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.
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.
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.
Related Topics
- Cardinal NumbersA1 — Counting in Turkish from bir to milyon — how numbers concatenate with no word for 'and' (yüz yirmi beş = '125'), and why the counted noun stays singular (beş elma 'five apples', never *beş elmalar).
- Large Numbers, Decimals, CurrencyA2 — Reading big numbers, prices and percentages in Turkish — where the period marks thousands and the comma marks the decimal (1.250.000 and 14,90), the exact opposite of US English.
- The Locative -DA: At / In / OnA1 — The locative case -DA marks static location (at, in, on) and powers the var/yok possession construction; unlike English at/in, it can never express motion toward a place.
- Distributive Numbers -(ş)ArB1 — Turkish has a dedicated 'X each / in groups of X' numeral built with -(ş)Ar — birer, ikişer, üçer, onar — a category English has no suffix for. Learn its form, its 'one by one' doubling, and why 'her' isn't the answer.