Turkish greetings (hello, good morning, thank you,...)
Sign up for free to get all information about private lessons and our available group courses (A1, A2, B2, B2, C1, C2)
Sign up for freeThis page contains phrases and greetings in Turkish. It also helps if you want to learn small talk sentences such as hello, good morning, good night, good bye in Turkish.
Most of the sentences below are used for greeting people, so they might come handy if you memorize them.
If you don't know how to say a word then check the alphabet page which can be found on the menu above to get some help.
Grammar notes for beginners
In Turkish, if you are talking to someone you do not know, you should call that person by the plural person pronoun which is also formal pronoun. Do not worry, it's not complicated at all.
And unlike many other languages, there is no grammatical gender in Turkish. So there is no difference between he, she and it. There's only 'o', there are no words like am/is/are and "the", and no need for them.
Lesson outline
Hide- 1.Turkish greeting
- 1.1.Hello in Turkish
- 1.1.1.How to answer a greeting in Turkish
- 1.1.2.Asking a question in return
- 1.2.Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night in Turkish
- 1.3.Meeting (Tanışma)
- 1.3.1.What is your name? in Turkish (informal-formal)
- 1.3.2. How to introduce yourself in Turkish?
- 1.4.Turkish honorifics
- 1.5.Thank you in Turkish (Teşekkür etme)
- 1.6.Good bye in Turkish (Vedalaşma)
- 1.6.1. Summary:
- 2.Exercises
- 2.1.Exercises on saying hello and thank you in Turkish
- 2.2.Greeting exercises in Turkish
Turkish greeting
Saying hello in Turkish is a little bit more complex , for there is more than one way of saying hello.
Have a question?
Take online language lessons with a professional teacher
- Native & verified teachers
- Free trial lesson
- Learning materials included
Pelin C. 
Elena A. 
Ebru A. 
Abdullah O.
Göksu A.
Su G.
ERSEL B.
Samet T.
Merve A.
Yakup Cumhur C.
Hello in Turkish
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Hello! (may be formal or informal) | Merhaba! | /meɾhɑbɑ/ |
| Hello/Hi! (informal) | Selam! | /selɑm/ |
| How are you? (formal singular or plural) | Nasılsınız? | /nɑsɯɫsɯnɯz/ |
| How are you? (formal singular or plural) | Nasılsınız? | /nɑsɯɫsɯnɯz/ |
| How are you? informal singular) | Nasılsın? | /nɑsɯɫsɯn/ |
| How's it going? | Nasıl gidiyor ? | /nasɯɫ ɟidijoɾ/ |
| What's up? | Ne var, ne yok? | /ne olujoɾ/ |
| What's up? (lit. what news?) , (very informal) | Ne haber? | (often pronounced like Naber?) |
How to answer a greeting in Turkish
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
I'm fine. | İyiyim | /ijijim/ |
Me too... | Ben de... | /ben de/ |
Good/fine | İyi | /iji/ |
Asking a question in return
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
And you? (informal) | -Ya sen? | /jɑ sen/ |
And you? (formal or plural) | - Ya siz? | /jɑ siz/ |
Good morning, good afternoon, good evening and good night in Turkish
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
Hello! | Merhaba! |
Good morning! / Good Day! | İyi Günler! |
Good evening! | İyi Akşamlar! |
Good night! | İyi Geceler! |
Welcome! (informal) | Hoşgeldin! |
Welcome! (formal) | Hoşgeldin! |
| Good afternoon | Tünaydın! |
Meeting (Tanışma)
What is your name? in Turkish (informal-formal)
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| What's your name? (informal) | Adın ne? | /ɑdɯn ne/ |
| What's your name? (formal or plural) | Adınız ne? | /ɑdɯnɯz ne/ |
How to introduce yourself in Turkish?
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Name | - Ad | /ɑd/ |
| Surname | - Soyadı | /sojɑdɯ/ |
| My name is... | - Adım ... | /ɑdɯm/ |
| Nice to meet you. (lit. I'm pleased) | - Memnun oldum | /memnun oɫdum/ |
Turkish honorifics
Note: Turkish honorifics come after the first name, unlike English Mr and Mrs. They are often translated as Bay (/bɑɪ/) and Bayan (/bɑjɑn/). Examples; Bay Ali, Bayan Emine
Bey /beɪ/ (for men)
Hanım /hɑnɯm/ (for women)
Examples; Nihal Hanım, Mustafa Bey (Burcu and Ahmet are first names, not surnames)
Thank you in Turkish (Teşekkür etme)
There are many way of saying thank you in Turkish
| English | Turkish |
|---|---|
| Thank you | -Teşekkür ederim |
| Thank you | -Teşekkürler |
| Thanks (informal, singular) | -Sağ ol |
| Thanks (informal, plural) | -Sağ olun |
| You're welcome (lit. it's not a thing) | -Bir şey değil |
| You're welcome - (lit. it's not important) | -Önemli değil |
| Please | -Lütfen |
Good bye in Turkish (Vedalaşma)
Like in hello and thank you, there are more than one way of saying goodbye in Turkish, but this time depending on situation. For this, rules are a bit complicated, some people can use English bye bye as a way of farewell. But it should not be used in formal situations, and you still have to learn Turkish ways of saying goodbye.
| English | Turkish | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| Goodbye. (said by the remaining person to the leaving person) | Güle güle | /ɟyle ɟyle/ |
| Goodbye (informal, said by the leaving person to the remaining person) | Hoşçakal | /hoʃtʃɑkɑɫ/ |
| Goodbye (formal, said by the leaving person to the remaining person) | Hoşçakalın | hoʃtʃɑkɑɫɯn/ |
| See you (later). | (Sonra) görüşürüz | /ɟøɾyʃyɾyz/ |
| See you later. | Görüşmek üzere | /ɟøɾyʃmec yzeɾe/ |
Summary:
We learned Turkish greetings, meeting, leaving small talk sentences and honorifics on this page with help of playable examples. Studying exercises will help the knowledge to remain.