The Time, Seasons, Months, Days, Weather, Numbers

A Time Vocabulary

saniye - second
an - moment
anbean - moment-by-moment, gradually
dakika - minute
saat (plural: saatler - hours) - hour
gün - day
günbegün - day-by-day, gradually
hafta - week
ay - month [also - moon]
yıl or sene (arab.) - year - (you will hear both of these words in general use)
zaman - time
vakit (vakti..) - time as a particular occasion
defa - time (as an event or occasion)
kere - time (as an event, occasion or point in time)
kez - a point in time

The word "time"

zaman - time - this word is the main one in use for - "time, occasion"
ne zaman? - what time?, when?
kaç zaman - how long?, how much time?
zamandan zamana [zaman-dan zaman-a] - from time to time
her zaman - all the time, every time, always
her ne zaman - whenever vakit (vakti)- point in time, occasion
Note: vakit - loses final vowel when suffixed with a vowel.

See Nouns losing internal vowel

Some examples

vakit (vakti)- point in time, occasion
Boş, vaktimiz var mı? - Have we got time to spare?
vaktim yok, vaktim kalmadı - I haven't got time

kere - time, point in time
dört kere - four times
Onu, beş kere yaptım - I did it five times

kez - time, point in time - This is a provincialism, but is also used regularly in modern daily speech.
üç kez - three times
her kez - always
bu kez - this time

What time is it?

All about the - to the o'clock, past the o'clock - and - at the o'clock - usages in Turkish to tell the time. Turkish requires or demands different/alternative forms when you want to tell the time.
There there are basically four different forms to tell the time.

1. Sentence structure
2. Clause structure
3. Short analog form
4. Digital Form

Now let us classify the suffixes for each structure

Structure: It is # min. to # o'clock. -e var
Saat iki'ye on (dakika) var - It is ten (minutes) to two

Structure: It is # min. past # o'clock -i geçiyor
Saat iki'yi on (dakika) geçiyor. - It is ten (minutes) past two.

Structure: At the time that.At # min. to # o'clock. -e kala
Saat iki'ye on (dakika) kala. - At ten to two.

Structure: At the time that.At #min. past # o'clock. -i geçe
Saat iki'yi on (dakika) geçe. - At ten past two.

The Sentence Structure can only be used with the suffix - -ken - while.. - inside another sentence as the examples below show - Saat kaç acaba? - What time is it please? - Saat Yedi'yi çeyrek geçiyor.

Some examples

Ne zaman gelirsin? - When (at what time) will you come?
Saat yedi'yi çeyrek geçiyor'da gelirim - (WRONG!)
Saat yedi'yi çeyrek geçiyorken gelirim - (TRUE with -ken)
Saat yedi'yi çeyrek geçe gelirim - (CLAUSE form)
or -
Saat altı'ya beş var'da gelirim - (WRONG!)
Saat altı'ya beş varken gelirim - (TRUE with -ken)
Saat altı'ya beş kala gelirim - (CLAUSE form)

Any of the 3 forms (except for the sentence structure) can be used within a sentence. Let us see some examples
Saat 7'yi çeyrek geçe gelirim - (Clause)
Saat 7 çeyrekte gelirim - (Analog)
Saat 7:15 (yedi onbeş) te gelirim - (Digital)

When you use the sentence structure, then it is used like this...
Saat 7'yi çeyrek geçerken gelirim. - I will arrive at a quarter past seven. [Lit: I will arrive (come) as (while) a quarter is passing 7 o'clock.]

Some times of day

Saying - How long for?, Since when?

Ne iş yaparsınız? - What is your job? - [In general, so uses the Simple Present Tense]
Öğretmenim. - I am a teacher.
Dört yıldır öğretmenim. - I have been a teacher for 4 years. - [ You explain how many years you have been a teacher.]
İki bin üçten beri öğretmenim. - I have been a teacher since 2003. - [You explain how long since you became a teacher.]
Dünden beri hastayım. - I have been ill since yesterday.
Pazar Gününden /Pazardan beri evdeyim. - I have been at home since Sunday.

Saying - since

-meyeli/-mayalı oldu/oluyor. - It is/ It was a period time since..
Ben, sinemaya gitmeyeli 3 ay oldu/oluyor. - It was/is three months since I have been to the cinema.
Birbirimizi görmeyeli beş yıl oldu/oluyor. - It is five years since we have seen/are seeing each other.
Onlar evleneli sadece/yalnızca 2 ay oldu/oluyor. - It is just two months since they were/are married.

Some ways that state the time of an event

çoktan, bile, zaten - already, besides

Hâlâ öğle yemeğini yedin mi? - Have you eaten your lunch yet?
Ooo, çoktan yedim. - Oh, I have already eaten.
Yedim bile. - I have already eaten.
Sanırım bir şeyler yemek istiyor musun?. - Do you want something to eat.?
Bana bir şey getirme. - Do not bring me anything.
Ben yedim zaten. - Besides, I have already eaten.

Yeni, şimdi, henüz - just

Hasan,lütfen banyoya girme. - Hasan, please don't go into the bathroom.
Yeni/şimdi/henüz temizledim. - I have just cleaned (it).
Kuruması gerek/lazım. Tamam mı? - It needs to dry. OK?
Bana 100 lira ödünç verir misin Ayşe? - Can you lend me 100 Tl Ayşe?
Üzgünüm.. - [or Kusura bakma..] - veremem. - I am sorry.. I can't (give).
Daha yeni/şimdi faturaları ödedim. - I have just paid the bills.

Daha, henüz, hâlâ - yet

Daha/henüz ödevini bitirmedin mi? - Haven't/have you finished your homework yet?
Hayır, daha bitirmedim. Henüz değil.. - No, I haven't finished yet. Not yet..
Daha gelmediler. - They haven't come yet.

şimdiye kadar, şu ana kadar - So far, up to now, until now

Bu kış şimdiye kadar/şu ana kadar kar yağmadı. - It has not snowed so far this winter.
Bugün şimdiye kadar/ şu ana kadar hiçbir şey yemedik. - We have not eaten anything so far today.

ilk - the (very) first

Bu ilk kez araba sürüşüm/İlk kez araba sürdüm. - This is the first time I have driven a car.
Bu, son iki saatte içtiğin beşinci kahve. - This is the fifth cup of coffee you have drunk in the last two hours.
Son beş saatte iki fincan kahve içtin. - You have drunk two cups of coffee in the last five hours.

ilk - means - the very first one, whereas - birinci - means - the first of a series:
Dünyanın ilk insan Adam adlı'dı - The world's first man was called Adam
Birinci yarış başlamak üzeredir. - The first race is about to begin.

hayatımda - ever in my life

hayatında, hayatınızda - ever in your life (familiar = hayat-ın-da / formal = hayat-ınız-da)
onun hayatında - ever in his life [hayat-ı-n-da = in his life]
hayatımızda - ever in our life
hayatlarında - ever in their life
Bu hayatımda okuduğum en sıkıcı kitap. - This is the most boring book I have ever read.
Bu hayatımda içinde bulunduğum en zor durum. - This is the most difficult situation I have ever been in.
Hayatımda tanıştığım en konuşkan/geveze insan. - He is the most talkative person I have met in my life.

Have you ever been to?

There are two methods to translate this in Turkish - (1) The Formal Method - and - (2) The Familiar/Informal method.
(1) Formal: -de / -da / -te / -ta bulunmak - to be (found) in/on at a place
Hiç Ankara' da bulundun mu? - Have you ever been to Ankara? - [Literature - formal]
(2) Informal: -a/ -ya, -e/-ye gitmek - to go to a place
Hiç Ankara' ya gittin mi? - Have you ever been to Ankara [Colloquial Speech - informal)

once, twice, several times.

bir kez, bir defa, bir kere - once
iki kez, iki defa, iki kere - twice
birçok kez, defa, kere - several times
hiç - ever [in positive sentences]
hiç - never [in negative sentences]

Neredeydin? - [or colloquial - Nerdeydin?] - Where have you been? / Where were you?
Have you ever been to Antalya? - Hiç Antalya'da bulundun mu?
Have you ever been to Antalya? - Hiç Antalya'ya gittin mi?
Yes,I have been there once/twice. - Evet, bir defa/iki defa/ orada bulundum.
Yes,I have been there many times. - Evet, bir çok kere (bir çok kez/ bir çok defa) oraya gittim.
No, I have not been/never been there. - Yo, Antalya'ya hiç gitmedim.
No, I have not been/never been there. - Yo, Antalya'da hiç bulunmadım.
Yo is a gentle conversational way of saying "No". It is not so strong as using Hayır - No. It may be a contraction of "yok" - "there is not"

Seasons and the Weather

Names of the Months

January - ocak   February - şubat   March - mart   April - nisan   May - mayıs    June - haziran   July - temmuz   August - ağustos   September - eylül   October - ekim   November - kasım   December - aralık

Names of the Months (and Days of the Week) are usually written without a capital letter in Turkish

The Weekday Names

• Sunday - pazar - (Lit: market)
• Monday - pazartesi - (Lit: after Sunday)
• Tuesday - salı - (undefined)
• Wednesday - çarşamba - (Lit: 4 days after Sabbath - from Persian)
  An idiom: Bu iş, çarşamba pazar gibi. - This job is a complete mess up. [lit: This job is like a Wednesday Market.]
• Thursday - perşembe - (Lit: 5 days after Sabbath - from Persian)
• Friday - cuma - (Lit: reunion - related to Persian/Arabic)
• Saturday - cumartesi - (Lit: after Friday)

The Seasons of the Year- Yıl Mevsimi

• ilkbahar - [also bahar is sometimes used] - spring
• yaz - summer
• sonbahar - (also - güz) - autumn or fall (American usage)
• kış - winter

When saying in the summer Turkish says yazın or in the winter then the word kışın is used. This ending -in is an old Instrumental Case which is no longer used much in day to day speaking other than these examples. For in the spring and in the autumn, the Static Condition (Locative) Suffix is used - sonbaharda and ilkbaharda. Very often the simple word bahar can supplant either ilkbahar or sonbahar - it depends on the choice of the speaker.

The Cardinal Points - Dört Yön

• Kuzey - North
• Güney - South
• Doğu - East
• Bati - West

A Weather Vocabulary

Some daily expressions about the weather

Ne güzel bir gün! - What a lovely day!
Hava yarın nasıl olacak? - What will the weather be like tomorrow?
Yine güneşli, fakat biraz rüzgarlı. - It's sunny again, but a little windy.
Kaç derece? - What is the temperature?
Hava çok sıcak. . - The weather is very hot.
Neredeyse 31 derece. - Nearly 31°C (degree Celsius).
Erzurumda kar yağacağını düşünüyor musun? - Do you think it will snow in Erzurum?
Sanmıyorum. Kar için erken. - I don't think so. It is early to snow.
Fırtına olacağını düşünüyor musun? - Do you think there will be a storm?
Sanmıyorum. - I don't think so.
Ama Ağrı'da kar yağıyor. - But it is snowing in Ağrı.
Orada kar yağışı ne zaman durur? - When will it stop snowing up there?
Yakında durur. - It will stop soon.
Yağmur mu başlayacak? - Will it start to rain?
Evet, birazdan yağmur başlayacak gibi. - Yes, looks like rain soon.
Şemsiyeye ihtiyacım olur mu? - Do I need an umbrella?
Sana şemsiyeni yanına almanı öneririm. - I suggest you to get your umbrella with you.
Ne berbat hava! Saat başı değişiyor. - What an awful weather! It changes hourly.
Yağmur mu yağıyor? - Is it raining?
Evet, yağıyor. - Yes, it is (raining).

Cardinal Numbers - one,two

  Cardinal Numbers 1 to 10 - (Listen to mp3)

Some Notes on Numbers

• yüz (yüz also means - face or reason)
• Cardinal numbers are followed by singular nouns. iki ev - two houses, beş yüz araba - five-hundred cars, kırk ağaç - forty trees
• beş yüz yirmi üç bin yedi yüz elli sekiz - 523,758
• Which may also be written in official papers and banks without any spaces - as: beşyüzyirmiüçbinyediyüzellisekiz - 523,758
• When we in English state a small general numerical amount we will say, for instance "Two or three eggs".   However Turkish will say - üç bes yurmurta - three or five eggs
• In Turkish the number kırk - forty is used to signify an uncountable amount. Kırk yılda bir - Once in forty years is equivalent to "Once in a blue moon" in English.

Ordinal Numbers - first, second, etc.

Fractions and percentage

yarım (noun) - half
yarım elma - a half an apple
yarı (adj.) - half yarı elma - a half apple
elmanın yarısı - the apple half
buçuk - half - [an hour, a kilo, a serving]
çeyrek - quarter of - [an hour, a kilo, a serving]
bir - one, #1 - [And is also the indefinite article - a or an]
üçte iki [üç-te iki] - two-thirds - [lit: three-in two] - written as 3/2 in Turkish.
yüzde yirmibeş - twenty-five percent - [Lit: one hundred-in 25] - written as %25 in Turkish

Distributive Numbers - One each, two each, three each