Ağzından baklayı çıkarmak
Literally to take the fava bean out of one's mouth
Means to finally reveal a secret, to spill the beans
Example Sonunda ağzından baklayı çıkardı ve gerçeği anlattı.
An idiom is a phrase you cannot translate word for word. Here are 15 of the most common Turkish idioms, each with its literal translation, real meaning, and an example sentence, so you know what natives actually mean.
Common Turkish idioms are everyday expressions whose meaning cannot be guessed from the individual words. For example, Ağzından baklayı çıkarmak literally means "to take the fava bean out of one's mouth" but is used to mean to finally reveal a secret, to spill the beans. This free tool lists 15 real Turkish idioms, each with its literal translation, meaning, and an example sentence.
All 15 Turkish idioms, with meanings and examples.
Guess the meaning, then tap a card to check.
Idiom list verified as of July 2026.
Ağzından baklayı çıkarmak
Literally to take the fava bean out of one's mouth
Means to finally reveal a secret, to spill the beans
Example Sonunda ağzından baklayı çıkardı ve gerçeği anlattı.
Kulak asmamak
Literally to not hang an ear
Means to pay no attention, to ignore advice or warnings
Example Annesinin uyarılarına hiç kulak asmadı.
Kafayı yemek
Literally to eat one's head
Means to go crazy, to lose one's mind
Example Bu gürültüyle kafayı yiyeceğim.
Çam devirmek
Literally to fell a pine tree
Means to make a big blunder, to say or do something embarrassingly wrong
Example Toplantıda büyük bir çam devirdi.
Burnu büyümek
Literally one's nose to grow
Means to become conceited or arrogant after some success
Example Ödülü kazanınca burnu büyüdü.
Göz boyamak
Literally to paint the eye
Means to deceive with appearances, to create a false impression
Example Bu proje sadece göz boyamaktan ibaret.
Eli kulağında
Literally its hand is at its ear
Means something is imminent, about to happen any moment
Example Sınav sonuçları eli kulağında.
İçi içine sığmamak
Literally one's inside doesn't fit inside oneself
Means to be so happy or excited that one can't contain oneself
Example Kabul mektubunu görünce içi içine sığmadı.
Ağız birliği etmek
Literally to make a union of mouths
Means to agree beforehand to tell the same story, to collude
Example Öğrenciler öğretmene karşı ağız birliği ettiler.
Bal gibi bilmek
Literally to know like honey
Means to know something perfectly well, despite pretending otherwise
Example Nerede olduğunu bal gibi biliyorsun.
Suya sabuna dokunmamak
Literally to not touch water or soap
Means to stay neutral, to avoid taking sides or causing controversy
Example Siyasi tartışmalarda hep suya sabuna dokunmaz.
Tuzu kuru olmak
Literally to have dry salt
Means to be financially secure and free of the worries others have
Example Emekli maaşı iyi olduğu için onun tuzu kuru.
Kulağı çınlamak
Literally one's ear to ring
Means to have your ears burning because someone is talking about you
Example Senden bahsediyorduk, kulağın çınlasın.
Bindiği dalı kesmek
Literally to cut the branch one is sitting on
Means to act against one's own interest, to destroy what supports you
Example Patronunu herkesin önünde eleştirerek bindiği dalı kesti.
Armut piş ağzıma düş
Literally pear, cook yourself and fall into my mouth
Means to expect good things to come without any effort
Example Hiç çalışmadan armut piş ağzıma düş bekliyor.
Idioms stick when you see them in context, not on a list. Lingo7 lets you read real Turkish books with sentence-aligned translation and native-narrated audio, so you meet idioms in the wild and tap any line you do not get. Save them and review later. Free to start.
An idiom is a phrase whose meaning is fixed by convention, not built from its words. That is why a word-for-word translation fails: Ağzından baklayı çıkarmak comes out as "to take the fava bean out of one's mouth", which makes no sense until you know it means to finally reveal a secret, to spill the beans.
Learn a few at a time, not a whole list. Pick the ones you keep running into, say them out loud in a real sentence, and you will remember them far longer than by drilling flashcards.
The most reliable way to absorb idioms is to meet them in context, again and again, in things you actually read. Parallel text and audio let you catch an idiom in a real Turkish sentence and check what it means without breaking your reading. That is what reading in Lingo7 is built for.
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Some of the most common Turkish idioms are Ağzından baklayı çıkarmak, Kulak asmamak, Kafayı yemek, Çam devirmek. Each one means something you could not guess from the words alone, which is exactly why learners have to meet them in context. This tool lists 15 of them with their meaning and an example sentence.
In Turkish, "Ağzından baklayı çıkarmak" translates literally as "to take the fava bean out of one's mouth", but it actually means to finally reveal a secret, to spill the beans. You would use it like this: Sonunda ağzından baklayı çıkardı ve gerçeği anlattı.
Idioms are non-compositional: their meaning is fixed by convention, not built from the individual words. Ağzından baklayı çıkarmak translates literally as "to take the fava bean out of one's mouth", yet it means to finally reveal a secret, to spill the beans. Translate word for word and you get nonsense, so idioms have to be learned as whole units.
The fastest way is to meet them in context and reuse them, not to memorize a list. Learn a handful at a time, notice them while reading and listening, and try them in your own sentences. Reading real Turkish with tap-to-translate, the way Lingo7 works, turns every page into idiom practice.