List of Turkic languages


The Turkic languages are a group of languages spoken across Central Asia, West Asia, North Asia as well as Eastern Europe.
Turkic languages are spoken as native languages by some 200 million people.

Turkic languages by subfamily

The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates and were rounded:
NumberBranchLanguagesStatusNative SpeakersMajorityMain Writing System
1Oghuz languages8Normal121,000,000Latin
2Karluk languages4Normal43,500,000Latin
3Kipchak languages12Normal27,000,000Cyrillic
4Siberian Turkic languages9Vulnerable800,000Cyrillic
5Argu languages1Vulnerable50,000Persian
6Oghuric languages1Vulnerable1,200,000Cyrillic
TotalTurkic languages35Normal193,800,000Latin

Turkic languages by the number of speakers

The Turkic languages are a language family of at least 35 documented languages, spoken by the Turkic peoples. The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates and were rounded:
NumberNameBranchStatusNative SpeakersMain CountryMain Writing System
1Turkish languageOghuz languagesNormal83,000,000Latin
2Uzbek languageKarluk languagesNormal32,000,000Latin
3Azerbaijani languageOghuz languagesNormal30,000,000Latin
4Kazakh languageKipchak languagesNormal19,000,000Cyrillic
5Uyghur languageKarluk languagesNormal13,000,000Perso-Arabic
6Turkmen languageOghuz languagesNormal7,000,000Latin
7Tatar languageKipchak languagesNormal5,500,000Cyrillic
8Kyrgyz languageKipchak languagesNormal5,000,000Cyrillic
9Bashkir languageKipchak languagesVulnerable1,500,000Cyrillic
10Chuvash languageOghuric languagesVulnerable1,200,000Cyrillic
11Qashqai languageOghuz languagesNormal1,000,000Perso-Arabic
12Khorasani Turkic languageOghuz languagesVulnerable1,000,000Perso-Arabic
13Karakalpak languageKipchak languagesNormal650,000Latin
14Tatar language">Tatar language">Tatar languageKipchak languagesSeverely endangered600,000Latin
15Kumyk languageKipchak languagesVulnerable450,000Cyrillic
16Karachay-Balkar languageKipchak languagesVulnerable400,000Cyrillic
17Yakut languageSiberian Turkic languagesVulnerable400,000Cyrillic
18Tuvan languageSiberian Turkic languagesVulnerable300,000Cyrillic
19Urum languageKipchak languagesDefinitely endangered200,000Cyrillic
20Gagauz languageOghuz languagesCritically endangered150,000Latin
21Siberian Tatar languageKipchak languagesDefinitely endangered100,000Cyrillic
22Nogai languageKipchak languagesDefinitely endangered100,000Cyrillic
23Dobrujan Tatar languageKipchak languagesSeverely endangered70,000Latin
24Salar languageOghuz languagesVulnerable70,000Latin
25Altai languagesSiberian Turkic languagesSeverely endangered60,000Cyrillic
26Khakas languageSiberian Turkic languagesDefinitely endangered50,000Cyrillic
27Khalaj languageArgu languagesVulnerable20,000Perso-Arabic
28Äynu languageKarluk languagesCritically endangered6,000Perso-Arabic
29Western Yugur languageSiberian Turkic languagesSeverely endangered5,000Latin
30Shor languageSiberian Turkic languagesSeverely endangered3,000Cyrillic
31Dolgan languageSiberian Turkic languagesDefinitely endangered1,000Cyrillic
32Krymchak languageKipchak languagesCritically endangered200Hebrew
33Ili Turki languageKarluk languagesSeverely endangered100Cyrillic
34Tofa languageSiberian Turkic languagesCritically endangered100Cyrillic
35Karaim languageKipchak languagesCritically endangered100Cyrillic
36Chulym languageSiberian Turkic languagesCritically endangered50Cyrillic
TotalTurkic languagesCommon Turkic languagesNormal193,700,000Latin

Endangered Turkic languages

An endangered language, or moribund language, is a language that is at risk of falling out of use as its speakers die out or shift to speaking another language. Language loss occurs when the language has no more native speakers and becomes a "dead language".
26 endangered Turkic languages exist in World. The number of speakers derived from statistics or estimates and were rounded:
NumberNameStatusSpeakersMain Country
1Bashkir languageVulnerable1,500,000
2Chuvash languageVulnerable1,200,000
3Khorasani Turkic languageVulnerable1,000,000
4Crimean Tatar languageVulnerable600,000
5Kumyk languageVulnerable450,000
6Yakut languageVulnerable400,000
7Karachay-Balkar languageVulnerable400,000
8Tuvan languageVulnerable300,000
9Urum languageDefinitely endangered200,000
10Gagauz languageCritically endangered150,000
11Siberian Tatar languageDefinitely endangered100,000
12Nogai languageDefinitely endangered100,000
13Dobrujan Tatar languageSeverely endangered70,000
14Salar languageVulnerable70,000
15Altai languageSeverely endangered60,000
16Khakas languageDefinitely endangered50,000
17Khalaj languageVulnerable20,000
18Äynu languageCritically endangered6,000
19Western Yugur languageSeverely endangered5,000
20Shor languageSeverely endangered3,000
21Dolgan languageDefinitely endangered1,000
22Krymchak languageCritically endangered200
23Tofa languageCritically endangered100
24Karaim languageCritically endangered100
25Ili Turki languageSeverely endangered100
26Chulym languageCritically endangered50

Famous Turkic Dialects

NumberDialectMain Language
1Rumelian dialectTurkish language
2Cypriot dialectTurkish language
3Afshar dialectAzerbaijani language
4Sonqori dialectAzerbaijani language
5Lop dialectUyghur language
6Baraba dialectSiberian Tatar language

Ancestral

Common Turkic (Shaz Turkic / Z Turkic)">Common Turkic languages">Common Turkic (Shaz Turkic / Z Turkic)

Siberian Turkic

Karluk (Southeastern)

Historically in Central Asia there was a distinction between sedentary, called Sart or Taranchi, and nomadic peoples. Many times it was used confusingly because it was a generic word for several peoples and their languages and also because it had different meanings at different historical times. Strictly it was not an ethnic or linguistic definition but one of a lifestyle.
  • **Chagatai or Turki
  • ***Pre-classical Chagatai
  • ****Classical Chagatai
  • *****Post-classical Chagatai
  • ****Khorezmian Turkic
  • ***East
  • ****Uyghur
  • *****Eastern: Spoken in an area stretching from Qarkilik towards north to Qongköl
  • *****Central: Spoken in an area stretching from Kumul towards south to Yarkand
  • *****Southern: Spoken in an area stretching from Guma towards east to Qarkilik
  • *****Lop
  • ****Ili Turki
  • ***West
  • ****Uzbek
  • *****Northern Uzbek
  • ******Ferghana Uzbek
  • ******Tashkent Uzbek
  • ******Chimkent/Shymkent-Turkestan Uzbek
  • ******Surkhandarya Uzbek
  • ******Khorezm Uzbek
  • *****Southern Uzbek / Afghan Uzbek

Kipchak (Northwestern)

  • **Kipchak
  • ***South Kipchak
  • ****Kipchak-Nogai
  • *****Dobrujan Tatar
  • ******Şól
  • ******Nogay
  • ******Yalîbolu
  • *****Fergana Kipchak
  • *****Kazakh
  • ******Eastern Kazakh
  • ******Southern Kazakh
  • ******Northern Kazakh
  • ******Western Kazakh
  • *****Karakalpak
  • ******Northeastern Karakalpak
  • ******Southwestern Karakalpak
  • ******Fergana Valley Karakalpak?
  • *****Nogai
  • ******Karanogay-Nogai Proper
  • *******Karanogay or Qara-Nogai, spoken in Dagestan
  • *******Central Nogai or Nogai Proper, in Stavropol
  • ******Aqnogai, by the Kuban River, its tributaries in Karachay–Cherkessia, and in the Mineralnye Vody District. Qara-Nogai and Nogai Proper are very close linguistically, whereas Aqnogai is more different.
  • ****Kyrgyz-Kypchak
  • *****Kyrgyz
  • ******Northern Kyrgyz
  • ******Southern Kyrgyz
  • *****Southern Altai
  • ******Altai proper
  • *******Mayma
  • ******Telengit
  • *******Tölös
  • *******Chuy
  • ******Teleut
  • *****Siberian Tatar
  • ******East Siberian Tatar
  • *******Tom
  • *******Baraba
  • ******West Siberian Tatar
  • *******Tobol-Irtysh
  • ***North Kipchak
  • ****Old Tatar / Old Bashkir
  • *****Bashkir
  • ******Southern
  • *******Dim
  • *******Egän
  • *******Eyek-Haqmar
  • *******Middle
  • *******Örşäk
  • ******Eastern
  • *******Arğayaş
  • *******Qyźyl
  • *******Meyäs
  • *******Halyot
  • ******Northwestern
  • *******Tanyp
  • *******Ğäynä
  • *******Qariźel
  • *******Lower Ağiźel
  • *******Middle Ural
  • *****Tatar
  • ******Central/Middle
  • ******Western
  • ***West Kipchak
  • ****Cuman
  • *****Karachay-Balkar - Kumyk
  • ******Karachay-Balkar
  • *******Karachay-Baksan-Chegem
  • *******Balkar
  • ******Kumyk
  • *******Terek
  • *******Khasavyurt
  • *******Buynaksk
  • *******Khaitag
  • *******Podgorniy
  • *****Crimean Tatar
  • ******Northern
  • ******Middle
  • ******Southern/Coastal Crimean Tatar
  • ******Krymchak
  • ******Urum
  • *******North Azovian
  • *******Tsalka
  • *****Karaim
  • ******Crimean
  • ******Trakai-Vilnius
  • ******Lutsk-Halych

Oghuz (Southwestern Turkic)

  • **East Oghuz
  • ***Salar, an Oghuz language outlier strongly influenced by Karluk and Kipchak languages and also by non-Turkic languages like Tibetan and Chinese
  • ****Qinghai Salar
  • ****Ili Salar
  • ***Turkmen
  • ****Teke
  • ****Nohurly
  • ****Ýomud
  • ****Änewli
  • ****Hasarly
  • ****Nerezim
  • ****Gökleň
  • ****Salyr
  • ****Saryk
  • ****Ärsary
  • ****Çowdur
  • ****Trukhmen
  • **Transitional East-West Oghuz
  • ***Khorasani Turkic
  • ****North
  • ****South/Razavi
  • ****West
  • **West Oghuz
  • ***Azerbaijani
  • *****Muqaddam
  • *****Baharlu
  • *****Nafar
  • *****Qaragözlü
  • *****Pishaqchi
  • *****Bayatlu
  • *****Qajar
  • *****Tabrizi
  • *****Iraqi Turkmen
  • ****North Azerbaijani
  • *****Salyan
  • *****Lenkaran
  • *****Qazakh
  • *****Airym
  • *****Borcala
  • *****Terekeme
  • *****Qyzylbash
  • *****Nukha
  • *****Zaqatala
  • *****Qabala
  • *****Yerevan
  • *****Ordubad
  • *****Ganja
  • *****Shusha
  • *****Karapapak
  • *****Shirvan dialect
  • ******Baku dialect
  • *****Shamakhi
  • *****Quba
  • *****Derbend
  • *****Nakhchivan
  • ***Transitional Turkish Azerbaijani-Turkish
  • ****Eastern Anatolian Turkish
  • *****Meskhetian Turkish
  • *****Hemshen Turkish
  • *****Eastern Anatolian Turkish Proper
  • *****Zaza Turkish
  • *****Kurdish Turkish
  • ****Northeastern Anatolian Turkish
  • *****Laz Turkish
  • *****Trebizond Turkish
  • ***Old Anatolian Turkish
  • ****Turkish
  • *****Anatolian dialects
  • ******Western Anatolian
  • *******Central
  • ********East central
  • ********West Central
  • *******Mediterranean /South
  • ********Southwest
  • ********Southeast
  • *******Black Sea /North
  • ********Çorum, Çankırı
  • ********East Black Sea Coast
  • ********West Black Sea Coast
  • ********Sakarya-Izmit
  • *******Aegean /West
  • *******Yörük
  • *****Istanbul dialect
  • *****Syrian Turkmen
  • *****Cypriot Turkish
  • *****Balkanic/Rumelian/Danubian
  • ******East Balkanic/East Rumelian/East Danubian
  • *******Edirne
  • ******West Balkanic/West Rumelian/West Danubian
  • *****Karamanli Turkish
  • ****Gagauz Turkish">Gagauz language">Gagauz Turkish
  • *****Gajal
  • *****Gerlovo Turk
  • *****Karamanli
  • *****Kyzylbash
  • *****Surguch
  • *****Tozluk Turk
  • *****Yuruk
  • *****Macedonian Gagauz
  • *****Gagauz
  • ******Bulgar Gagauzi
  • ******Maritime Gagauzi
  • ****Ottoman Turkish
  • *****Fasih Türkçe : the language of poetry and administration, Ottoman Turkish in its strict sense
  • *****Orta Türkçe : the language of higher classes and trade
  • *****Kaba Türkçe : the language of lower classes.
  • **South Oghuz
  • ***Afshar
  • ***Aynallu
  • ***Qashqai
  • ***Sonqori
  • *Pecheneg
  • **Pecheneg

Arghu

  • **Khalaj
  • ***Northern
  • ***Southern

Oghur (Lir Turkic / R Turkic)">Oghur languages">Oghur (Lir Turkic / R Turkic)

Possible Turkic languages (all extinct)

Unclassified languages that may have been Turkic or members of other language families

Possible Mixed languages

Constructed languages