Turkish Backgammon Numbers: The Names of All 21 Dice Rolls

The six number words behind the names are Persian: yek (one), dü (two), se (three), cihar (four), penç (five) and şeş (six). The names are built from them like this:

• Three doubles put dü, “two”, in front of the number: düse (3-3), dübeş (5-5) and düşeş (6-6).
• The other three doubles have names of their own: hepyek (1-1), dubara (2-2) and dörtcihar (4-4).
• Mixed rolls usually say the larger number first: şeşbeş (6-5), pencüse (5-3), seyek (3-1).
• Spellings vary. The Turkish Language Association’s dictionary writes each name as one word (şeşbeş, düşeş); other sources split them: şeş beş, dü şeş.

Calling out the rolls by these names is a tradition among tavla players. Below are all 21 with a pronunciation guide, where the number words come from, how the names are put together, the odds of each roll and a few more Turkish words you will hear at the board.

All 21 rolls: names, pronunciation and meaning

The table runs from double one to double six. “Turkish name” is the dictionary spelling. “Say it” is a rough guide for English speakers (the letters). “Word for word” is what the name says, and “Pips” is how far the roll moves you in all; a double is played four times.

In a double, dü means “two”: düşeş is literally “two sixes”, both dice showing six. In hepyek the word hep, “all”, does the same job: all ones.

Where do the names come from?

From Persian. The Turkish Language Association’s dictionary gives each of the six number words as Persian in origin, and lists each of them on its own as well:

The romanised Persian in the last column is the one the number references use; Turkish spelling writes the same sounds with its own letters.

• Hep is Persian too. The dictionary traces it to a Persian word, so hepyek is Persian from end to end.
• Dubara comes from the Persian words for “two” and “time”. In Persian, dubāra means “again” or “twice”.
• Sebayüdü is traced to the Persian for “three” and bā, “with”: roughly “three with two”.

Names with a Turkish number in them. Four names put a Turkish number word beside a Persian one: dört (four) and beş (five).

So five is said two ways. In 5-1, 5-2 and 5-3 the Persian penç is used: pencüyek, pencüdü, pencüse. In 5-5 and 6-5 the Turkish beş is used: dübeş, şeşbeş. And 5-4 has both: ciharıpenç and beşcihar.

What does shesh besh mean?

“Shesh besh” is the roll 6-5, şeşbeş in Turkish spelling: şeş is six in Persian and beş is five in Turkish. The rhyming pair is known well beyond Turkey. Across the Eastern Mediterranean, players call out their rolls in this mix of Persian and Turkish numbers, and in parts of the region backgammon itself is known as shesh besh. If you have heard the game called that, this is the roll the name comes from.

How the names are put together

You do not have to learn the 21 names one by one. Know the six Persian numbers and you can build 14 of the names yourself; the other seven are worth learning separately.

1. Look at the dice. The same number on both is a double; two different numbers make a mixed roll.
2. For a double, put dü in front of the number: 3-3 is düse, 6-6 is düşeş. In 5-5 the Turkish beş takes the place of the Persian penç: dübeş. Three doubles have names of their own: hepyek (1-1), dubara (2-2) and dörtcihar (4-4).
3. For a mixed roll, say the larger number first, then the smaller: 6-3 is şeş and se, so şeşüse. In some names a sound slips in between the two numbers, like the ü in şeşüse (below).
4. Remember the three mixed rolls that break the pattern:
   • 3-2 sebayüdü: the Persian bā, “with”, sits between the three and the two.
   • 6-5 şeşbeş: five here is the Turkish beş, not the Persian penç.
   • 5-4 beşcihar or ciharıpenç: the first uses the Turkish beş; the second says the smaller number first.

2-1 follows the pattern, but it also has a second name that starts with the smaller number: yekdü.

The sound in between. Some dictionary names slip a short vowel between the two numbers: şeşüdü, şeşüse, pencüse, ciharıdü, ciharıse. Others do not: şeşyek, şeşcihar, şeşbeş, seyek. Other sources mark that vowel with a hyphen and sometimes spell it with a different vowel, so the same roll can look quite different in print.

How to say them, and how they are spelt

There is no single spelling that everyone uses. This page follows the dictionary’s one-word spellings and gives the most common others below. The “Say it” column of the table writes each name in English letters; these are the Turkish letters behind it:

• Long vowels. The dictionary marks the a of cihar as long, and in the names ciharıyek, ciharıdü, ciharıse, ciharıpenç and şeşcihar as well; the table writes it “aa”. Dubara has both of its a’s long, and sebayüdü its a.
• One word or two? The dictionary writes hepyek, düşeş and şeşbeş; elsewhere you will meet hep yek, dü şeş and şeş beş, and in the same way dü se, dört cihar and dü beş. They name the same rolls: hep yek is all ones, dü şeş two sixes, şeş beş six-five, dü se two threes, dört cihar four fours and dü beş two fives.
• Penç or penc? The dictionary lists the number with a ç, but writes the names pencüyek, pencüdü and pencüse with a c, said like a j: pen-jew-yeck. Ciharıpenç keeps the ç.

Do not be surprised if a player at the table says a name differently: the names change from source to source, and from player to player.

How likely is each roll?

Two dice, each with six faces that come up equally often, fall in 36 ways (6 × 6). A double turns up in only one of those 36 ways; a mixed roll in two. Six-five comes up when the first die shows 6 and the second 5, and also the other way round, so it is twice as likely as double six.

Some double turns up 1 time in 6; a particular mixed roll, six-five for instance, 1 time in 18.

How we counted. A short script went through the 36 outcomes of two dice one by one, put each under its roll with the larger number first, and counted how often each roll appeared. The 36 outcomes gave 21 rolls: each of the 6 doubles once, each of the 15 mixed rolls twice.

How far does each roll move?

With a mixed roll you play the two numbers separately; six-five moves you 11 pips in all. A double is played four times (doubles).

• The longest roll is double six: 4 × 6 = 24 pips.
• The shortest roll is two-one: 2 + 1 = 3 pips. Double one is short too: 4 × 1 = 4 pips.
• On average a roll moves 8.17 pips: the 36 outcomes add up to 294 pips, and 294 ÷ 36 ≈ 8.17. For comparison, each side starts a game with 167 pips to travel, its pip count.
• No mixed roll moves more than 11 pips (six-five). Four doubles move further: double three (12), double four (16), double five (20) and double six (24).

Sayings from the dice

A few of the names are part of everyday Turkish too. The dictionary gives these:

A few more tavla words

The dice are not the only Turkish words at the board. You will hear these too:

The dice on oyna.app

oyna.app’s tavla board does not print the names: you see the dice by their pips, and saying the name is up to you.

• The first roll: each player rolls one die and the higher number starts. In Turkish tavla the starter then rolls both dice again, so the first roll can be any of the 21, double six included. The status line shows who starts and the opening dice, for example “You start — 6 against 3”.
• Backgammon (cube): the starter plays the two opening dice. Equal opening dice are rolled again, so these two are never the same: the first roll is one of the 15 mixed rolls, never a double.
• When you roll a double, four dice appear on the board, and each one dims as you play it, so you can see how many moves you have left.

The rest of the rules are on the page of tavla rules: who starts, what happens with a double and how backgammon with the cube differs. You can also learn the names as you play: open tavla and say the name of every roll to yourself.