Turkish for travel

Merhaba!

Merhaba works at any time of day and in any situation, from the bazaar to the hotel desk. Among friends you will also hear the shorter “Selam”.

💡 Did you know? “Merhaba” comes from Arabic and means roughly “be welcome”; the root means “wide, spacious”, as in: there is room for you here.

Günaydın.

Günaydın is made of “gün” (day) and “aydın” (bright) and is used only until around midday.

💡 Did you know? Literally the greeting means “may the day be bright”: a wish rather than a plain hello.

İyi akşamlar. / İyi geceler.

“İyi akşamlar” is said on arriving in the evening, “İyi geceler” when leaving or before going to bed.

💡 Did you know? Both greetings are plural: Turkish wishes you several good evenings or nights at once.

Hoşça kal! / Güle güle!

The person leaving says “Hoşça kal” (stay well); the one staying answers “Güle güle”. The roles are clearly assigned.

💡 Did you know? “Güle güle” literally means “laughing, laughing”: you wish the other person to go on their way with a smile.

Sonra görüşürüz.

Literally “we will see each other later”. Even shorter and very common is simply “Görüşürüz”.

💡 Did you know? The syllable -üş- turns “see” into “see one another”: Turkish has its own verb form for reciprocity.

Lütfen.

“Lütfen” usually goes at the end of the sentence: “Bir çay, lütfen.” It makes any order polite.

💡 Did you know? The word goes back to Arabic “lutf” (kindness, favour): so you are literally asking for a kindness.

Teşekkürler.

“Teşekkürler” is the everyday thank you. Very casually you can also use “Mersi”, borrowed from French.

💡 Did you know? The ending -ler is the plural: linguistically you are giving several thanks at once.

Çok teşekkür ederim.

The formal, warm version: literally “I thank very much”. Suitable with older people or in a shop.

💡 Did you know? “Ederim” is the I-form of “etmek” (to do): in Turkish you do thanks rather than say them.

Rica ederim.

The standard reply to a thank you. Just as common is “Bir şey değil”: “it's nothing”.

💡 Did you know? Literally it means “I request”: so you answer thanks with a request, much like the English “please, don't mention it”.

Evet / Hayır.

“Evet” is yes, “Hayır” is no. A polite refusal is often softened to “Yok” (there isn't any).

💡 Did you know? A no is often shown in Turkey by briefly raising the head with a click of the tongue: visitors easily mistake it for a nod.

Pardon. (Affedersiniz.)

“Pardon” is used when squeezing past or bumping into someone; “Affedersiniz” is more formal and also opens a question to a stranger.

💡 Did you know? “Pardon” was taken straight from French, like many Turkish everyday words from late Ottoman times, when French was the language of the educated.

Bu ne kadar?

Literally “this how much?”. At the bazaar, haggling is simply part of what follows.

💡 Did you know? “Kadar” actually means “measure, amount” (so the question is): to what measure?

Kartla, lütfen.

“-la” is the ending for “with”: kart + la = with card. Cash would be “nakit”.

💡 Did you know? The ending adapts to the sound of the word: “by bus” is otobüsle, “with money” is parayla. This vowel harmony runs through the whole language.

Hesap, lütfen.

“Hesap” is the bill. In a restaurant a small hand signal usually goes with it.

💡 Did you know? “Hesap” also means account and sum: the same word is in “hesap makinesi”, the pocket calculator.

Tuvalet nerede?

“Nerede” means “where” and can be swapped freely: “Otel nerede?”, “Plaj nerede?”

💡 Did you know? Doors are usually marked “Bay” for men and “Bayan” for women: knowing those two words saves some embarrassment.

Anlamıyorum.

“Anlamak” means to understand; the syllable -mı- negates it. “Anlıyorum” would be “I understand”.

💡 Did you know? Turkish builds whole sentences by adding endings: the negation sits inside the word rather than before it.

İngilizce biliyor musunuz?

Literally “Do you know English?”: in Turkish you know a language rather than speak it.

💡 Did you know? The ending -ce turns a country into a language: Türkiye → Türkçe, Almanya → Almanca, İngiltere → İngilizce.

Bir bira, lütfen.

“Bir” means both one and “a”. More typical of the country would be “bir çay” (tea) or “bir ayran”.

💡 Did you know? Tea is the real national drink: it comes in small tulip-shaped glasses, and Turkey leads the world in consumption per head.

Şerefe!

The toast when glasses are raised, literally “to honour”.

💡 Did you know? “Şeref” (honour) is borrowed from Arabic: the same root appears in the first name Şerif.

İmdat!

The call in an emergency. The single emergency number in Turkey is 112.

💡 Did you know? “İmdat” is also written on the emergency brake in buses and trains: so you can find the handle without knowing the language.