Güle güle, yolculuğunuz iyi geçsin.

Literally, güle güle means something like laughing/laughingly or with smiles.

It comes from the verb gülmek (to laugh, to smile). In this fixed expression, it has the sense of go smiling, go happily, or may you go with a smile.

In modern Turkish, though, you should learn it mainly as a set phrase meaning goodbye when the person who stays is speaking to the person who leaves.

Use Güle güle when you are staying and the other person is leaving.

A very common contrast is:

• Staying person says: Güle güle
• Leaving person says: Hoşça kal (to one person) or Hoşça kalın (to more than one person / formal)

So if your guest is leaving your house, you can say Güle güle.

It is not usually the thing the departing person says.

The repetition is just part of the fixed expression. Turkish often uses repetition for emphasis, rhythm, or idiomatic effect.

So Güle güle should be learned as a whole phrase, not as something you need to actively build each time.

Yolculuğunuz means your journey or your trip.

It is made up of:

• yolculuk = journey, trip
• -unuz / -ünüz / -nız / -niz = your (plural or polite/formal singular, depending on vowel harmony)

So:

• yolculuğum = my journey
• yolculuğun = your journey (informal singular)
• yolculuğunuz = your journey (plural or polite/formal singular)

This is because of a common consonant change in Turkish.

The base word is yolculuk. When a vowel-starting ending is added, final k often softens to ğ in many words.

So:

• yolculuk
  • -unuz
    becomes
• yolculuğunuz

This kind of change is very common in Turkish:

• çocuk → çocuğum
• renk → rengi
• yolculuk → yolculuğunuz

In Turkish, it is very natural to use a possessive form where English might or might not.

Here, yolculuğunuz specifically refers to your journey, meaning the trip the listener is about to take or is taking.

It sounds personal and natural in Turkish. Saying just yolculuk iyi geçsin would sound incomplete or less natural in this context.

Yes, -unuz can mean your for:

• you all (plural)
• you in a polite/formal sense (singular)

So yolculuğunuz can mean either:

• your journey when speaking politely to one person
• your journey when speaking to more than one person

Turkish often uses the same form for plural you and formal you, just like French vous.

Literally, iyi geçsin means something like may it pass/go well.

Breakdown:

• iyi = good, well
• geçsin = let it pass / may it go / may it be spent

With things like time, events, holidays, exams, or trips, geçmek often means to go in the sense of to turn out or to pass.

So yolculuğunuz iyi geçsin means:

• May your journey go well
• Hope your trip goes well
• Have a good trip/journey

Geçsin is a third-person optative / wish form.

It expresses a wish, hope, or mild command about he/she/it. Here, the subject is yolculuğunuz (your journey), which is grammatically third person.

So:

• geçsin = may it go/pass

This is why the sentence sounds like a polite good wish rather than a direct command.

Because the speaker is not stating a fact about the journey. They are expressing a wish.

Compare:

• geçer = it goes / it passes (general statement)
• geçecek = it will go / it will pass (future statement)
• geçsin = may it go/pass well (wish, blessing, good hope)

In farewells and polite expressions, Turkish very often uses this wish form.

You can, but it will sound awkward in English.

A very literal translation would be:

• Go smiling, may your journey pass well.

A natural English translation would be something like:

• Goodbye, have a good trip.
• Bye, hope your journey goes well.

So the Turkish wording and the English wording are not structurally identical, even though the meaning matches.

The sentence is:

• Güle güle, yolculuğunuz iyi geçsin.

This is a natural and normal order.

The second part is structured like:

• yolculuğunuz = subject
• iyi = adverbial description (well)
• geçsin = verb

Turkish word order is somewhat flexible, but this version sounds natural and neutral. Since geçsin is the verb, it normally comes at the end.

It can be polite and works very well in normal everyday situations.

Because of yolculuğunuz, it sounds either:

• polite to one person, or
• addressed to multiple people

If you were speaking to one close friend informally, you would more likely say:

• Güle güle, yolculuğun iyi geçsin.

That uses yolculuğun = your journey for informal singular you.

Yes. İyi yolculuklar is also very common and means Have a good trip / journey.

The difference is mostly in style:

• İyi yolculuklar = short, standard good wish
• Yolculuğunuz iyi geçsin = a fuller sentence, a little warmer or more personal

You can even hear both kinds of expressions in similar situations.

A rough pronunciation guide for an English speaker:

• Güle güle ≈ GYU-leh GYU-leh
• yolculuğunuz ≈ yol-joo-LOO-uh-nooz
• iyi ≈ ee-yee
• geçsin ≈ GECH-sin

A few key sounds:

• ü is like a rounded ee sound, similar to German ü or French u
• ğ usually is not pronounced as a strong consonant; it often just lengthens or smooths the surrounding vowel
• ç = ch
• c in Turkish = j as in jam

You would usually say:

• Güle güle, yolculuğun iyi geçsin.

The only change is:

• yolculuğunuz → yolculuğun

That changes your journey from formal/plural you to informal singular you.

Everything else stays the same.