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Turkish	English	Examples, supplements, and explanations
K
K2 [Godwin Austen Doğru]	[the mountain peak known as] "K2" [aka Godwin Austen Peak]	...located in Hindistan. Though the K2 Peak is not as well-known as Mount Everest, it is still one of the world's 10 highest mountain peaks at 28,250 feet (8,611 m). First ascended in 1954 by the Italian Mountain Climbing Team of Desio, Lacedelli, and Campagnoni. Continue Reading "Turkish mountain climbers set to ascend Mount Everest"...»
Kabil	Kabul [the capital city of Afganistan]
kaçak	[a] fugitive contraband [goods] illegal, illegally done [a] leak, leakage Good news for smugglers! Left click for image enlargement.	kaçakçı; [a] smuggler, [a] dealer in contraband goods kaçakçılık; smuggling, dealing in contraband goods In the news: 19 March 2004...The days of contraband goods in Turkey are back! DYP shadow-Minister Mehmet Akbay decried the AKP's recent heavy tax increases on 'products of sin' saying, "The government is returning us to the 1980's [during Turgut Özal's moralizing days as Prime Minister]. By jacking up taxes on tobacco and alcohol products beyond reason, the government is encouraging dealers in contraband goods. And the extra income, that the government expects to gain, will go to criminals instead. See article at left. Also see more recent news from 20 February 2005, together with a famous Turkish idiom...
kadrolaşma	cronyism (Also...LB indicates 'clientelism' as an alternative meaning.)	...is the practice of showing favoritism to friends, especially by their appointment to political posts with little regard for suitability. In the news: 10 May 2003...Tension is mounting between Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmet Necdet Sezer and Başbakan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Since the AKP's November 2002 election triumph, President Sezer has blocked 181 of Prime Minister Erdoğan's political appointments -- intended to pack the civil government with his cronies. In reply, Erdoğan has strongly criticized Sezer for Sezer's own cronyism during his time as President.
Kafkasya (Kafkasyalı)	[the] Caucasus, Caucasia, Caucasian, of the Caucasus (a Caucasian person/thing)	Kafkas Dağları; [the] Caucasus Mountains Map of the Caucasus Region and environs in Turkish Click! Only on CD
Kahire	Cairo [the capital city of Egypt]
[el] Kaida/Kayda	[al] Qaida/Qaeda	Also seen as: al/el Kaida/Kaide/Kayda [Terörist] Örgütü; The al Qaida/Qaeda* [Terrorist] Organization* See related 'Black Comedy' Cartoon...
Kainat Güzeli Yarışma	[the] Miss Universe Beauty Pageant/Contest	In the news: 30 May 2002, Oxana Fedorova (Miss Russia) takes the crown at ceremonies held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Contestents from Panama and China placed second and third repectively. Seventy-four countries sent representatives.
Kalküta	Calcutta [India]
Kamboç or Kamboçya (Kamboçlı, Khmer Dili)	Cambodia (a Cambodian person/thing, the language of Cambodia)
Kamerun (Kamerunlu, Fransızca, İngilizce)	The Republic of Cameroon (a Cameroonian person/thing, the languages of Cameroon [French, English])	A finalist country for the 2002 Football/Soccer World Cup tournament...
kamuoyu	public opinion	kamuoyu yoklaması; public opinion poll
Kanada (Kanadalı)	Canada (a Canadian person/thing)
kanat açıklığı	[the] wing-span [of an airplane]
Kançenjonga	[the mountain peak] Kanchenjunga	...located in Nepal. It is one of the world's 10 highest mountain peaks at 28,165 feet (8,598 m). First climbed in 1955 by the British -- Brown, Band, Streather, Hardie...
kanıt	evidence, proof
kaos	chaos	Kaos Teorisi; Chaos Theory
kapkaççı Compare with gaspçi...	a purse (or handbag) snatcher; any 'snatch-and-run' thief one who makes excessive profits from shoddy work Student Snatch Victims Robbed of more than their cash... Left click for enlarged photo article.	In the News... Instances of 'purse (and handbag) snatching' in Turkey have increased dramatically in recent years -- despite repeated pubic awareness campaigns and beefed up police vigilance. In big cities (especially Istanbul), small well-organized gangs (of both genders) often work together -- even cruising in cars, violently snatching purses (and handbags) through their car windows, then speeding off before the terrified victim knows what's hit her/him. Sociologists have tried to blame the trend on the high unemployment rate (which hovered around 15 percent in 2003-2004, despite rosy claims of an economic recovery by the AKP ruling government). But unemployment in Turkey has been high before -- without a significant increase in crimes of this nature, among the usually forbearing Turkish people. So, something gloomier is at the root of the problem, and big-city tourists should be just a little more careful in guarding their personal belongings -- in their living quarters and on the street. Once a rarity in Turkey, 'purse (and handbag) snatching' may be here to stay (at least in the big Turkish cities and popular resort towns) -- because a small segment of shiftless youth (from almost every walk of life) seems to have adopted it as an easy way to 'live off the land' without having to work. The fact that they might be caught and jailed appears only to add to the 'thrill of the game' for these contemptible sneak thieves. Gözcü Gazetesi, 21 June 2004 (See photo-article at left. Click here for a related Turkish idiom example. Or, click following for other 'Troubles in Turkish Paradise'.)
kara	land	kara kuvvetleri; [the] army, land forces Kara Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı; [the] Turkish Army Command kara cephesi; [the] army front lines
kara kutu	'black box' [of an airplane]
Karadağ (Karadağlı) A country of independent people who live in mountainous territory on a short, scenic coastline bordering the Adriatic Sea. Formerly part of Yugoslavia -- and before that it was part of the Ottoman Empire... thus, a significant portion of its people speak Turkish.	Montenegro (a Montenegran/Montenegrin person/thing)	Karadağ/Montenegro Click! Thanks to B. C. Biega and the University of Texas at Austin.
Karadeniz	[the] Black Sea
karargah	headquarters
Karayib Denizi	[the] Caribbean Sea
Karayipler	[the] Caribbean Islands
kasırga	tornado	In the news: 10 August 2003 -- A tornado in Florida damaged 500 homes, 200 trailers, and left 21,000 people without electricity.
Katar (Katarlı, Arapça)	Qatar (a Qatari person/thing, the language of Qatar [Arabic]) Qatar provides a home (and financial backing) to the world-wide influential Arab cable-news TV channel, El Cezire...	...is an independent emirate on the west coast of the Persian Gulf. It occupies a desert peninsula that extends from the Arabian mainland north of eastern Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.₆₆ The yearly per-capita income of $16.5 million ! provides the financing to transform the once-backward Qatar into a regional power. A staging area for the 1991 Gulf War, Qatar is now [March 2003] at the center of a geopolitical storm. US war-planes stationed at the El-Udeyd airbase are capable of striking Iraq.₉₇ Left click for image enlargement.
Katma Değer Vergisi (KDV)	Value Added Tax (VAT)
Kayalık Dağları	[the] Rocky Mountains
Kazablanka Kenti	Casablanca [Morocco]	...is the largest city in Morocco and a major north-African port. Established in 1515 by the Portuguese and occupied by the French 1907-56, it is a transportation and tourist center with a mixed population of Europeans, Asians, and Africans.₈₃ In the news: 17 May 2003...Al Qaida suicide-bombers take at least 40 civilian lives (and 10 of their own) in a simultaneous attack on four 'soft targets' -- the Belgian consulate, a Jewish alliance association, a Spanish culture-center, and a hotel restaurant.
Kazakistan (Kazak, Kazakça)	[the] Republic of Kazakstan (a Kazak person/thing, the Kazak language)	It is bounded on the northwest and north by Russia, on the east by China, and on the south by Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and the Aral Sea; the Caspian Sea bounds Kazakstan to the southwest.₆₆
Kaz Dağı or Kaz Dağları	The magical Mount Ida of classical mythology	Kaz Dağı/Mount Ida passes east to west along the Gulf of Edremit's northern Aegean coast -- in the scenic western part of Balıkesir province. Mount Ida was home to Cybele, the Mother Goddess. High on its summit, says the myth, Gods gathered to watch (and determine the outcome) of the Battle of Troy. Today, the mountain bears the simple name Kaz Dağı/Dağları, meaning Goose Mountain(s). The region is popular among vacationing mountaineers, hikers, and nature lovers. Thanks to Recep Peker Tanıtkan* (www.diplomat.com.tr).*
Kemalism	the modernizing and secularizing, natonalistic political-philosophy of Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk), President of Turkey 1923-1938 Atatürk marches for Women Rights in the early 1930s	In accordance with his political-philosophy, Atatürk abolished the Ottoman Sultanate in 1922 and the Caliphate (the Islamic religious authority) in 1924. He also abolished Sharia law (replacing it with a Swiss legal model), imposed Western dress (by banning the fez in 1925), promoted European customs, banned polygamy and promoted women's education (1926), encouraged westernized industrialization, replaced Arabic with the Latin alphabet (1928), and in 1934 enacted Women's Voting Rights for the first time in Islamic-country history. In keeping with Atatürk's original philosophy, a modern version of Kemalism still thrives today in Turkey.₉₄
Kerbela	Karbala	...is [still] an active trade center in Iraq, 55 miles SSW of Baghdad, on the the edge of the desert, W of the Hindiya River. It is a holy city for Muslims of the Shiite branch, containing the shrine of Husain/Hüysein (the son of Ali) who was slain there in 680 A.D. and commemorated in the Muharram.₅₀ For location detail, see map of Iraq in Turkish.
Kerkük	Kirkuk [Iraq]	In the news: 10-11 April 2003, Oil-rich Kirkuk falls to coalition forces in the 'Iragi Freedom' conflict. Kurdish 'peshmurga' supporting the coalition are soon replaced by US army forces inside the city -- to allay Turkish concerns of Kurdish 'ambitions' in the region. In the news: 30 August 2003, There have been deadly ethnic clashes between Turcoman and Kurdish factions recently -- after Kurds destroyed a resurrected Turcoman monument. Not to be outdone, the Shiite Muslim faction got into the act yesterday during Holy Friday prayers -- when 5,000 more of them than usual showed up at the Hüseyn Mosque, Kirkuk's largest. The 5,000 had been summoned by Shiite leaders from various Iraqi cities to give a menacing warning to American forces (who they blamed for showing favoritism to the Kurds) and to the Kurds, themselves. In the Imam's sermon to the believers he said, "Kirkuk is not in Kurdistan, it is in Iraq. Mehdi's Army is ready to die." (Mehdi is the twelfth Iman of the Shiites who is expected to return in due time to purify Islam and to deliver the faithful.) The 'Mehdi Army' slogan was picked up and chanted by the congregation which had overflowed onto the streets -- and several handgun-shots were fired into the air. But after the Imam calmed emotions and warned followers not to march, they left the mosque environs without incident -- and the 5,000 'extras' returned to the cities they'd come from.₁₁₈
keskin nişancı	[a] sniper, sharpshooter, dead shot, marksman	The now-convicted 'Beltway Snipers' 17-year-old illegal immigrant John Lee Malvo and 41-year-old Nation of Islam member John Allen Muhammad -- now formally charged with ten random sniper-murders in the vicinity of the Washington, D.C. Beltway during three horrific weeks in October 2002. [Reportedly, Muhammad provided 'security' for the Million Man March in 1995.]
keşif	reconnaissance
Keşmir	Kashmir, the southern section of the state of Jammu and Kashmir	Jammu and Kashmir is a state in northwestern India that is part of a larger region of the same name that has been in dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since the partition of India in 1947. The Indian administered portion (Kashmir) is bounded on the west and north by the Pakistani administered portion (Jammu), on the northeast by the Chinese-held portion of Jammu and Kashmir, and on the southeast and south by the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab. Kashmir occupies the southern half of Jammu and Kashmir and holds three-quarters of the region's population and the majority of its arable land. Its summer capital is Srinagar, and its winter capital is Jammu.₆₆ In the News: 2 October 2001, terriost suicide bomber attacks state assembly building killing at least 35 people. In the News: 16 October 2001, India shells Pakastani positions -- one civilian dead, twenty-five wounded.
Kıbrıs (Kıbrıslı)	Cyprus (a Cypriot)	Kıbrıs Rum kesimi; Greek portion of Cyprus See also KKTC and GKRY. Map of divided Cyprus in Turkish Left click for image enlargement.
Kırgızistan (Kırgız, Kırgızca)	[the] Republic of Kyrgyzstan or Kirghizstan (a Kyrgyz or Kirghiz person/thing, the Kyrgyz or Kirghiz language)
Kırım (Kırımlı)	Crimea (a Crimean person/thing)	Also see further information on CD.
kırmızı bereliler	[the] 'red' berets	Highly-trained British paratoopers...
kısır döngü	an unproductive vicious circle ineffective circular reasoning
kıta	continent	Avrupa Kıtası, the European Continent Amerika Kıtası, the American Continent Afrika Kıtası, the African Continent
Kızıldeniz	[the] Red Sea
Kızılay	Similar to the 'Red Cross' charitable organization, but serves in Muslim countries...
Kızılhaç	[the] 'Red Cross' charitable organization
kızılötesi sensör	infra-red sensor
kimlik	identification card
kimya fabrikası	[a] chemical factory
kimyasal silahlar	chemical weapons
kişi başına	per person, per capita	kişi başına gelir; per capita income
kitle imha silahları	weapons of mass destruction
Kitabı mukaddes	[the] Bible	Also see İncil.
KKTC [Kuzey Kıbrıs Türk Cumhuriyeti]	Northern Cyprus Turkish Republic [which is under Turkish influence] In April 2005, Rauf Denktaş relinquished his long hold on the KKTC's Presidency. He was replaced by Mehmet Ali Talat.	Also see GKRY. Click below for map of divided Cyprus.
koalisyon	[a] coalition	koalisyon güçleri; coalition forces koalisyon birlikleri; coalition forces
Kodori Geçidi	The Kodori Pass [in Abkhazia]
kolordu	army corps
Komünizm Dağı	Communism Peak	...located in the former SSCB. Though Communism Peak is not as formidable as Mount Everest, it is still one of the world's 10 highest mountain peaks -- at 24,590 feet (7,495 meters). First ascended in 1933 by the Soviet Mountain Climber, Abalakov...Continue Reading "Turkish mountain climbers set to ascend Mount Everest"...»
Konfiçyüs/Konfüçyüs	Confucius
konuşulan diller	...languages that are spoken...
Kopenhag	Copenhagen [capital city of Denmark]
Kore (Kore, Korece)	Korea (a Korean person/thing, the Korean language)	A finalist country for the 2002 Football/Soccer World Cup tournament...
Korsika	Corsica	...an island in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to France -- embracing (from 1976) two départements of France, Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud. It is the fourth largest island (after Sicily, Sardinia, and Cyprus) in the Mediterranean Sea and lies 105 miles (170 km) from southern France and 56 miles (90 km) from northwestern Italy -- separated from Sardinia by the 7-mile (11-kilometre) Strait of Bonifacio.₆₆
Kosta Rika or Kostarika (Kosta Rikalı, İspanyolca)	Costa Rica (a Costa Rican person/thing, the language of Costa Rica [Spanish])	A finalist country for the 2002 Football/Soccer World Cup tournament...
Kovan Harekatı (Kovan Operasyonu)	Operation Swarmer To avert Iraqi Civil War? Left click for image enlargement and legibility.	Launched 16 March 2006, it is the largest military action in Iraq since the beginning of the 2003 War. Its avowed purpose is to quash insurgent plans to commence full-scale Civil War. The Turkish newspapers have translated the phase Operation Swarmer as Kovan Harekatı (Operation Beehive) because the closest accurate translation for 'swarm' in Turkish is too long for newspaper headlines (ie. Kovandan Çıkan Arılar Harekatı; [Operation of Bees That Come Out From A Hive] doesn't suit a Turkish newspaper headline).
kök hücre çalışması or kök hücre araştırması	'stem cell' research
Köln	Cologne [Germany]
körfez	bay, gulf, inlet
Körfez Savaşı	[the First] Gulf War of 1991	aka 'Operation Desert Storm'... See also II.Körfez Savaşı...
köşe yazı(lar)	columnist(s); newspaper columnist(s); newspaper writer(s) who have their own written-columns for regularly expressing personal views about news subjects of their choosing	In the News: Secular newspaper columnists have been having a field day with Prime Minister Erdoğan lately over the alleged misconduct of his Maliye Bakanı Kemal Unakitan. (Writers for the religious-right press have been generally supportive of the PM, this time around...That's because, several months ago, when one of their own forgot himself and roundly criticized the PM in print, the writer found himself unemployed -- after the PM complained bitterly about being stabbed in the back by a member of 'his' own media.) So these days the PM is striking back against the 'disloyal' band of secular writers (who count Emin Çolaşan among their bravest spokespersons), proclaiming that these opinionated columnists (not the PM's policies) are at the root of the country's problems. He's even declared that these writers present a more formidable opposition to his plans than does the legally-recognized opposition party, the CHP. And he added that the CHP [which continues to be led (albeit ineptly) by Deniz Baykal] may as well throw in the towel, because it is doomed to being perpetually in opposition. Gözcü Gazetesi, 15 March 2006 (See photo-article at left.)
Köşk	[the Turkish] "White House"	...term used to represent the Turkish Presidency ...or the building complex where the Turkish Cumhurbaşkanı lives and works... aka Çankaya köşk [Çankaya is the residential and business section of the Turkish capital city (Ankara) where the Turkish President's residence is located] also see "Beyaz Saray"
kral, kraliçe	king, queen	Ürdün Kralı Abdullah; [the] Jordan King Abdullah or Kral Abdullah; King Abdullah
kraliyet	royal	Kraliyet Hava Küvvetleri; [the British] Royal Air Force
kronoloji	chronology
kruvazör	cruiser (warship)
Kudüs	Jerusalem	Map of the Jerusalem in Turkish Left click for image enlargement.
Kuetta [or Keta]	Quetta [Pakistan]
kumanda ve kontrol merkezi	command and control center
Kuran Also seen as Kur'an-ı Kerim	[the] Koran	Also seen in English as Qur'an.
Kur'an Kursu Yönetmeliği	Koran Course Regulations At present (2003), the AKP religious-right majority party in Turkey is seeking ways to ease regulations governing Koran Schools (whose 'declared' purpose is to promote sight memorization of Arabic versions of the Holy Koran). It's not hard to guess that their broader and true purpose is to start indoctrination of Turkish children in the practice of fundamental Islam at the earliest possible age.	In the news: 10 December 2003...The President of the Turkish Republic (Necdet Sezer) today quashed AKP plans to ease Koran Course regulations. See the complete story at: Diyanet İsleri Bakanlığı. Sight memorizing Arabic in Koran School... to what end? Left click for image enlargement, photo-article translation, and comment.
Kurban Bayramı	[An Islamic Festival named the] Feast of the Sacrifice, the Greater Bairam ...is one of the two most important of the Islamic Festival/Holidays -- the other being Ramazan (Ramadan). It's a multi-day public holiday in Turkey -- during which most banks, business and government offices are closed. In 2005 and 2006, it falls in January -- affecting travel and business plans between 20-26 in 2005 and between 9-15 in 2006.	The festival commemorates the Biblical and Koranic story of the faithful Abraham and his near-sacrifice (at God's command) of Abraham's only male progeny, Isaac. At the last moment (after Abraham had made all the sacrificial preparations) God spared Isaac, taking in his place a ram. In accordance with that tradition, there are a lot of sheep sacrificed publically in Turkey during the holiday period -- usually on the morning of the first day. A big meal is prepared, friends and family come to feast, and the leftover meat and the hide are given to charity. Note: The tradition of public sacrifice of sheep may itself be sacrificed if Turkey every joins the EU, whose members generally frown on such practices -- no matter what the historical-cultural basis. Click following to see: Kurban Bayramı in the Ottoman Empire Encyclopedia.
Kurtuluş Savaşı	[the] Turkish War of Independence	...took place during 1918-1922. Was fought against the Allied forces of Greece, Britain, France and Italy. Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) was the vitorious Turkish commander.
Kuş Gribi	Bird Flu	See article at: atın ölümü arpadan olsun.
kuşatma	[a] siege
Kutsal-Roma İmparatorluğu	The Holy Roman Empire	...lands in western and central Europe ruled first by French and then by German kings for 10 centuries, between Charlemagne's coronation in 800 until the imperial title was abandoned entirely in 1806. The empire and the vatican were the two principal institutions of western Europe during the Middle Ages.₆₆
kutup, kutuplar	pole, polar regions
Kuveyt (Kuveytli, Arapça)	Kuwait (a Kuwati person/thing, the language of Kuwait [Arabic])
Kuzey Africa	North Africa
[Afgan] Kuzey İttifakı	[the Afghan] Northern Alliance	An anti-Taliban military alliance...
Kuzey Kore	North Korea	Map of North Korea and environs in Turkish Left click to view image enlargement.
Kuzey Kutbu	North Pole [the center of the Arctic region]
Küba (Kübalı, İspanyolca)	Cuba (Cuban, the language of Cuba [Spanish])
Kürt (Kürtçe)	[a] Kurd, [a] Kurdish [person/thing], (the Kurdish language)	...an historically-controversial 'minority' ethnic-group with substantial population centers in Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Russia, Syria, and Turkey -- described as 'a quarrelsome mountain people' by Time Magazine in their lead article from the early 1990's.
Küresel Isınma	Global Warming	Click for enlargement! What's wrong, Orhan the Bear? You can't sleep either? No, it's not that. I'm worried about 'Global Warming'. Thanks to: Hürriyet Gazetesi 20 March 2007
kuruş	The kuruş monetary unit has had a long history of use (going back to Ottoman times) but due to high Turkish inflation rates during the 1980's and 1990's it became worthless -- and fell out of existence. It was reintroduced at the time of the New Turkish Lira revision in 2005.

Turkish Newspaper Readers Encyclopedic Dictionary 'K'

Turkish Newspaper Readers
Encyclopedic Dictionary
'K'