Learn Turkish: Dedem dün öldü. Çok üzüldüm, başın sağ olsun. - "My grandfather died yesterday." "I'm so sorry, my condolences."

In Turkish, üzülmek is a verb meaning 'to become sad.' By saying üzüldüm (literally 'I became sad'), you are describing the emotional reaction that just happened upon hearing the news. English uses the present tense 'I am sorry,' but Turkish focuses on the completed action of feeling sorrow.

What is the literal meaning of başın sağ olsun?

It literally translates to 'May your head be healthy' or 'May your head survive.' It is the standard Turkish idiom for expressing condolences when someone passes away. sağ means 'alive' or 'healthy,' and olsun is the command form meaning 'let it be.'

Wait, the root is üzmek. What does the -ül- in üzüldüm do?

The root verb üzmek means 'to upset' or 'to make someone sad.' The -ül- is the passive suffix, which turns the verb into üzülmek, meaning 'to be upset' or 'to become sad.' Then we add the past tense -dü and the personal ending -m for 'I'.

Does başın sağ olsun change if I am speaking to someone formally or to multiple people?

Yes. başın means 'your head' for a single, informal 'you'. If you are speaking formally, to an elder, or addressing multiple people, you must use the plural/formal possessive suffix instead: başınız sağ olsun.