Words shared between Turkish and Greek through history, daily life, and culture. Includes food, slang, everyday words.

Turkish-Greek Common Words

Yogurt. Fermented milk product, thick and slightly sour.

From Turkish "yoğurt", adopted into Greek and many other languages during Ottoman times.

Example:
Her sabah yoğurt yiyorum.
I eat yogurt every morning.

yoğurt 🇹🇷
γιαούρτι 🇬🇷

Corner shop. Small neighborhood grocery shop.

Widely used in Greek as "μπακάλικο". From Ottoman Turkish بقال (bakkal), from Arabic بَقَّال (baqqāl).

Bakkaldan ekmek aldım.

bakkal 🇹🇷
μπακάλικο 🇬🇷

Rolled vine leaves. From Turkish verb "dolmak" (to be filled)
"dolma" = anything stuffed (peppers, zucchini)

"ντολμάς" rather refers to what Turks call "sarma" wrapped (usually vine/cabbage leaves)

Annem dolma yaptı.

Deeply embarrassed, humiliated, or made a fool, laughing stock of.

From  Arabic رَذِيل (raḏīl) and Ottoman Turkish رذیل (rezil) then into Greek with nearly identical meaning.

Beni herkesin önünde rezil ettin.

In Turkish, merak means curiosity or wondering. In Greek, μεράκι evolved to mean soul and passion poured into what you do. 

From Arabic مَرَق.

Bu işi merakla yaptım.

Fight, quarrel, brawl. A heated argument or physical altercation. 

From Ottoman Turkish غوغا (ğavğa, kavga), from Persian غوغا (ġowġâ, ġavġâ).

Komşularla kavga ettik.

Sir / gentleman in Modern Turkish.

From Byzantine Greek αὐθέντης (authentēs) = master, lord. During the Ottoman period it became efendi, a title for educated or high-status men.

Efendim? (Sir? / Pardon?)

efendi 🇹🇷
αφεντικό 🇬🇷

Harbor, port.

From ancient Greek λιμήν (limēn). Still used identically in both languages.

Liman sabah çok kalabalıktı.

Bonus round:
Airport: Havalimanı

Grey mullet fish. One of the most common fish in the Aegean.

From ancient Greek κέφαλος (kephalos), literally "head-fish", named for its large, blunt head.

Bugün kefal tuttuk.

Pants, trousers.

From Italian/Venetian pantalone a commedia dell'arte character always depicted in long trousers.

Pantolonumu bulamıyorum.

pantolon 🇹🇷
παντελόνι 🇬🇷

Church.

From Greek εκκλησία (assembly, congregation).

Kilise restore edilmiş.

kilise 🇹🇷
εκκλησία 🇬🇷

Priest.

From Byzantine Greek παπάς (father, priest). Turkish borrowed it specifically for a Christian Orthodox priest also slipped into colloquial use, like in "papaz olmak" "to disagree".

Köydeki papaz çok yaşlıydı.

Continuing with ecclesiastical words...
papaz 🇹🇷
παπάς 🇬🇷

Blessed, rightfully yours, "I release it to you"

From Arabic حلال (ḥalāl) = permitted, lawful. Both languages inherited the religious core — what is halal is what God permits.

Helal olsun sana, çok çalıştın.

Another religious word...
helal 🇹🇷
χαλάλι 🇬🇷

Forbidden, ill-gotten, wasted / a rascal.

From Arabic حرام (ḥarām) antonym of helal. The religious meaning is shared: what God prohibits. Greek meaning is nuanced, but I am out of cha-

Bu para haram yollarla kazanıldı.

Since we're on the subject:
haram 🇹🇷
χαράμι 🇬🇷

Minced meat.

From Turkish kıymak = to mince, to chop finely. Used identically in both cuisines: meatballs, stuffed peppers, moussaka, içli köfte — kıyma/κιμάς is everywhere on both tables.

Yarım kilo kıyma al!

Thigh — of a person or as a cut of meat

From Proto-Turkic *būt = thigh, leg cognate with Azerbaijani bud, Kazakh бұт (būt), Kyrgyz бут (but), Tatar бот (bot), Turkmen būt, Uyghur پۇت (put).

Kuzu butunu fırına koyduk.

On the same theme:
but 🇹🇷
μπούτι 🇬🇷

Lazy person, idler

From Persian تنبل (tanbal) = lazy. Traveled through Ottoman Turkish into Greek.

Bugün çok tembeldim, hiçbir şey yapmadım.

tembel 🇹🇷
τεμπέλης 🇬🇷

A longing, sorrow, heaviness.

From Persian درد (dard) = pain. In Turkish dert is a worry, problem, or burden — derdim var means "I have a problem." 

Derdini anlat bana.

High spirits, joyful energy.

From Arabic كيف (kayf) = pleasure, wellbeing. In Turkish keyif is gentle and inward, in Greek: energetic, outward, collective.

Bugün çok keyifliyim, ver bir duble.

And to contrast:
keyif 🇹🇷
κέφι 🇬🇷

Drool, saliva.

From Byzantine Greek σάλιον (sálion) and that itself from Ancient Greek σίαλον síalon, “spittle, saliva”. Both languages also use it idiomatically for mouth-watering food.

Bebek her yere salya akıtıyor.