TÖMER vs TYS: Which Turkish C1 Certificate Do You Need?

If your university names a certificate, take that one. If it doesn't, the difference is this: TYS is a single exam set by the Yunus Emre Institute, and it certifies only B2 or C1. TÖMER is the name of a university's Turkish teaching centre (Ankara, ITU, KTÜ and many others), and each centre runs its own test on its own scale. Most universities accept either a university TÖMER certificate or TYS, but some accept only their own centre's certificate plus TYS, so your university's admission rules decide.

The exam facts below come from official pages checked on 1 November 2026. Rules change, and where official and secondary sources disagree, we say so.

Two different things with similar names

TYS (Türkçe Yeterlik Sınavı) is the Yunus Emre Institute's proficiency exam. The institute's FAQ says it tests reading, listening, writing and speaking, is scored out of 100, and is held three times a year. Since the 15 January 2022 session it has issued B2 or C1 certificates only, and a certificate is valid for two years from the exam date. The same page says the exam carries the ALTE Q-mark, the quality label of the Association of Language Testers in Europe.

ÖSYM, Türkiye's national testing centre, doesn't run TYS. It runs TR-YÖS, the admission exam for students from abroad. In August 2024 ÖSYM and the institute signed a cooperation protocol on four-skill Turkish exams and TR-YÖS, but every official TYS page we found names the Yunus Emre Institute as the organiser.

TÖMER is the usual short name for a university's Turkish teaching and research centre, and each centre writes its own exam. Ankara University TÖMER publishes its rules, so it makes a useful example. Its online exam, e-YADİS, is computer-based and has five parts: reading, listening, writing, interactive speaking and an oral presentation. You need the minimum score in each part to pass. The centre's certificate page says A1 to B2 earn a certificate and C1 earns a diploma, and exams run online every Friday.

TÖMER vs TYS at a glance

Other TÖMER centres use their own formats and scales. KTÜ, for example, counts 80 to 89 as C1 on its own table, so "I have a TÖMER C1" means little until you say which TÖMER.

Which certificate does your university accept?

Each university sets its own rule. Some examples from official documents:

• ITU accepts only certificates from ITU TÖMER or the Yunus Emre Institute, starting with the 2023-24 academic year, and refuses certificates from other centres.
• KTÜ accepts KTÜ TÖMER, other universities' centres or TYS. Students can start with B2 but must show C1 or C2 by the start of their third year.
• Istanbul Arel University asks for C1 for medicine and dentistry and B2 for its other Turkish-taught programmes. A later article of the same document adds pharmacy to the C1 list, so the regulation contradicts itself on pharmacy.
• Toros University asks for C1 for Turkish-taught programmes.
• Istanbul University's graduate regulation, published in the Resmî Gazete on 18 October 2026, requires C1 from a university language centre or the Yunus Emre Institute for foreign-quota students in programmes not taught fully in a foreign language.

C1 is the safe target. B2 sometimes gets you in with a deadline to reach C1, often alongside a Turkish prep year.

Before you book any exam, look up your university's admission rules (often titled yurt dışından öğrenci kabul yönergesi) and check:

1. Which centres it accepts: any TÖMER, only its own, or TYS too.
2. Which level your programme needs, B2 or C1.
3. Whether it accepts online certificates.
4. How old the certificate can be.
5. What happens if you arrive below the level: a prep year, a deadline, or no enrolment.

Sources disagree on two points. The first is validity. TYS is officially two years, but for TÖMER certificates we found no official general rule, and secondary guides give anything from two years to unlimited. Ask the university. The second is TYS score bands. Older summaries, including Wikipedia's CEFR article, still list fixed bands (B2 55-70%, C1 71-88%, C2 89-100%). The institute's current FAQ says it sets the B2 and C1 ranges after each exam and no longer awards C2.

If you need it for a job

No national rule tells employers which certificate to ask for, so the employer decides. The Yunus Emre Institute says its certificate helps with jobs at international companies, teaching Turkish abroad and translation work. Outside Türkiye, the ALTE Q-mark can make TYS easier to explain to an employer who has never heard of TÖMER. If you need Turkish for daily life rather than a certificate, see Turkish for living in Türkiye. For the phrases you'll use in the office itself, see business Turkish for emails, meetings and calls.

Does YÖS have a Turkish-language part?

ÖSYM's TR-YÖS doesn't. The 2026 TR-YÖS/2 guide lists two tests, Numerical Ability (40 questions) and Basic Mathematics (40 questions), with 100 minutes to answer. The question booklet is in Turkish, with translations in German, English, French, Russian and Arabic, and results are valid for two years. Some study-agency sites say TR-YÖS includes a Turkish proficiency section, but the official guide lists none.

Turkish still matters here. If you work from the Turkish text, you need to read maths problems quickly in Turkish. And a TR-YÖS score doesn't replace a Turkish certificate: universities such as KTÜ still ask for a separate proficiency document.

What graders reward at B2 and at C1

Neither exam publishes its full rubric. The TYS sample exam page says at least two raters score writing and speaking against rating scales, and Ankara uses two raters plus a referee. Both exams report CEFR levels, so the Council of Europe's descriptors in the CEFR Companion Volume and the global scale are the best public guide to what separates B2 from C1.

Writing

TYS writing has two tasks. Task 1 (20 minutes, 10 points) is guided: completing a text, filling in a form, writing a petition, summarising, or interpreting a table or graph. Task 2 (40 minutes, 15 points) is a composition on a given topic. Ankara gives you three topics to choose from and 45 minutes, with no word limit.

At B2, the CEFR expects clear, detailed text that sets out the advantages and disadvantages of a position. At C1 you build a structured argument with subsidiary points, reasons and examples, and finish with a real conclusion. The C1 descriptor asks for "controlled use of organisational patterns, connectors and cohesive devices". In Turkish that usually means:

• Connectors beyond ve, ama, çünkü, such as bununla birlikte, öte yandan, dolayısıyla, buna rağmen and kısacası.
• Subordinate clauses in place of chains of short sentences. Forms like -dığı için, -masına rağmen, -arak and -ken let you join cause, contrast and manner in one sentence.
• One job per paragraph: a point, its reason, an example, then a link to the next paragraph.
• The register the task asks for. A petition (dilekçe) has fixed formulas, such as closing with Gereğini arz ederim; a composition doesn't.
• Accurate suffix chains. A wrong case ending or a vowel-harmony slip in a long word is easy to spot, and it tends to repeat across a whole text.

Speaking

TYS speaking has two parts. In the interactive part (10 minutes, 15 points) you answer seven questions on one topic as a two-way conversation. In the independent part (5 minutes, 10 points) you talk on a topic after up to one minute of preparation. Ankara plays recorded questions on everyday topics such as family and where you live, then gives you one minute to prepare a two-minute talk about an image or text.

The CEFR puts B2 at talking with native speakers without strain on either side. At C1 you speak fluently and spontaneously, rarely stopping to hunt for a word, and adjust your language to social, academic and work settings. For the exam, that means:

• Answer, then extend: an opinion, a reason, an example, and one contrast (Öte yandan şunu da söylemek lazım...).
• Use the preparation minute to plan a structure (an opening, two points and a closing line) instead of writing a script.
• Keep a few phrases that buy time naturally, such as Açıkçası, Şöyle söyleyeyim or Bence bunun iki nedeni var.
• Don't memorise whole answers. Once the follow-up question changes direction, a memorised answer stops fitting.

A realistic prep plan from B2 to C1

How long it takes depends on where you start, so take a free level test first. Our guide to how long it takes to learn Turkish covers the bigger timeline. If you're a solid B2 with a deadline, a 12-week block could look like this:

1. Week 1, diagnose: do the official TYS sample, or read your TÖMER centre's format page, and time yourself. Write one composition and record one two-minute talk.
2. Weeks 2 to 4, build the C1 toolkit: practise connectors and subordinate clauses every day, read one opinion column a day and note how the writer links ideas, and listen to Turkish news at full speed.
3. Weeks 5 to 8, produce and get corrected: each week, write one composition and one guided task (petition, summary or graph) and rewrite both after feedback. Record two timed independent talks a week.
4. Weeks 9 to 11, mock exams: full timed mocks in your exam's format, on screen for an online TÖMER, or on paper plus spoken answers to a partner playing the examiner for TYS.
5. Week 12, review and admin: go back over your most frequent errors, then recheck registration deadlines, your ID and your university's certificate rules.

Ceylan, our teacher, prepares students for TÖMER, TYS and university C1 exams. She is a native Turkish speaker with an MA in Teaching Turkish and eight years of teaching, and she teaches one-to-one or in groups, online, with explanations in Turkish or English.

Frequently asked questions

Is TYS harder than a TÖMER exam?

No official comparison exists, and each TÖMER centre uses its own format and scale, so difficulty varies by centre. Choose by what your university accepts first and by format second: online every week, or at a centre three times a year.

Can I take a TÖMER exam online?

At some centres, yes. Ankara University TÖMER's e-YADİS is online and runs every Friday. Whether your university accepts an online certificate is its own decision, so check its rules before you pay.

How long is a TYS certificate valid?

Two years from the exam date, according to the Yunus Emre Institute. We found no official general rule for TÖMER certificates, so ask the university that will receive yours.

Can I start my degree with B2?

At some universities. KTÜ lets B2 students start but requires C1 by the third year, and Istanbul Arel accepts B2 for most of its Turkish-taught programmes. Others, such as Toros University, want C1 from the start.

Does TYS still award C2?

No. Since the 15 January 2022 session, TYS awards B2 or C1 only.

Preparing for TÖMER, TYS or a university C1 exam? Take the free level test to see how far you are from C1, then request a free trial lesson and tell us which exam and which university you're aiming for. We reply to every request within 24 hours.