Turkish TV series by level: which are easiest to understand by ear¶
Turkish romantic comedies are the easiest to follow by ear: everyday topics, modern speech, the same phrases in every episode. Dramas are harder, and historical series are the hardest: their language is stylized to sound old. Below are eight series rated on clear criteria, plus a breakdown of what you'll hear in almost every episode.
How I rated the difficulty¶
Levels often differ from site to site, because nobody explains what they're based on. I looked at five things:
- Speed and interruptions. Do people take turns or talk all at once?
- Vocabulary. Work, family, dates — or medicine, business, politics.
- Dialect and style. Standard Istanbul speech, provincial dialects or language stylized to sound old.
- Slang. Youth speech and colloquial contractions.
- Episode length. Two hours without a break wear you out more than 45 minutes.
The rating below is a guide, not a verdict. Check the first 10 minutes yourself with the checklist at the end of the article.
The table: from easy to hard¶
| Series | Genre | What helps | What gets in the way | Episode | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erkenci Kuş (Daydreamer, 2018–2019) | romantic comedy | work at an agency, family, neighbors; running jokes | very long episodes | ~2 h | B1 |
| Aşk Laftan Anlamaz (Love Doesn't Understand Words, 2016–2017) | office romantic comedy | easy-to-follow situations, calm pace | office terms in work scenes | ~2 h | B1 |
| Sen Çal Kapımı (Love Is in the Air, 2020–2021) | romantic comedy | office, friends, family; everyday vocabulary | quick-fire bickering between the leads | ~2 h | B1 |
| Kiraz Mevsimi (Cherry Season, 2014–2015) | youth romantic comedy | modern colloquial language | youth slang, lots of characters | ~2 h | B1–B2 |
| Aşk 101 (Love 101, Netflix, 2020–2021) | teen drama | short episodes | the students talk fast, slang | ~45 min | B1–B2 |
| Kara Sevda (Endless Love, 2015–2017) | drama | emotions are clear without words | wider vocabulary: business, court, family conflicts | ~2 h | B2 |
| Bir Başkadır (Ethos, Netflix, 2020) | drama | short episodes | dialects, quiet "real-life" speech, religious vocabulary | ~45–60 min | B2–C1 |
| Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Magnificent Century, 2011–2014) | historical | — | palace forms of address, archaic words | ~2 h | C1 |
In 2017 Kara Sevda won the International Emmy Award for Best Telenovela. Muhteşem Yüzyıl is beautiful, but for modern Turkish it's better left for later.
What you'll hear in almost every episode¶
These words and forms come up in every series in the table. Once you recognize them by ear, understanding gets noticeably easier.
Forms of address: canım, abi, abla¶
Turks rarely address each other just by name. Canım means "dear", literally "my soul": it's what people say to family, close friends and loved ones. Abi and abla mean "older brother" and "older sister", but they're also used with strangers a bit older than you: a shop assistant, a driver, a neighbor.
Listen to how it sounds in Interview with Emma, our game for learning languages. Emma is leaving to study, and her mom says canım to her as they say goodbye:
Mom: Ben de seni seviyorum, canım. Bir şey olursa hemen ara beni.
Translation
I love you too, dear. If anything happens, call me right away.
Tamam and other filler words¶
Tamam means "okay, fine", the most common word in everyday scenes. Repeating tamam, tamam means "yes, I get it": with a touch of impatience, like "yeah, yeah" in English. Right next to it you'll almost always hear hadi ("come on"), yani ("I mean, well") and kusura bakma ("sorry, no offense").
Emma: Tamam, tamam. Dikkatli olacağım. Seni seviyorum. Gitmem lazım.
Translation
Okay, okay. I'll be careful. Love you. I have to go.
Long words: listen and count¶
Turkish sticks suffix after suffix onto the root, and by ear one long word is easy to mistake for two or three. Listen to the mom's question once and count the words.
Answer
Kampüsünü kendi başına bulabilecek misin? — "Will you be able to find your campus on your own?" Five words. Kampüs-ün-ü is "your campus" (in the accusative case), bul-abil-ecek is "will be able to find", and misin is the question particle: it's written separately but sounds fused with the verb.
How it's written and how it's said¶
In everyday speech, common words get shortened. Subtitles usually show the full form, so without practice you won't recognize it by ear.
| Written | Said | Means |
|---|---|---|
| ne yapıyorsun | napıyosun | what are you doing? |
| ne oldu | noldu | what happened? |
| geliyorum | geliyom | I'm coming, be right there |
| bilmiyorum | bilmiyom | I don't know |
| yapacağım | yapıcam | I'll do it |
In conversation the ending -yorum often sounds like -yom, and -acağım like -ıcam. Once you know this rule, you recognize dozens of verbs at once.
How to study with a two-hour episode¶
- Split the episode into chunks of 15–20 minutes. One chunk, one session.
- First viewing with Turkish subtitles. Get what's going on and mark the unfamiliar words.
- Work through 5–10 words and phrases from the chunk. Not all of them, just the ones that keep coming up.
- Rewatch the chunk without stopping. Usually you understand a lot more already.
- Subtitles in your own language — only if a scene makes no sense at all.
How to check a series in 10 minutes¶
Play the first 10 minutes of the first episode with Turkish subtitles:
- Is it clear who the characters are and what's going on?
- No more than one or two unfamiliar words per line?
- Do you want to keep watching?
Three "yes" answers and the series is yours. If you keep losing the thread, pick a series higher up in the table or start with an easier step: real Turkish speech you can pause after every line.
Turkish that waits for you. In Interview with Emma every line is voiced, any word can be translated with a tap, and you can replay a line as many times as you need. Everyday dialogue, like in the series, just without two-hour episodes.
Why series are hard to follow even when you know the words: How to understand TV series by ear.
Questions and answers¶
Can you learn Turkish from Turkish TV series?¶
Yes, if you're already at an intermediate level and the series matches it. Romantic comedies with everyday dialogue work better than historical dramas: the speech is modern and the same phrases come up in every episode.
What is the easiest Turkish TV series for language learners?¶
From our list, the easiest are the office and family romantic comedies: Erkenci Kuş (Daydreamer), Aşk Laftan Anlamaz (Love Doesn't Understand Words), Sen Çal Kapımı (Love Is in the Air). Everyday vocabulary, easy-to-follow situations, lots of repetition. Muhteşem Yüzyıl (Magnificent Century) is one of the hardest: the language is stylized to sound old.
Why are Turkish TV episodes so long?¶
An episode on Turkish TV usually runs over two hours. That's inconvenient for studying: split an episode into chunks of 15–20 minutes. Netflix series are shorter, around 45 minutes, so they're easier to start with.
What does napıyosun mean?¶
It's the colloquial pronunciation of ne yapıyorsun, "what are you doing?". In everyday speech Turks shorten common words: ne oldu sounds like noldu, geliyorum like geliyom. Subtitles usually show the full form, so without practice you won't recognize it by ear.