Turkish/Greetings

< Turkish

Merhaba! İlk dersinize hoşgeldiniz!.

Grammar notes for beginners

In Turkish, like in many other languages, when you're talking to someone you've never met before, rarely ever talk to or of great importance, you refer to them in the plural form. As you can see in the conversation, rather than referring to each other as sen (you [singular]), they refer to each other as siz (you [plural]). Do not get frightened, this formality is not as complex as in Japanese!

And unlike many other languages, there is no grammatical gender in Turkish. So there is no distinction between he, she and it. There's only o. And like in Russian, there are no words like "am/is/are" and "the", and no need for them.

Greeting (Selamlaşma /selɑmɫɑʃmɑ/)

Saying hello is a little bit more complex in Turkish, for there is more than one way of saying hello.

Note: "Ya" means "or", not "and". "And" is "ve" (/ve/).

This is an invariable greeting ritual. Turks are pleased when foreigners make an effort to learn and participate in it.

Meeting (Tanışma /tɑnɯʃmɑ/)

Turkish honorifics come after the first name, unlike English Mr and Mrs. They are often translated as Bay (/bɑɪ/) and Bayan (/bɑjɑn/). Examples; Bay Smith, Bayan Jenkins

Examples; Burcu Hanım, Ahmet Bey (Burcu and Ahmet are first names, not surnames)

Thanking (Teşekkür etme /teʃec:yɾ etme/)

Several ways of saying thank you.

Saying goodbye (Vedalaşma /vedɑɫɑʃmɑ/)

Like in hello and thank you, there are more than one way of saying goodbye, but this time depending on situation. For this rules are a bit complex, some people may use English bye bye as a way of valediction. But it should not be used in formal situations, and you still have to learn Turkish ways of saying goodbye.

If you have to specify later meeting time, say the meeting time before "görüşürüz". For example; Yarın görüşürüz, Pazartesi görüşürüz

Example (Örnek /øɾnec/)

Şevki: Merhaba! Adım Şevki.

Ayşe: Selam Şevki! Ayşe.

Şevki: Nasılsınız, Ayşe Hanım?

Ayşe: İyiyim, siz nasılsınız?

Şevki: Ben de iyiyim, teşekkürler.

Ayşe: İyi. Memnun oldum.

Şevki: Ben de.

Ayşe: Hoşçakal!

Şevki: Güle güle! Yarın görüşürüz.

Exercises (Egzersizler /eɟzeɾˈsizleɾ/)

Exercising a language is an important part of learning it. Let's strengthen our Turkish with some exercises.

Translate the following into Turkish:

- Hello. I'm Anıl. And you?

- Hello, Anıl. I'm Gökhan. How are you?

- I'm fine, thanks.

- Good night.

Answer:

- Merhaba. Ben Anıl. Ya sen/siz?

- Merhaba, Anıl. Ben Gökhan. Nasılsın(ız)?

- İyiyim, teşekkürler.

- İyi geceler.


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