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Absolute Beginner Season 1
Learn how to greet people and use personal suffixes
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Word Image
Essential Idioms That Will Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker
11 words
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Word Image
Essential Idioms That Will Make You Sound Like a Native Speaker
11 words
ağzında bakla ıslanmamak
(p)
not being able to keep a secret
Sana hiçbir sırrımı söylemem çünkü ağzında bakla ıslanmıyor.
I will not tell you any of my secrets because you always fail to keep secrets.
damarına basmak
(p)
agitate someone about a sensitive subject
Annem damarına basılmadığı sürece sakin bir insandır.
My mother is a calm person, unless you make her angry about a sensitive subject.
içi içine sığmamak
(p)
be very excited
Yarın geleceğini duyduğumdan beri içim içime sığmıyor.
I'm too happy to contain my feelings since I've heard that you will come tomorrow.
Çamur atmak
(p)
make false accusations on purpose
Tanımadığın insanlara çamur atmayı bırak!
Stop making false accusations about people you don't know!
Zıvanadan çıkmak
(p)
lose control because of anger
Hakareti duyunca zıvanadan çıktım.
I lost control in anger when I heard the insult.
Yan çizmek
(p)
evade a task or responsibility
Cumartesi herkesin toplantıya katılması gerekiyor, yaz çizmeye kalkmayın!
Everyone must join the meeting on Saturday, don't try to evade!
sinek avlamak
(p)
have no customers
Dükkana 500000 lira yatırım yapıldı ama ne yazık ki sinek avlıyor.
500,000 Liras was invested into this shop but unfortunately it has no customers.
Bindiği dalı kesmek
(p)
shoot at your own foot
En büyük destekçisiyle tartışarak bindiği dalıkesmiş oldu.
He shot at his own leg by having an argument with his biggest supporter.
Ödü patlamak
(p)
suddenly get scared of something
Çığlığı duyunca ödüm koptu, kötü bir şey oldu sandım.
When I heard the scream I got really scared, I thought something bad had happened.
nal toplamak
(p)
lag behind in a competition
Bu takım her sene turnuvalarda nal topluyor.
This team lags behind in tournaments every year.
nalları dikmek
(p)
die
Dedemin bütün arkadaşları çoktan nalları dikti.
All the friends of my grandfather has already kicked the bucket.
23 Comments
TurkishClass101.com
2019-11-02 23:33:41

Hello, learners, here is the list of the above idioms / their literal English translations!

Ağzında bakla ıslanmamak / not let a fava bean get wet in one's mouth

Çamur atmak / throw mud

Damarına basmak / press on one's vein

İçi içine sığmamak / not be able to fit one's "insides" inside

Zıvanadan çıkmak / get out of mortise joint

Yan çizmek / manoeuvre to sideline

Sinek avlamak / hunt mosquitoes

Bindiği dalı kesmek / cut the branch that you are sitting on

Ödü patlamak / have one's gall bladder blast

Nal toplamak / pick up horeshoes

Nalları dikmek / turn the horseshoes up

Alena
2025-07-16 15:35:13

Thank you! I've never heard any of these phrases. It's fun that some turkish literal version is close to Russian.

PDF Workbook would be nice.

Eva filia Magdalenae
2025-07-14 08:20:08

Interesting about these literal translations (although I understood some of them by myself). We too have sayings such as "to throw mud at someone", "to saw the branch you're sitting on" in Polish.

TurkishClass101.com
2023-07-25 12:55:20

Holly merhaba

Bazıları gerçekten çok komik. Özellikle düz anlamlarını düşündüğün zaman.

Ben de "damarına basmak" tabirini çok komik buluyorum.

Sevgiler

Seda

Team TurkishClass101.com

TurkishClass101.com
2023-07-25 12:54:04

Merhaba Michael ve Ghada,

Deyimlerle ilgili merak ettiklerinizi bana sorabilirsiniz.

Sevgiler

Seda

Team TurkishClass101.com

TurkishClass101.com
2023-07-21 17:27:10

Hello Michael and Ghada,

Thank you for showing interest in the workbook PDF!

Our team will proceed with your requests.

If you ever have any questions regarding your studies, please let us know.

Sincerely,

Ali

Team TurkishClass101.com

Melinda
2023-07-17 18:28:55

Merhaba, deyimleri PDF olarak alabilir miyim?

holly goddard
2023-07-17 15:28:35

the last idiom is my fave due to my sense of humour

Ghada Elmaghraby
2023-07-16 14:29:57

May I ask for the workbook for these idioms please? Thank you

michael olson
2023-07-16 06:11:55

PDF Workbook would be nice.

TurkishClass101.com
2022-11-17 15:14:41

Dwight Merhaba

Exactly! You are right on the spot on literally and idiomatically meaning. The only thing is "kurt means wolf", "Kürt means Kurdish" so be careful which one to use. It can be offending to say "Kürt" in this sense.

Sevgiler

Seda

Team TurkishClass101.com

Dwight
2022-11-13 03:53:50

I also heard "Hangi dağda kürt öldü?" - literally "on which mountain did the wolf die?" idiomatically means "to what do I owe this unexpected honor?" (semi-sarcastic). Is that true?

Thank you!

TurkishClass101.com
2022-07-02 15:23:30

Lindis merhaba

Bence de... Çok güzel tabirler!

Sevgiler

Seda

Team TurkishClass101.com

TurkishClass101.com
2022-07-02 15:22:36

Loraine merhaba

Rica ederiz! Ne demek :)

Sevgiler

Seda

Team TurkishClass101.com

Lindis Skipperud
2022-06-27 17:23:50

Çok güzel! 😁

Loraine Sundberg
2022-06-27 03:31:31

tesekkur ederim

TurkishClass101.com
2021-11-23 17:22:44

Ariane ve Amina!

Nasılsınız? Thank you for commenting!

Feel free to ask anything... 😄

Sevgiler

Seda

Team TurkishClass101.com

Amina Assbabou
2021-11-22 01:44:59

❤️

Ariane
2021-11-22 01:29:10

Thanks for commenting!

Teşekkür ederim

TurkishClass101.com
2020-11-26 16:27:59

Merhaba Jaechun,

Biz teşekkür ederiz! Kolay gelsin...❤️

Sevgiler

Seda

Team TurkishClass101.com

Jaechun Lee
2020-11-23 06:20:55

Teşekkül ederım

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