How to Say Hello in Turkish

Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Fun and Easy Turkish by TurkishClass101.com!

Did you know that there are many different ways of saying hello in Turkish?

Stay tuned if you want to learn them all!

Selam arkadaşlar, ben Selin Tokyo.

Hi everyone! I’m Selin Tokyo.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say "hello" in Turkish.

Knowing the appropriate greetings, gestures and courtesy is the first step to making new friends.

In this video we will show you how to say hello in Turkish in different ways, depending on the situation!

Let’s start with the traditional Merhaba.

A good choice for saying hello in almost any occasion is Merhaba.

[SLOW] Merhaba

Merhaba

This word originates from the Arabic marhaban, and is a polite Turkish greeting meaning "I receive you graciously" or "I welcome you."

You don’t have to pluralize merhaba when addressing a group of people, but it is acceptable to do so. The plural form is

Merhabalar

[SLOW] Merhabalar

Merhabalar

Let’s now go over how to greet people formally.

In a formal setting, most likely with people you don’t know, you can add an efendim before or after you say, merhaba.

efendim

"sir/madam"

[SLOW] efendim

efendim

So you can say,

Merhaba efendim

"Hello, Madam/Sir."

[SLOW] Merhaba efendim

Merhaba efendim

Efendim, merhaba

"Madam/Sir, hello."

[SLOW] Efendim, merhaba

Efendim, merhaba

You can then follow up with,

Tanıştığımıza memnun oldum.

"I’m pleased to meet you."

[SLOW] Tanıştığımıza memnun oldum .

Tanıştığımıza memnun oldum.

It’s an elegant way to tell someone that you’re happy to meet them.

A shortened way to say that is,

memnun oldum

"I’m pleased."

[SLOW] memnun oldum

memnun oldum

It’s the same as saying "Pleasure" instead of "Pleasure to meet you."

There are different greeting phrases in informal greetings as well.

We'll start with:

Selamün aleyküm.

[SLOW] Selamün aleyküm

Selamün aleyküm

It’s derived from the universal Muslim greeting

Es selam’ün aleyküm

"May peace be upon you."

When someone greets you with Selamun aleyküm, make sure to answer back with,

Ve aleyküm selam

"And may peace be upon you."

[SLOW] Ve aleyküm selam

Ve aleyküm selam

Because of their religious connotations, these phrases aren’t widely used in modern Turkey. But they’re still acceptable in religious or traditional circles.

The shorter,

Selam,

on the other hand, literally means "peace," and is free of any religious connotations.

[SLOW] Selam

Selam

This is the equivalent of "hey" or "hi," and you can use it among your friends.

Now let’s have a look at time-specific greetings.

There are many ways of saying "good morning" in Turkish. Let’s look at them one at a time.

First,

Günaydın

"Good morning"

[SLOW] Günaydın

Günaydın

This is a modern greeting which is suitable to use in all situations.

Next,

Hayırlı sabahlar

"May your mornings be blessed."

[SLOW] Hayırlı sabahlar

Hayırlı sabahlar

This is an older phrase that’s more popular among people who value traditions.

There’s also,

Sabah şerifleriniz hayrolsun

"May your blessed morning be full of goodness."

[SLOW] Sabah şerifleriniz hayrolsun

Sabah şerifleriniz hayrolsun

This is a beloved Ottoman phrase that’s still used as a warm and polite greeting.

And lastly, we have,

İyi günler

"Good day."

[SLOW] İyi günler

İyi günler

It’s a more formal greeting than merhaba, so one might come across as cold or formal if it’s used among close friends.

This may also be used as a parting greeting.

As for "Good Afternoon," in Turkish, we say,

Tünaydın.

"Good afternoon"

[SLOW] Tünaydın

Tünaydın

The literal meaning of Tünaydın is "May your roosting time be good or bright" or "Good roosting time."

Irritated teachers sometimes use this phrase to poke fun at sleepy students enjoying a lazy afternoon nap.

As for "Good evening," in Turkish we would say,

İyi akşamlar

"Good evening"

[SLOW] İyi akşamlar

İyi akşamlar

This is a polite greeting that may be used by anyone in any situation.

Another option for "good evening" is

Akşam şerifleriniz hayrolsun

"May your blessed evening be full of goodness."

[SLOW] Akşam şerifleriniz hayrolsun

Akşam şerifleriniz hayrolsun

This phrase is a polite Ottoman Turkish alternative.

And lastly, for saying "goodnight," you can say

İyi geceler

"Goodnight."

[SLOW] İyi geceler

İyi geceler

Another more traditional option is,

Hayırlı geceler

"May your nights be blessed."

[SLOW] Hayırlı geceler

Hayırlı geceler

Let’s now briefly talk about Turkish titles, and how they are used together with greetings.

Although Merhaba can be used for greeting anyone, regardless of their gender, there are also some gender-specific titles you should know about.

When greeting someone, you could either repeat their name after the greeting, such as,

Merhaba Hakan Bey

"Hello, Mr. Hakan"

[SLOW] Merhaba Hakan Bey

Merhaba Hakan Bey

Merhaba Asu Hanım

"Hello, Ms. Asu "

[SLOW] Merhaba Asu Hanım

Merhaba Asu Hanım

Or you can say Merhaba followed by their surname and then Mr/Mrs/Ms, as in

Merhaba, Aslan Bey.

Merhaba, Ulvi Hanım.

Next, let’s talk about some nonverbal greetings and gestures.

Body gestures are just as important as the words you speak.

When it comes to greetings, a slight nod of the head can mean "I acknowledge and salute you."

This is also a sign of respect for the other person.

Additionally, the universal raised hand or wave is also acceptable.

And if you know the other person well, wide-open arms, referencing a hug, would be appreciated among friends.

Be careful when giving someone a kiss on the cheek, though! The Turkish do it, too, but they only kiss and hug those of the same gender.

Some Turkish people are okay with kissing or hugging the opposite gender, but it’s not widely accepted.

Let’s next go over how to greet someone online or on the phone.

Here’s an interesting fact!

Turkish people don’t say Merhaba when they answer the phone.

Instead, they say

alo

which sounds a lot like the English "hello."

[SLOW] alo

alo

When it comes to writing, formal greetings such as İyi günler are a wiser choice.

Applying good grammar and sentence structure is important in formal communication.

In other less formal cases, Selam or Merhaba are fine.

Some people even use Slm, the consonants in Selam, as a cute form of texting slang.

And finally, let’s learn how to say "hello, how are you?" in Turkish.

For formal occasions, you can ask,

Merhaba, nasılsın?

"Hello, how are you?"

[SLOW] Merhaba, nasılsın?

Merhaba, nasılsın?

And for informal events, you can ask,

Merhaba, nasılsınız?

"Hello, how are you?"

[SLOW] Merhaba, nasılsınız?

Merhaba, nasılsınız?

In Turkish, these questions require an answer, so if someone asks you Nasılsınız?

You can answer with,

İyiyim, siz nasılsınız?

"I’m fine, how are you?"

[SLOW] İyiyim, siz nasılsınız?

İyiyim, siz nasılsınız?

Among friends, however,

Nasılsın? together with the reply İyiyim, ya sen?

make for a more informal conversation.

[SLOW] İyiyim, ya sen?

İyiyim, ya sen?

In this lesson, you learned how to say

"hello" in Turkish in different settings, at different times of the day, and with different people.

You also learned nonverbal greetings, greetings used online and over the phone, plus the bonus phrase for "how are you?" in Turkish.

Want to learn Turkish fast with PDF cheat sheets? You can get cheat sheets for all kinds of topics: travel, hobbies, love and much more…

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That’s it for today! See you next time!

Güle güle.

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