleasantly (of a sound) |
| zırt fırt | at any time whatsoever, whenever one feels like it |
| zırt pırt | at any time whatsoever, whenever one feels like it, every so often |
| zırt zırt | at any time whatsoever, whenever one feels like it, every so often |