What is a common mistake with “Bir, iki, üç, dört, beş”?

✗ iki çaylar → ✓ iki çay: No plural after numbers.

Phrase 61 of 500

How to say “One, two, three, four, five” in Turkish

Q: How is “Bir, iki, üç, dört, beş” used in a conversation?

Satıcı: Kaç tane? (How many?) Ben: Üç tane, lütfen. (Three, please.)

Bir, iki, üç, dört, beş.

beer ee·kee ewch durrt behsh

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Meaning: One, two, three, four, five.
Pronunciation: beer ee·kee ewch durrt behsh

What “Bir, iki, üç, dört, beş” really means

Bir, iki, üç, dört, beş are the numbers one to five. Turkish numbers are very regular: once you know 1 to 10 and the tens, you can build any number. Bir also means "a/an": bir çay = a tea.

💬 Example dialogues

SatıcıKaç tane?How many?

BenÜç tane, lütfen.Three, please.

GarsonKaç kişisiniz?How many people are you?

BenBeş kişiyiz.We are five.

🚫 When NOT to use it

After a number Turkish nouns stay singular: "üç çay", never "üç çaylar". Do not say "bir" with a plural noun.

🇹🇷 Culture note

Turks count on their fingers starting from the thumb, and the hand gesture for "a little" is fingers pinched together.

⚠️ Common mistakes

✗ iki çaylar → ✓ iki çayNo plural after numbers.

Culture tip

Numbers are super regular: on (10) + bir (1) = on bir (11). And bir dakika (one minute) can mean anything from one minute to an hour!

Letters to watch in this sentence

Ç ç like ch in “chair”
Ş ş like sh in “shoe”
İ i like ee in “see”
Ö ö like ur in “fur”, lips rounded (German ö)
Ü ü say “ee” with rounded lips (French u)