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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