Breakdown of Geç kaldım diye bana darılma.
bana
me
geç kalmak
to be late
diye
because
darılmak
to get offended
Questions & Answers about Geç kaldım diye bana darılma.
Can you break the sentence down word by word?
Yes:
- geç = late
- kaldım = I stayed / I remained → in this expression, I was late
- diye = because / saying / on the grounds that
- bana = to me
- darılma = don’t be offended / don’t be upset / don’t sulk
So the structure is roughly:
Geç kaldım + diye + bana + darılma
= Don’t be upset with me because I was late.
Why does Turkish say geç kaldım for I was late? Why use kalmak?
This is a very common Turkish expression. Geç kalmak is the standard way to say to be late.
Literally, kalmak often means to stay or to remain, but in many expressions it takes on a more idiomatic meaning. So:
- geç kalmak = to be late
- toplantıya geç kaldım = I was late for the meeting
A native English speaker may expect something like I became late, but Turkish uses kalmak here instead.
Why is it kaldım (I was late) when the sentence is telling someone else not to be upset?