[Originally posted on 06/10/15 on the Duolingo Turkish for English speakers forum by AlexinNotTurkey]
Consonants often change at the end of words depending on whether they are followed by a vowel or a consonant. If they are followed by a vowel, they will generally change into voiced consonants. For example:
This means:
- p → b
- t → d
- k → ğ
- ç → c
This rule in general does not affect single syllable words, but there are exceptions of course. You will even come across exceptions to vowel harmony in loanwords from Arabic, Farsi, and French. These must be learned as you encounter them. In the meantime, happy learning and kolay gelsin.
[Additional from Ektoraskan]
One easy way to remember which letters change is learning the word “ketçap”. It means “ketchup” and it’s a useful word too!
The consonants of “Ketçap” are K T Ç P.
They become voiced and turn into Ğ (or sometimes G) D C B.
[Updated by Danika_Dakika starting 03/01/22]
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