Upcoming elections: Perfect for learning some new Turkish words


Easter is approaching and Turks won't be playing crack the egg game (well like they have been playing it until now ;), but rather crack the referendum game. On Sunday, April 16th, 2017, Turkish constitutional referendum will take place. I am not much into the politics and since I am a foreigner I cannot vote either, however, billboards have always been my favourite way to learn some new words. Especially in Istanbul, when one spends many hours stuck in traffic, learning Turkish by reading billboards has proven a very good and funny way for me to learn a few new words or even expressions. And the good thing is that words tend to repeat a lot, so there is no way for you to forget (some) words.


Let's start with the basic words, which are also crucial in this referendum. 

Hayır - No
Evet - Yes

Tek - Only, single
Millet - Nation
Vatan - Homeland, motherland
Oy - a vote
Daima - Forever, always
Karar - Decision
Tercih - choice, preference
Gelecek - Future
Hedef- Goal, target, objective
için - for
Cumhurbaşkan - president
Anayasa - constitution
Yeni- new
Nisan- April
Bizim - our
Sandık- box (where you put your vote)

Many times you will see suffix with nouns: -ımız/imiz/umuz,,,,  This suffix means 'our'. So geleceğimiz - our future; kararımız - our decision.


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