Learn Hardcore Turkish: Buyurun, siz önce oturun lütfen. - Here you go, please take a seat first.

It’s a very flexible polite formula that can mean things like “go ahead,” “come in,” “here you are,” or “have a seat,” depending on context. You’ll hear it:

When someone invites you to enter: Buyurun!
When offering a seat: Buyurun, oturun.
When handing you something: Buyurun, kahveniz.
With rising intonation as a service opener: Buyurun? (“How can I help you?”)

Morphologically, it’s the polite/plural imperative of the verb buyur- (“to command; to kindly invite”): buyur- + -un → buyurun. In practice, it functions like a set phrase.

Why is siz included? Isn’t it obvious it’s “you”?

Turkish often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the person. Here siz is added for emphasis/clarity: “YOU first (not me/others).” It can signal either formal singular “you” or plural “you.”

What form is oturun? Why not otur or oturunuz?

oturun = 2nd person plural/polite imperative of otur- (“sit”). It matches siz.
otur = informal singular imperative for sen (to a friend/child).
oturunuz = very formal/polite (sounds official/old-fashioned in everyday speech). All three are correct in the right register; here, oturun is the natural polite choice.

What does önce do here? Is ilk önce okay?

önce is an adverb meaning “first / before (others).” It highlights the order: “you first.”

ilk önce is common in speech but considered redundant in careful style.
Alternatives: öncelikle (“firstly,” for structuring arguments/speeches), not ideal for this simple invitation; önceden means “beforehand/previously,” which doesn’t fit here.

Can I change the word order (e.g., Önce siz oturun)?

Yes. Word order is flexible for emphasis:

Siz önce oturun: emphasizes “you (first).”
Önce siz oturun: emphasizes the sequence “first you” and is very idiomatic (like “After you”).
You can also say: Buyurun, önce siz oturun (lütfen). All are natural.

Where should lütfen go?

Common placements:

At the start: Lütfen oturun.
At the end: Oturun lütfen. Both are fine; sentence-final can feel a touch softer. You can also place it after the emphasized element: Siz lütfen önce oturun.

Isn’t Buyurun already an invitation? Do I need both Buyurun and lütfen?

You don’t need both, but using both is very natural. Buyurun is the invitation; lütfen adds politeness/softness. Together they sound warm and courteous, not redundant.

Does oturmak mean “to sit” or “to sit down”? I’ve also heard it means “to live.”

All of the above, depending on context:

“to sit / to sit down” (here, it means “have a seat”).
“to live/reside” (e.g., Ankara’da oturuyor = “He/She lives in Ankara”).
In the imperative oturun, it’s clearly “sit (down)/have a seat.”

How do I pronounce the special letters in this sentence?

ö in önce: like German “ö” or French “eu” in “bleu” (rounded lips).
ü in Buyurun and lütfen: like German “ü” or the French “u” in “tu.”
c in önce: like English “j” in “jam.” (Note: ç—not in this sentence—would be “ch.”)
r is a tapped/flapped sound. Syllables: Bu-yu-run, siz, ön-ce, o-tu-run, lüt-fen.

Why is there a comma after Buyurun?

Because Buyurun functions like an interjection/opening formula. The comma separates that discourse marker from the main request that follows.

Is buyurun singular or plural? What about buyur and buyurunuz?

buyur = informal singular (to someone you’d call sen).
buyurun = plural or polite singular (to siz), the most common in service/polite contexts.
buyurunuz = very formal/polite; sounds stiff in everyday talk. You might see colloquial spelling buyrun, but standard is buyurun.

Can I leave out parts and still sound natural?

Yes, depending on how much you want to say:

Buyurun, oturun.
Oturun lütfen.
Önce siz oturun.
Buyurun. (alone, with gesture, is often enough) The full version just layers politeness and clarity.

Could siz address multiple people here?

Yes. siz can be formal singular or plural “you.” oturun fits both. If you mean a single friend, switch to sen / otur; for a group you’re close to, you can still use oturun because it’s the plural imperative.

Are there closely related, natural variants?

Buyurun, lütfen buyurun. (very common “Please, come in/go ahead.”)
Buyurun, önce siz buyurun. (“After you.”)
Buyurun, şöyle oturun lütfen. (showing a place: “this way, please have a seat”)
Buyurun, içeri geçin lütfen. (“Please come in.”)

Any common mistakes to avoid with pronouns and verb endings?

Don’t mismatch pronoun and imperative:

Wrong: siz otur / sen oturun
Right: sen otur, siz oturun, siz oturunuz (very formal)

Can I say Önceden siz oturun to mean “you first”?

No. önceden means “beforehand/previously (at an earlier time).” Use önce for ordering actions: Önce siz oturun or Siz önce oturun.