How To Address Family & Relatives In Turkish
Unsplash: Timothy Wolff
Family culture
in Turkish communities is big and important. And this explains why it's not unusual to have
families
across different generations living together under one roof. But with the shifts and migrations
happening, this sense of family structure is slowly transforming. For example, families living in
urban areas are more likely to prioritize their nuclear or immediate family. Whereas families living
in rural areas are more likely to rely on their extended family for help and other things. Despite
the changes and differences, the significance of
family culture
in Turkish communities is still going strong and here to stay.
To reiterate, family in Turkish culture is considered the pillar of life and culture. No matter how
big or small it is. Family is family. And it must be nurtured,
loved, cared for. And, it would be a lot of help if one knows how to talk about family and relatives in
Turkish.
- family: aile (ay-leh)
- parents: ebeveynler (eh-beh-veyn-lair)
- grandmother: büyükanne (beu-yeu-kan-neh)
- grandfather: büyükbaba (beu-yeuk-ba-ba)
- wife: eş (esh)
- husband: koca (ko-ja)
- godmother: vaftiz anne (vaf-tiz an-ne)
- godfather: vaftiz babası (vaf-tiz ba-ba-suh)
- mother: anne (an-ne)
- father: baba (ba-ba)
- children: çocuklar (cho-jook-lar)
- son: oğul (oh-ool)
- daughter: kız (kuz)
- sister: kız kardeş (kuz-kar-desh)
- brother: erkek kardeş (er-kek kar-desh)
- cousin: kuzen (koo-zen)
- niece: yeğen (yeh-en)
- nephew: yeğen (yeh-en)
- mother-in-law: kayınvalide (kai-uhn-va-lee-deh)
- father-in-law: kayınpeder (kai-uhn-peh-der)