Greetings and politeness

Saying Hello

Merhaba (hello) is the all-purpose Turkish greeting — it works with anyone, at any time of day. Selam (hi) is its casual cousin, best among friends.

Hello! I am a doctor.
Merhaba! Ben doktorum.
Hi! I am a student.
Selam! Ben öğrenciyim.

Greetings drop straight into the question patterns you already know:

Hello! Are you a teacher?
Merhaba! Sen öğretmen misin?
Hi! Who are you?
Selam! Sen kimsin?

Good Morning

Günaydın (good morning) opens the day. Like any greeting, it stands on its own or in front of a full sentence.

Good morning! Are you tired?
Günaydın! Sen yorgun musun?
Good morning, children!
Günaydın çocuklar!

Saying Goodbye

Hoşça kal (goodbye) is said by the person who is LEAVING. The person staying behind answers with güle güle — Turkish splits the farewell in two!

Who speaksSays
the one leavinghoşça kal
the one stayinggüle güle
Okay, goodbye!
Tamam, hoşça kal!

Thanks and Okay

Teşekkürler (thanks) and tamam (okay) carry half of daily conversation between them.

The Language You Are Learning

Türkçe is the Turkish language itself. Language names are capitalized in Turkish, and Türkçe behaves like any noun — it takes the question particle and değil just as you learned.

Is this book Turkish?
Bu kitap Türkçe mi?
This book is not Turkish.
Bu kitap Türkçe değil.

Contributors