Yeni yıl gelince herkes “Mutlu yıllar” dedi.

Gelince means when it came, when it arrived, or once it came.

It comes from the verb gelmek (to come) plus the ending -ince/-ınca, which makes a time clause:

• gelmek = to come
• gelince = when/once it comes-came

So:

Yeni yıl gelince = when the new year came / when the new year arrived

It is formed from the verb stem gel- plus the converb ending -ince.

A simple breakdown:

• gelmek = to come
• remove -mek → gel-
• add -ince → gelince

The form of this ending changes by vowel harmony:

• -ince / -ınca / -ünce / -unca

Here it is -ince because it matches the vowels in gel-.

They are similar, but not exactly identical in feel.

• gelince = when / once / upon coming
• geldiğinde = when it came / at the time it came

In many contexts, both are possible. But gelince often sounds a bit more direct and event-based, especially for something like the arrival of the new year.

So:

• Yeni yıl gelince = very natural
• Yeni yıl geldiğinde = also possible, slightly heavier or more explicit

Because herkes (everyone / everybody) usually takes a singular verb in standard Turkish.

So:

• Herkes dedi. = Everyone said.
• not normally Herkes dediler.

This is different from English, where everyone refers to many people but still also behaves grammatically singular in some ways. Turkish keeps the verb singular here.

Because that is the normal fixed Turkish expression.

Literally:

• mutlu = happy
• yıllar = years

So word-for-word, it looks like happy years, but idiomatically it means Happy New Year.

Turkish often uses plural forms in greetings and wishes:

• İyi günler = Have a good day / Good day
• İyi bayramlar = Happy holiday
• Mutlu yıllar = Happy New Year

So even though English uses singular year, Turkish normally uses plural yıllar in this greeting.

Because demek is the most common verb for introducing direct speech.

So:

• Mutlu yıllar dedi. = He/she said Happy New Year.

With exact quoted words, dedi is very natural.

Söylemek can also mean to say / to tell, but demek is especially common when repeating the actual words someone used.

In Turkish, the quoted words usually come before the verb dedi.

So the structure is:

[quoted words] + dedi

Example:

• Mutlu yıllar dedi.
  Literally: Happy New Year said.
  Natural English: He/she said, “Happy New Year.”

This is a very normal Turkish pattern.

Turkish usually puts the main verb near the end of the sentence.

This sentence is structured like this:

• Yeni yıl gelince = when the new year came
• herkes = everyone
• Mutlu yıllar = Happy New Year
• dedi = said

So Turkish builds the sentence as: When the new year came, everyone “Happy New Year” said.

That sounds strange in English, but it is normal in Turkish.

Because Turkish does not have articles like the or a/an in the same way English does.

So:

• yeni yıl can mean new year or the new year
• the exact meaning comes from context

In this sentence, it clearly means the new year.

In normal Turkish spelling, yeni yıl is usually written in lowercase unless it begins a sentence.

So in the sentence:

• Yeni is capitalized only because it is the first word of the sentence.

In running text, you would usually write:

• yeni yıl gelince...

You may sometimes see Yeni Yıl in cards, posters, or titles, where capitalization is used stylistically.

Yes. Both are understood.

• yıl = year
• sene = year

But yıl is the more standard Turkish word, and yeni yıl is especially common in this holiday context.

So:

• yeni yıl = very standard and natural
• yeni sene = also understandable, more conversational in some contexts

A comma is possible, but not always necessary.

You may see:

• Yeni yıl gelince herkes Mutlu yıllar dedi.
• Yeni yıl gelince, herkes Mutlu yıllar dedi.

Both are acceptable. The comma can help show the pause after the time clause, but Turkish often omits it in short, simple sentences.