Breakdown of Hoşça kal, kendine iyi bak!
hoşça kal
goodbye (said by the one leaving)
kendine iyi bak
take care of yourself
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Questions & Answers about Hoşça kal, kendine iyi bak!
Who usually says Hoşça kal, the person leaving or the person staying?
The person who is leaving says Hoşça kal. It literally means stay pleasantly, as hoşça means pleasantly and kal is the command for stay. The person who is staying behind usually replies with Güle güle.
How does the word kendine break down?
It comes from the root kendi, which means self. We add -n to mean your, making it your self, and finally the direction ending -e meaning to. So kendine literally translates to: to yourself.
I thought bak meant look. Why is it translated as take care here?
You are right, bak is the command form of bakmak, which means to look. However, when combined with kendine (to yourself), the full phrase kendine iyi bak is a fixed idiom that means take care of yourself, or literally look well to yourself.
Are kal and bak informal or formal commands?
These are informal commands used for one person you would call sen, the informal you. If you were speaking to a group or addressing someone formally, you would add the formal endings and say Hoşça kalın, kendinize iyi bakın.