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### Answering the phone

A Turkish phone call opens with {{item:829460}}. The person answering often follows with {{item:829463}} — a word with no single English equivalent. It means roughly *yes?* or *pardon?*, and it is used three ways:

* answering a call or a summons — *Efendim?*
* asking someone to repeat — *Efendim, anlamadım.*
* as a polite tag after a name — *Ayşe Hanım efendim*

### Addressing people

{{item:829466}} literally means *older brother*, but it is used far beyond the family: to a shopkeeper, a taxi driver, any man a little older than you. It is warm and informal.

### Agreeing, thanking, apologising

| word | use |
|---|---|
| {{item:829469}} | of course — agreeing readily |
| {{item:829472}} | all right then — accepting, or changing the subject |
| {{item:829475}} | thanks — informal, to one person |
| {{item:829478}} | sorry — for small bumps and interruptions |

### Personal details

On any form you will meet {{item:829481}} (surname), and in conversation {{item:829484}} — *where are you from?* — asking about origin rather than the place you happen to be.

On the phone and forms of address

### The Universal Word: şey

**Şey** (thing) may be the hardest-working word in Turkish. It names any object — and it is also the universal filler word: Turks say *şey...* mid-sentence exactly the way English speakers say "um...".

{{item:798416}}

{{item:798417}}

### I Mean: yani

**Yani** (I mean, that is) rephrases what you just said — Turkish conversation leans on it constantly. It usually opens the sentence.

{{item:798419}}

{{item:798420}}

### Come On: hadi

**Hadi** (come on!) pushes people into action. Pair it with the commands you just learned.

{{item:798422}}

{{item:798423}}

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

Question	Answer
hello (on the phone)	alo
Hello, can you hear me?	Alo, beni duyuyor musun?
Hello, who is calling?	Alo, kim arıyor?
pardon? yes? (answering)	efendim
Pardon? I could not hear you.	Efendim? Sizi duyamadım.
Yes? I am listening to you.	Efendim, sizi dinliyorum.
older brother; friendly address to a man	abi
Brother, I am asking a question.	Abi, bir soru soruyorum.
My older brother is older than me.	Abim benden büyük.
Of course, I will help you.	Tabii, sana yardım ederim.
Of course I am coming.	Tabii ki geliyorum.
All right then, let us go.	Peki, o zaman gidelim.
All right, I understand.	Peki, anladım.
thanks (informal)	sağ ol
Thanks, you helped a lot.	Sağ ol, çok yardım ettin.
Thanks for the book.	Kitap için sağ ol.
sorry, excuse me (informal)	pardon
Sorry, I am late.	Pardon, geç kaldım.
Sorry, I did not hear your name.	Pardon, adınızı duymadım.
surname	soyadı
What is your surname?	Soyadınız nedir?
I wrote my surname here.	Soyadımı buraya yazdım.
from where (of what origin)	nereli
Where are you from? I am from İzmir.	Nerelisiniz? Ben İzmirliyim.
Where is this student from?	Bu öğrenci nereli?