Fractions, Percentages, Decimals | Turkish Grammar

Turkish fractions and percentages are built on one idea that feels backwards to English speakers: you name the denominator first, mark it with the locative case, and then say the numerator. So "one third" is üçte bir — literally "in three, one." Once you see that every fraction is just "[bottom number]-LOC [top number]," percentages and decimals fall into place, because yüzde "percent" is nothing more than "in a hundred." This page teaches that frame, the special words buçuk and yarım for halves, and how to read the decimal comma.

The fraction frame: denominator-LOC + numerator

A fraction in Turkish puts the denominator in the locative case (the -de / -da / -te / -ta ending — see nouns/case-locative-da) and follows it with the numerator. The literal logic is "out of N parts, take M":

Fraction	Turkish	Literal sense
1/3	üçte bir	"in three, one"
3/4	dörtte üç	"in four, three"
2/5	beşte iki	"in five, two"
7/10	onda yedi	"in ten, seven"

The locative ending harmonizes for vowels and devoices after a voiceless consonant: üç ends in ç, so it takes -te (üçte); dört ends in t, so dörtte; beş takes -te (beşte); on takes -da (onda). This is exactly the regular locative you already know — fractions just reuse it.

Sınıfın dörtte üçü sınavı geçti, gerisi bütünlemeye kaldı.

Three quarters of the class passed the exam; the rest are left for the resit.

Maaşımın neredeyse üçte birini kiraya veriyorum.

I spend almost a third of my salary on rent.

Şişenin beşte ikisi hâlâ dolu, atmayalım.

Two fifths of the bottle is still full — let's not throw it out.

Notice in those sentences that when the fraction modifies a specific thing ("three quarters of the class"), the noun takes a possessive and the numerator picks up a possessive -i / -ü: dörtte üç-ü, üçte bir-i. That is the normal possessive construction, not a special fraction rule.

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The single most important habit to build: in Turkish the bigger number (the denominator) comes first and carries the -de/-da ending. If you catch yourself saying bir üçte, stop — you have copied the English word order. It is always üçte bir.

Percentages: yüzde just means "in a hundred"

A percentage is a fraction whose denominator is a hundred, so Turkish builds it with the very same frame: yüz "hundred" + locative -de = yüzde, then the number. Yüzde elli is "fifty percent," literally "in a hundred, fifty."

Written	Read aloud	English
%50	yüzde elli	50%
%20	yüzde yirmi	20%
%100	yüzde yüz	100%
%3,5	yüzde üç buçuk	3.5%

Here is the orthographic trap. In English the percent sign goes after the number (50%), but in standard Turkish writing the sign goes before it: %50. Even though you write the sign first, you still read it first too — yüzde elli — so the written and spoken orders agree. The thing that flips relative to English is only the position of the symbol on the page.

Bu hafta sonu bütün ayakkabılarda %50 indirim var.

This weekend there's 50% off on all shoes.

Anket sonuçlarına göre halkın yüzde yetmişi bu yasayı destekliyor.

According to the survey, seventy percent of the public supports this law.

Bataryam %100 dolu, telefonu fişten çekebilirsin.

My battery is at 100% — you can unplug the phone.

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Read the % symbol as the word yüzde and place it at the front: %20 → "yüzde yirmi." Saying yirmi yüzde is a classic English-transfer error and sounds wrong to a native ear.

Halves: buçuk and yarım

Turkish has two words for "half," and choosing between them is about whether there is a whole number in front of the half or not.

buçuk = "and a half," attached to a counted whole number. You use it for two-and-a-half, three-and-a-half, and especially for the half hour:

Toplantı iki buçuk saat sürdü, herkes bunaldı.

The meeting lasted two and a half hours — everyone was worn out.

Çocuk daha üç buçuk yaşında ama her şeyi konuşuyor.

The kid is only three and a half but talks about everything.

yarım = "half" as a standalone quantity, half of one thing, with no whole number in front:

Sabah aceleden yarım ekmekle çıktım evden.

This morning I rushed out of the house with half a loaf of bread.

Bana yarım bardak su yeter, teşekkürler.

Half a glass of water is enough for me, thanks.

So "two and a half" is iki buçuk (whole number + buçuk), but "half a kilo" is yarım kilo (no whole number, so yarım). A useful contrast: bir buçuk kilo = 1.5 kg, while yarım kilo = 0.5 kg. You cannot mix them — bir yarım is wrong.

The decimal comma

Turkish uses a comma, not a point, as the decimal separator (the full story of large numbers and currency is on numbers/decimals-and-large). So 3.5 is written 3,5. When you read a decimal aloud, you have two options:

the formal/mathematical reading inserts virgül "comma": üç virgül beş "three comma five";
in everyday speech people often just use buçuk when the decimal is exactly five tenths: üç buçuk for 3,5.

Bebeğin ateşi otuz sekiz virgül iki, biraz yüksek.

The baby's temperature is thirty-eight point two — a bit high.

Sıcaklık bugün yirmi altı buçuk dereceye çıktı.

The temperature went up to twenty-six and a half degrees today.

For decimals that are not exactly a half, you must read each part with virgül (or, more rarely, nokta "point" in some technical contexts): 2,75 is iki virgül yetmiş beş, never iki buçuk. Reserve buçuk for ",5" only.

Putting it together

Because percentages, fractions, and the half-words all share one logic, you can read a real-world line like a sale tag without translating piece by piece:

Ürünün yüzde yetmiş beşi geri dönüştürülmüş malzemeden yapılmış.

Seventy-five percent of the product is made from recycled material.

Tarif için bir buçuk su bardağı un ve yarım paket maya gerekiyor.

The recipe needs one and a half cups of flour and half a packet of yeast.

Common mistakes

❌ Bir üçte pastayı yedim.

Incorrect — numerator first, copying English 'one third'.

✅ Pastanın üçte birini yedim.

I ate a third of the cake.

❌ Mağazada elli yüzde indirim var.

Incorrect — yüzde must come before the number, not after.

✅ Mağazada yüzde elli indirim var.

There's fifty percent off at the store.

❌ Yarım buçuk saat bekledik.

Incorrect — yarım and buçuk can't combine; this is just 'half an hour'.

✅ Yarım saat bekledik.

We waited half an hour.

❌ İki yarım kilo domates aldım.

Incorrect — with a whole number you need buçuk, not yarım.

✅ İki buçuk kilo domates aldım.

I bought two and a half kilos of tomatoes.

❌ Fiyat üç nokta beş lira.

Incorrect — the decimal separator is read virgül, and written with a comma.

✅ Fiyat üç buçuk lira.

The price is three and a half lira.

Key takeaways

Fractions are denominator-LOC + numerator: üçte bir (1/3), dörtte üç (3/4). The big number comes first and takes -de/-da/-te/-ta.
Percentages reuse the frame with yüz: yüzde elli (50%). Write the % sign before the number (%50) and read it first too.
buçuk "and a half" attaches to a whole number (iki buçuk, "two and a half"); yarım "half" stands alone (yarım kilo). Never combine them.
The decimal separator is a comma: 3,5. Read it as üç virgül beş formally, or üç buçuk in speech when the decimal is exactly five tenths.

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