Turkish grammar is built on the principle of harmony. To speak and write correctly, you must understand how vowels and consonants influence the suffixes attached to words.

Alphabet Overview

The Turkish alphabet consists of 29 letters:

• Consonants (21): B, C, Ç, D, F, G, Ğ, H, J, K, L, M, N, P, R, S, Ş, T, V, Y, Z.

• Vowels (8): A, E, I, İ, O, Ö, U, Ü.

Vowel Harmony

Vowels determine the sound of almost every suffix in Turkish. They are divided into two main categories:

A- 2-Way Vowel Harmony (A-Type)

Used for plurals (-lar/-ler) and some prepositions (-da/-de).

• Heavy Vowels (A, I, O, U): Followed by A.

• Light Vowels (E, İ, Ö, Ü): Followed by E.

B- 4-Way Vowel Harmony (I-Type)

Used for verb tenses, nominal sentences, and question particles.

• Last vowel (A, I) → suffix uses I.

• Last vowel (E, İ) → suffix uses İ.

• Last vowel (O, U) → suffix uses U.

• Last vowel (Ö, Ü) → suffix uses Ü.

Advanced Vowel Classification

For perfect pronunciation, understand how vowels are shaped:

• Unrounded (A, E, I, İ): Flat lips.

• Rounded (O, Ö, U, Ü): Circular lips.

• Wide (A, E, O, Ö): Open jaw.

• Narrow (I, İ, U, Ü): Partially closed jaw.

Consonant Harmony: The "Fıstıkçı Şahap" Rule

Consonants are divided into Soft and Hard. The hard consonants are memorized using the phrase FıSTıKÇı ŞaHaP:

(F, S, T, K, Ç, Ş, H, P)

Why does it matter? If a word ends in one of these hard consonants, any suffix starting with D (like the preposition "in/at") must change that D to a T.

• Example: Mutfak (Kitchen) + da → Mutfakta (In the kitchen).

These rules might seem overwhelming at first, but with practice, they will become second nature. They are the secret to the melodic flow of the Turkish language.