Meeting people in Turkish
How are you, what is your name, where are you from, I like it: the first five minutes. Play the ten Turkish words against the clock, with a note on how locals really use each one after every answer. All ten are written out below.
All 10 Turkish phrases in this lesson
- Nasılsınız?na-suhl-suh-NUHZ
- How are you?
- İyiyim, teşekkürleree-YEE-yim teh-shek-kewr-LER
- I'm fine, thanks
- Ya siz?yah SEEZ
- And you?
- Adınız ne?a-duh-NUHZ neh
- What's your name?
- Benim adım ...beh-NEEM a-DUHM
- My name is...
- Nerelisiniz?neh-reh-LEE-see-niz
- Where are you from?
- ...-liyim-lee-YIM
- I'm from...
- Beğendimbeh-en-DEEM
- I like it
- Çok güzelchok gew-ZEL
- It's beautiful
- Hoş geldinizHOSH gel-dee-NEEZ
- Welcome
The polite form for strangers and elders. With friends it is "nasılsın?" (na-suhl-SUHN), and "ne var ne yok?" (neh VAR neh YOK, what is there and what is not) is the Turkish "what's up".
İyiyim is one word: iyi (good) plus -yim (I am). Turks often add "şükür" (shew-KEWR), thanks be to God, reflecting how common a religious register is in everyday speech.
The polite "and you?" Casual: "ya sen?" (yah SEN). Always return the question; Turkish conversation expects it.
Literally "your name what?". Casual: "adın ne?" (a-DUHN neh). Expect follow-up questions about family, work and whether you like Türkiye.
"Benim adım Anna". Shorter and just as common: "ben Anna" (I am Anna).
One word: nere (where) plus -li (from) plus -siniz (you are). Casual: "nerelisin?". A question you will hear in every taxi and carpet shop.
Add -li and -yim to the place, with the vowels following harmony: "Londralıyım" (I am from London), "Amerikalıyım" (from America). Or simply say the country: "İngiltere".
Literally "I liked it", the natural way to say it about food, a place or something in a shop. The ğ is silent and just lengthens the vowel before it.
Güzel is the word you will use most: beautiful, nice, good. Turks are proud of their country, and saying this about a view or a city lands warmly.
Literally "you came pleasantly", said by hosts and shopkeepers. The reply is "hoş bulduk" (HOSH bool-DOOK), we found it pleasant. Answering correctly always gets a smile.