Turkish - English Dictionary
/bir/
Bir is the Turkish word for the English number one, and also functions as an indefinite article (a/an) and as a determiner meaning some or every depending on context.
| # | Type | Turkish | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | numeral | bir cardinal number 1 | one |
| 2 | noun | bir digit or figure | one |
| 3 | article | bir indefinite article | an |
| 4 | determiner | bir certain, unspecified or unknown | some |
| 5 | numeral | bir | one |
| 6 | adjective | bir | Used to emphasize a particular quality about something |
| 7 | adverb | bir | only, solely, merely |
| 8 | adverb | bir | briefly, for a minute, momentarily, quickly |
| 9 | adverb | bir | When (only used for momentary verbs) |
| 10 | determiner | bir | a, an |
| 11 | determiner | bir | every (denotes equal spacing) |
| 12 | pronoun | bir | some |
| 13 | noun | bir | mono |
| 14 | noun | bir | single |
Bir elma yedim.
I ate an apple.
Bir dakika bekle.
Wait a moment.
Bir gün seni ziyaret edeceğim.
One day I will visit you.
Bir covers multiple grammatical roles: as a numeral it means one, as an article it corresponds to a/an, and as an adverb it can mean only or momentarily. Context determines which sense applies. Turkish learners should note that bir is often omitted before nouns in indefinite contexts, similar to how English sometimes drops the article.
Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Audio: Wikimedia Commons