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LIST OF REPLACED LOANWORDS IN TURKISH

This selective 'list of replaced loanwords in Turkish' includes Ottoman Turkish loanwords—mostly of Arabic and Persian, but also French, Greek, and Italian origin—which were replaced with their Turkish counterparts suggested by the Turkish Language Association (Turkish: Türk Dil Kurumu - TDK) as a part of the cultural reforms - in the broader framework of Atatürk's Reforms - following the foundation of Republic of Turkey.
The Turkish Language Association (TDK), established by Atatürk in 1932 for conducting research on Turkish language, also undertook the initiative to replace Arabic and Persian loanwords with their Turkish counterparts. The Association succeeded in removing several hundred Arabic words from the language. While most of the words introduced into the language in this process were newly derived from existing Turkish verbal roots, TDK also suggested using old Turkish words which had not been used in the language for centuries.
Older and younger people in Turkey tend to express themselves with different vocabulary. While the generations born up to the 1940s tend to use the old Arabic origin words (even the obsolete ones), the younger generations favor using the new expressions. Some new words are not used as often as their old counterparts or have failed to convey the intrinsic meanings of their old equivalents. In addition, many new words have inevitably taken up somewhat different meanings, and therefore cannot be always interchangeably used with their old words.

Contents
Lists of replaced loanwords
Loanwords of Persian and Arabic origin
Loanwords of other origin
See also
Sources

Lists of replaced loanwords


Loanwords of Persian and Arabic origin

The list gives the Ottoman Turkish word, the modern spelling of the word in Turkish (as suggested by TDK), the modern Turkish equivalent, and its meaning in English.
Ottoman Turkish word and its transliteration Modern spelling of the Ottoman Turkish word Modern Turkish equivalent Meaning in English Remarks
'عضله' adale ''kas'' muscle from the verbal version ''kasmak'' which means "to oppress"
ˤaff etmek
affetmek ''bağışlamak'' to forgive In Turkish, ''etmek'' is an auxiliary verb which verbalizes a noun corresponds to the verb "to do" in English. In this case ''af'' is the Arabic loan word. Affetmek is still in popular use.
'عقد'
★ , 'مقاوله' mukâvele
akit, mukavele ''sözleşme'', ''anlaşma'' contract
'عامل' amil ''etmen'' (for individuals) factor
'بارز' bâriz
bariz ''kesin'', ''belli'' obvious
'بسيط'
basit ''kolay'' easy, simple
'جنوب' cenûb cenup ''güney'' south
'جواب' cevâb
cevap ''yanıt'' answer. Cevap is still in popular use
'جمله' cümle
cümle ''tümce'' '

★ '
sentence. Cümle is still in popular use.
'چهره' çehre çehre ''yüz'' face
çeşit
★ ,


çeşit ''tür'' kind, variety Çeşit is still in popular use.
'دفعه'
★ , 'کره' kere
defa, kere ''kez'' times (repetition) An example is: I did this three ''times''. Both defa and kere are still in popular use.
'درد' derd
dert ''ağrı'' pain Dert changed meaning and is now used as "problem"
'دور' devr
devir ''çağ'' era
'دوره' devre
devre ''dönem'' semester The old word is used in many other meanings, and not used anymore in the meaning of "semester".
'ابعاد'
ebat ''boyut'' dimension, size. is the plural of بعد (, ''buut'').
'ابدى' ebedî
ebedî ''sonsuz'' forever
'اجداد' ecdâd ecdat ''ata'' ancestry
'اجل' ecel ecel ''ölüm'' (predestined time of) death
'اجنبی' ecnebî ecnebi ''el'', ''yabancı'' stranger, foreigner
'امنيت' emniyyet
emniyet ''güvenlik'' security
'اثر' eser
eser ''yapıt'' production (music, film)
'اسير' esîr
esir ''tutsak'' hostage
'اوراق' evrâk
evrak ''belge'' paper document In Arabic, ''evrāk'' is the plural of ''vārāk''; in modern Turkish, ''evrak'' is used as a singular.
'اول' evvel
evvel ''önce'' before
'فعال'
faal ''etkin'' active
'فن' fenn
★ , 'علم' ˤilm
fen, ilim ''bilim'' science
'فعل' fiˤl
fiil ''eylem'' verb
'غرب' garb garp ''batı'' west
'غير' gayr gayri ''olmayan'', ''başka'', ''dışı'' non-, other In Arabic, "gayr-i" is a prefix which means non- as in "he is a ''non''-Muslim"; "he is ''not'' a Muslim".
'گزيده' güzîde


güzide ''seçkin'' élite
hadise '
★ '
hadise ''olay'' event, happening, fact, occurrence
'حافظه' hâfıza
hafıza ''bellek'' memory The new word is commonly used in electronics, like computer memory, i.e. ''önbellek'' for RAM
'حفريات' hafriyyât hafriyat ''kazı'' excavation
'حق' hakk
hak ''pay'' portion The old word ''hak'' has many other meanings in Turkish.
'حقيقت' hakîkat
hakikat ''gerçek'' reality
'حاكم' hâkim
hâkim ''yargıç'' judge
'حال' hâl
★ , 'وضعيت' vazˤiyet
hâl, vaziyet ''durum'' situation
'خليطه' halîta halita ''alaşım'' alloy
'خراب' harâb
★ , 'ویران' viran


harap, viran ''yıkık'' ruin
'حرارت' harâret
hararet ''ısı'' ¹, ''sıcaklık'' ² heat¹, temperature² The old word can be used in both meanings in Turkish language.
'حرف' harf
harf ''ses''

letter The new word is homophonic with "sound".
hassas
hassas ''duyarlı'' sensitive
'حشره' haşere
haşere ''böcek'' insect
'خطا' hatâ
★ , 'قصور' kusûr
hata, kusur ''yanlış'' mistake
'خاطره' hâtıra
hatıra ''anı'' memoir
'حيات' hayât
★ , 'عمر' ömr
hayat, ömür ''yaşam'' life
'حيثيت' haysiyyet
haysiyet ''saygınlık'' respectability
'هديه' hediyye
hediye ''armağan'' gift
'هنوز' henüz
★ ,


henüz ''daha'' (not) yet
'حدت' hiddet
hiddet ''kızgınlık'', ''öfke'' anger
'خلاف' hilâf hilaf ''karşıt'' opposite
'خواجه' hôca
hoca ''öğretmen'' teacher
'خصوص' husûs husus ''konu'' subject
'حضور' huzûr
huzur ''dirlik''

comfort
'هجوم' hücûm
hücum ''saldırı'' attack
'حرمت' hürmet
hürmet ''saygı'' respect
'ابتدائی' ibtidâ'î iptidai ''ilkel'' primary; primitive
'افتخار' iftihâr
iftihar ''övünme'' pride
ihtiyâc ihtiyaç ''gereksinme'' need
'اختيار' ihtiyâr
ihtiyar ''yaşlı'' old (age)
'احتياط' ihtiyât ihtiyat ''yedek'' backup, spare
'الهام' ilhâm
ilham ''esin'' inspiration
'عمار' ˤimâr
imar ''bayındırlık'' construction, development
'امكان' imkân
imkân ''olanak'' opportunity, possibility
imlâ
imla ''yazım'' spelling
imtihân imtihan ''sınav'', ''yazılı'' examination
imtiyâz
imtiyaz ''ayrıcalık'' franchise
inhisâr inhisar ''tekel'' monopoly
insân
insan ''kul''

human The new word is used almost only in religious context.
irtifâˤ irtifa ''yükseklik'' altitude The old word is only used in aviation, as in "the ''altitude'' of the plane".
'ارثی' irsî
ırsi ''kalıtsal'', ''kalıtımsal'' hereditary
'اسم' ism
isim ''ad'' name
istirâhat
istirahat ''dinlenme'' rest
'استثناء' istisnâ'
istisna ''aykırı'' exception
iştigâl iştigal ''uğraş'' / ''uğraşı'' occupation
iştirâk iştirak ''ortaklık'' association
izâh
izah ''açıklama'' clarification
izdivâc izdivaç ''evlilik'' marriage
kâbiliyet
kabiliyet ''yetenek'' / ''yeti'' talent, ability
kader
kader ''yazgı''

fate
kâfi kâfi ''yeter'' enough
'كائنات' kâ'inât kâinat ''evren'' universe
kalb
kalp ''yürek'' heart
kânûn
kanun ''yasa'' law
kâfiye
kafiye ''uyak'' '

★ '
rhyme
'كانون اول' kânûn-ı evvel ''aralık'' December
'كانون ثانی' kânûn-ı sânî ''ocak'' January
'كلمه' kelime
kelime ''sözcük'' word
kısm
kısım ''bölüm'' part
kuvvet
kuvvet ''güç'' or ''erk'' power, force In physics, the old word is used for ''force'' and the new word is used for ''power''.
'لطيفه' lâtîfe latife ''şaka'' joke
'لسان' lisân
lisan ''dil'' language
'لغات' lûġat lügat ''sözlük'' dictionary
'لزوملو' lüzûmlu
lüzumlu ''gerekli'' necessary
'معاش' maˤâş
maaş ''aylık'' salary
maˤbed
mabet ''tapınak'' temple
mafsal
mafsal ''eklem'' ligament The old word is used for "hinge" (non-anatomical).
mağdûr
mağdur ''kıygın''

wronged, injured The new word is almost never used.
mahlûk
mahluk ''yaratık'' creature Sometimes the plural of the old word ("mahlukat") is used by its singular meaning.
mahsûl
mahsul ''ürün'' product The old word is used for the noun "produce".
mahsûs
mahsus ''özgü'' peculiar
maksad
★ , gaye
★ , hedef
maksat, gaye, hedef ''amaç'' or ''erek'' goal
maˤkûl
makul ''uygun'', ''elverişli'' reasonable

mâna ''anlam'' meaning
'مانع'
mani ''engel'' obstacle
'مصرف' masraf
masraf ''gider'', ''harcama'' cost
'مجبور' mecbûr
mecbur ''zorunlu'' obligation, obligatory Both the new and the old words can be used as either a noun or an adjective.
'مجهول' mechûl
meçhul ''bilinmeyen'' unknown
'مفهوم' mefhûm
mefhum ''kavram'' concept
'مهتاب' mehtâb


mehtap ''ay ışığı'' moonlight
'مکروه' mekrûh mekruh ''iğrenç'' disgusting The old word also has the religious meaning: ''forbidden''.
melez
melez ''kırma'' hybrid
'مملکت' memleket
memleket ''ülke'' country The old word is used for "one's native region"
'مراسم' merâsim
merasim ''tören'' ceremony
'مرثيه' mersiye mersiye ''ağıt'' elegy
meselâ mesela ''örneğin'' for example
mesele mesele ''sorun'' problem
'مسعود' mesˤûd mesut ''mutlu'' happy
'مشهور' meşhûr '
★ '
meşhur ''ünlü'' famous
'مشروبات' meşrûbât meşrubat ''içecek'' beverage
'موقع' 'مكان' mekân '
★ '
mevki, mekân ''yer'', ''konum'' location
'ميدان' meydân
★ , 'ساحه' sâha
meydan, saha ''alan''

open area, plaza While the new word is used mainly in mathematics (as in the "area" of a triangle), it is seldom used with the same meaning of the old words except in compound words like ''havaalanı'' (airport), not ''hava meydanı'' (older version).
'ميل' meyl meyil ''eğim, eğilim'' inclination
mirâs
miras ''kalıt''

inheritance The new word is almost never used, but its derivatives are in use, such as ''kalıtımsal'' (hereditary).
'مسافر' misâfir
misafir ''konuk'' guest
'مثال' misâl
misal ''örnek'' example
'مسکين' miskîn miskin ''uyuşuk'' supine
'معامله' muˤâmele
muamele ''davranış'' treatment, behavior
'معما' muˤammâ muamma ''bilmece'' puzzle, trivia
'معاصر' muˤâsır muasır ''çağdaş'', ''güncel'' contemporary
'معاون' muˤâvin
★ , yaver


muavin, yaver ''yardımcı'' helper
'معجزه' muˤcize
mucize ''tansık''

miracle The new word is almost never used.
'محقق' muhakkak
muhakkak ''kesin(likle)'' certain(ly)
'محاربه' muhârebe, 'حرب' harb, 'جنگ' cenk '


★ '
muharebe, harp, cenk ''savaş'' war
'محتويات' muhteviyyât muhteviyat ''içindekiler'' ingredients
'مقدس' mukaddes mukaddes ''kutsal'' sacred
'منتظم' muntazam
muntazam ''düzgün'', ''düzenli'' tidy
'مربع' murabbaˤ murabba ''kare'' square
'معتدل' muˤtedil mutedil ''ılım(lı)'' moderate(ly)
'موفقيت' muvaffakıyyet muvaffakiyet ''başarı'' success
'مبالغه' mübalâga mübalağa ''abartma'' exaggeration
'مجادله' mücâdele
mücadele ''çaba'', ''uğraş'' endeavor
'مدافعه' müdâfaˤa müdafaa ''koruma'' sustain, protect, defend
'مداخله' müdâhale
müdahale ''karışma'' intervention
'مدت' müddet
müddet ''süre'' duration
'مؤسسه' mü'essese müessese ''kurum'' foundation
'مهم' mühim
mühim ''önemli'' important
'مؤمن' mü'min mümin ''inanan'', ''inançlı'' believer
'مناسبت' münâsebet
münasebet ''ilişki'' relation
'مراجعت' müracaat ''başvuru'' application
mürekkeb mürekkep ''birleşmiş'', ''birleşik'' composed of The word ''mürekkep'' is still used in Turkish in another meaning: ''ink''.
'مسابقه' müsâbaka müsabaka ''karşılaşma'' match, competition
'مسامحه' müsâmaha müsamaha ''hoşgörü'' tolerance
'مستهجن ' müstehcen
müstehcen ''uygunsuz'' inappropriate, obscene
'مسوده' müsvedde
müsvedde ''taslak'' draft
'مطالعه' mütâlâˤa mütalâa ''düşünce'' thought
'متارکه' mütâreke mütareke ''antlaşma'' armistice
'متفرق' müteferrik müteferrik ''dağınık'' untidy
'متخصص' mütehassıs mütehassıs ''uzman'' expert
mütevâzî mütevazi ''alçakgönüllü'' humble
'مزمن' müzmin müzmin ''süreğen'' chronic The new word is seldom used.
'نغمه' nağme nağme ''ezgi'' melody
nafile
nafile ''boşuna'' futile
'نصيحت' nasîhat
nasihat ''öğüt'' advice, counsel
nâzır nazır ''bakan'' minister
'نفس' nefes
nefes ''soluk'' breath
nesl
nesil ''kuşak'' generation
'نتيجه' netîce
netice ''sonuç'' result
'نهايت' nihâyet
nihayet ''son(unda)'' final(ly)
'نكاح' nikâh
nikâh ''düğün'' wedding In modern Turkish, ''nikâh'' is generally used for the wedding ceremony, while ''düğün'' is used for the wedding reception or party.
'نسبت' nisbet
nispet ''oran'' ratio
'نطق' nutk
nutuk ''söylev'' speech
'پاپوش' pabuç pabuç ''ayakkabı'' shoe
'رأی' re'y rey ''oy'' vote
'رئيس' re'îs reis ''başkan'' president
rutûbet
rutubet ''nem'' moisture
'رؤيا ' rü'ya
rüya ''düş'' dream
'روزگار' rüzgâr
★ ,


rüzgâr ''yel'' wind
'ساده' sâde
★ ,


sade ''yalın'' plain
'سطح' sath satıh ''yüzey'' surface
'سياره' sayyâre seyyare ''araba'' car
'سبب' sebeb
sebep ''neden'' reason
'سلامت' selâmet selamet ''esenlik'' health, soundness
'سما' semâ sema ''gök'' sky
'سنه' sene
sene ''yıl'' year
'صحت' sıhhat sıhhat ''sağlık'' health
'صحبت' sohbet '
★ '
sohbet ''söyleşi'' chat The new word is used in somewhat different contexts.
'سؤال' su'âl sual ''soru'' question
'صلح' sulh sulh ''barış'' peace
'سکوت' sükût sükût ''sessizlik'' silence

sürat ''hız'' velocity, speed In physics, the old word word is used for ''speed'' (scalar) and the new word is used for ''velocity'' (vectoral).
şâhid
şahit ''tanık'' witness
'شرق' şark şark ''doğu'' east
şart
şart ''koşul'' condition
şatafat(lı) şatafat(lı) ''gösteriş(li)'' spectacular (noun and adjective)
'شمال' şimâl şimal ''kuzey'' north

şuur ''bilinç'' conscience
şübheli şüpheli ''sanık'' suspect; someone charged with an offense
'طبيعت' ṭabîˤat
tabiat ''doğa'' nature
'طبيعى' ṭabîˤî
tabii ''doğal'' natural
taˤbîr, ifâde
tabir, ifade ''deyiş''

narration
'طلب' ṭaleb '
★ '
talep ''istek'' request, demand, wish
'طلبه' ṭalebe talebe ''öğrenci'' student (plural of طالب ṭâlib, "seeker" [of knowledge])
'تعمير' taˤmîr
★ , 'تعديلات' taˤdîlât
tamir, tadilat ''onarım'' repair, renovation
tasavvur tasavvur ''canlandırma'', ''tasarı'' imagine
tasdîk tasdik ''onay'' approve
tashîh tashih ''düzeltme'' correction
'تصوير' tasvîr
tasvir ''betimleme'' description
'طياره' tayyâre tayyare ''uçak'' airplane
'توصيه' tavsiye
tavsiye ''öneri'' advice
'تعادل' teˤâdül teadül ''denklik'' equivalence
'تعامل' teˤâmül teamül ''tepkime, davranış'' reaction, behavior
tebessüm tebessüm ''gülümseme'' smile
'تبديل' tebdîl tebdil ''değişiklik'' change
'تبريك' tebrîk
tebrik ''kutlama'' congratulate The new word also has the meaning "celebration".
'تجلى' tecellî tecelli ''belirme'' emerge, appear
'تجسم' tecessüm tecessüm ''görünme'' appearance, manifestation
tecrübe
tecrübe ''deneyim'' experience
techîzât teçhizat ''donanım'' equipment
tedbîr
tedbir ''önlem'' precaution
te'essür teessür ''üzüntü'' agony
'تكامل' tekâmül tekamül ''evrim'', ''başkalaşım'' maturation, metamorphosis, evolution
'تقاعد' tekaˤüd tekaüt ''emeklilik'' retirement
tekeffül tekeffül ''yükümlenme'' standing surety
'تكليف' teklîf
teklif ''öneri'' proposal
'تلاش' telâş
telaş ''tasa'', ''kaygı'' worry
tenâsüb tenasüp ''uyum'' congruity
'تنبيه' tenbîh
tembih ''uyarı'' warning
'تنبل' tenbel
★ ,


tembel ''haylaz'' lazy
tercîh etmek
tercih etmek ''yeğlemek'' to prefer
tercüme
tercüme ''çeviri'' translation
'تشرين اول' teşrîn-i evvel ''ekim'' October
'تشرين ثانی' teşrîn-i sânî ''kasım'' November
usûl
usul ''yöntem'' method
vaˤd
vaat ''söz'' promise (noun)
vakˤâ vaka ''olay'' event
vakûr vakur ''ağır başlı'' dignified The Turkish expression literally means ''heavy headed''.
vasf
vasıf ''nitelik'' feature, quality
vâsi vâsi ''engin'' vast
vaz geçmek
vaz geçmek ''caymak''

to change one's mind Here, ''vaz'' is the Arabic loan word, and ''geçmek'' is a Turkish auxiliary verb.
'وضيفه' vazîfe
vazife ''görev'' task, mission
vilâyet
vilayet ''il'' province
yekpâre


yekpare ''bütün'' whole
tefsîr
tefsir ''yorum'' interpretation, analysis, comment
'ضمير' zamîr
zamir ''adıl''

pronoun
'زور' zôr
★ ,


★ ,مشكل müşkül
zor, müşkül ''çetin''

difficult


Old words that are still used in modern Turkish together with their new Turkish counterparts.



New words that are not as frequently used as the old words.




Old words that are of Persian origin.
Loanwords of other origin

Please note that the list is highly incomplete.
Loanword Turkish equivalent Meaning in English Remarks
alternatif
''seçenek'' alternative (noun)
detay
''ayrıntı'' detail Loanword is of French origin
doktrin
''öğreti'' doctrine Loanword is of French origin
kalite
''nitelik'' quality Loanword is of French origin
karakter
''kişilik '' character, personality Loanword is of French origin
konsonant
''ünsüz'' consonant Loanword is of German origin
kuaför
''güzellik salonu/berber'' beauty/hair salon, barber Loanword is of French origin
kundura
''ayakkabı'' shoe Loanword is of Greek origin
lokanta
''aşevi'' restaurant Loanword is of Italian origin
meridyen
''boylam'' longitude Loanword is of French origin
metot
''yöntem'' method Loanword is of French origin
paralel
''enlem'' latitude Loanword is of Greek origin
otoban
''otoyol'' highway Loanword is of German origin
plaj
''kumsal'' beach Loanword is of French origin
plato
''yayla'' plateau Loanword is of French origin
problem
''sorun'' problem Loanword is of French origin
proje
''tasarı'' project Loanword is of French origin
restoran
''aşevi'' restaurant Loanword is of French origin
spesiyal
''özel'' special Loanword is of French origin
teori
''kuram'' theory Loanword is of French origin
trotu[v]ar
''kaldırım'' pavement / sidewalk Loanword is of French origin (''trottoir'')
vokal
''ünlü'' vowel Loanword is of German origin


Words that are still used in modern Turkish together with their new Turkish counterparts.

See also



Turkish language

Turkish Language Association

Atatürk's Reforms

Sources



Yazım Kılavuzu, the official spelling guide of the Turkish language on TDK website

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List of replaced loanwords in Turkish Travel Deals