Turkish Greetings and Politeness: The Useful Basics

In Turkey, a conversation almost always starts with a warm greeting and a quick exchange of news. People rarely skip straight to business: they say hello, ask how the other person is doing, say thank you and wish each other a good day. Knowing a handful of these phrases will make your first exchanges feel far more natural, whether you're talking to a shopkeeper in Istanbul, a colleague or a Turkish friend. In this article you'll find the core vocabulary with pronunciation, a full dialogue recorded by a native teacher, and the mistakes to avoid.

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Cultural context: why politeness matters so much in Turkey

Turkish culture puts a lot of weight on hospitality and personal connection. Saying hello and moving on isn't enough. People take a moment to ask how you are, maybe chat about the weather, or offer you tea or coffee. These small ritual phrases aren't empty small talk. They show that you respect the person in front of you and care about them.

English uses "you" for everyone, but Turkish works more like French, Spanish or German: it separates an informal register from a polite one. With a friend, a family member or a child, you use the informal form. With an older person, a stranger, a customer or a boss, you switch to the polite form. Think of it as the difference between calling someone by their first name and calling them "Mr." or "Mrs.", except that in Turkish the difference is built into the verb. You can see it clearly in the question "how are you?":

• nasılsın: how are you (informal)
• nasılsınız: how are you (formal)

Only a few letters separate them, but they change how people see you. If you're unsure, especially with an older person, the polite form is always the safer choice.

Another cultural point: greetings depend a lot on the time of day. Turkish has one phrase for the morning, another for the evening and another for the night. There are also several ways to say goodbye. Finally, people say thank you often and in many different ways: for a favor, for a compliment, and even when someone asks how they are.

Essential Turkish greetings vocabulary

These are the words and phrases to learn first. The phonetic transcription will help you pronounce the letters that are specific to Turkish.

Pronunciation tips

Turkish uses the Latin alphabet, but some letters don't sound the way an English speaker expects:

• ş sounds like the "sh" in "ship". You hear it in Teşekkür ederim and İyi akşamlar.
• ç sounds like the "ch" in "church". You hear it in Hoşça kal, transcribed /hoʃtʃa kal/.
• ı (the dotless i) has no exact English equivalent. It's written /ɯ/: try saying "ee" while pulling your tongue back and keeping your lips relaxed and unrounded. It sits close to the quick, neutral vowel at the end of "roses". You hear it twice in nasılsın.
• ü sounds like the German ü or the French "u": say "ee" while rounding your lips as if to whistle. You hear it in Günaydın and iyi günler.
• c sounds like the "j" in "jam". Look at the transcription of iyi geceler: /i.ji ɡe.dʒe.leɾ/.
• g is always hard, as in "go", never soft as in "gem".
• r is lightly tapped, with a single flick of the tongue, a bit like the "tt" in an American "better".

Also notice the double k in Teşekkür ederim: in Turkish, a doubled consonant is held a little longer, which is what the /kː/ in the transcription shows.

Hello: Merhaba, selam or Günaydın?

Merhaba is the all-purpose hello: it works in almost any situation, at any time of day, with strangers and close friends alike. selam is more relaxed, like "hi" or "hey": keep it for friends and people your own age. Günaydın is for the morning: it's the hello you say when you wake up, over your morning coffee or when you arrive at the office.

In the evening, switch to İyi akşamlar (good evening), and when it's time for bed, or when you leave someone late at night, say iyi geceler (good night).

Thank you: several shades of meaning

Turkish gives you several ways to say thanks. Teşekkür ederim is the full, polite form, perfect in a shop, at a restaurant or with someone you don't know. In the reply İyiyim, teşekkürler, you'll find a shorter, lighter form that's very common in everyday life. And in the dialogue below, you'll hear a third, more casual form used between friends.

Examples and dialogue: two friends meet

Here's a complete exchange between Ayşe and Mehmet, two friends who bump into each other in the morning. Every line was recorded by a native teacher.

Ayşe: Merhaba Mehmet! Nasılsın? Hi Mehmet! How are you?

Mehmet: Merhaba Ayşe! İyiyim, teşekkür ederim. Sen nasılsın? Hi Ayşe! I'm fine, thank you. And how are you?

Ayşe: Ben de iyiyim, sağ ol. Bugün hava çok güzel! I'm fine too, thanks. The weather is really nice today!

Mehmet: Evet, harika bir gün! Kahvaltı yaptın mı? Yes, it's a wonderful day! Have you had breakfast?

Ayşe: Evet, yaptım. Hadi, iyi günler! Yes, I have. Well, have a good day!

Mehmet: İyi günler, görüşürüz! Have a good day, see you!

What this dialogue teaches us

1. You greet people by name. "Merhaba Mehmet!" and "Merhaba Ayşe!": adding the first name after the greeting is very common and makes the exchange warmer.

2. You always return the question. When someone asks you "Nasılsın?", politeness means you answer, then ask back: "Sen nasılsın?", meaning "And how are you?". Forgetting to return the question can come across as cold.

3. Three ways to say thank you. In this one short exchange, people say thanks in two different ways: Mehmet uses "teşekkür ederim", while Ayşe uses the more casual "sağ ol" in "Ben de iyiyim, sağ ol." Add "İyiyim, teşekkürler!" from earlier, and you've got three shades of thank you.

4. You make a little conversation. After the greetings, Ayşe mentions the weather: "Bugün hava çok güzel!" Mehmet follows up with breakfast: "Kahvaltı yaptın mı?" These small lines show that you're taking time to talk, which is very much appreciated in Turkey.

5. You part with a good wish. "Hadi, iyi günler!" (Well, have a good day!) followed by "İyi günler, görüşürüz!" (Have a good day, see you!). Nobody leaves without a kind word.

A short version to practice

If the full dialogue feels long, start with this minimal exchange, ideal for your first few days:

A: Merhaba! Nasılsın? Hi! How are you?

B: İyiyim, teşekkürler! Sen nasılsın? I'm fine, thanks! And you?

With these two lines, you can already greet someone, ask how they are and return the question.

Real-life scenario: politeness at the café

Politeness isn't just about saying hello. You also hear it when people ask for something. Imagine you're ordering a drink and someone asks how you'd like it. Here's a sentence recorded by our teacher:

Şekersiz lütfen. Sütsüz de olsun. No sugar, please. And no milk either.

The key word here is lütfen, "please". It often comes after the thing you're asking for, as in "Şekersiz lütfen." Adding this little word turns a plain request into a polite one.

Here's how a short café scene can play out using only the phrases from this article:

1. When you walk in in the morning, you greet the staff: Günaydın.
2. When they ask how you take your drink, you say: Şekersiz lütfen. Sütsüz de olsun.
3. When they serve you, you say thanks: Teşekkür ederim.
4. As you leave, you wish them well: iyi günler.

Four phrases, and you've handled the whole situation politely and naturally. If you come back in the evening, simply swap Günaydın for İyi akşamlar.

Recap and common mistakes

Key takeaways

• To say hello at any time: Merhaba. With friends: selam. In the morning: Günaydın.
• In the evening: İyi akşamlar. Before bed: iyi geceler.
• To ask how someone is: nasılsın with someone close, nasılsınız with someone you address formally.
• To reply: İyiyim, teşekkürler, then return the question.
• To say thank you politely: Teşekkür ederim.
• To say goodbye: iyi günler, Hoşça kal, or "İyi günler, görüşürüz!".

Mistakes to avoid

Using the informal form with everyone. This is the most common mistake among English speakers, since English has no formal "you" to remind them. Asking "Nasılsın?" to an older person or to a stranger in a formal setting can sound too familiar. Use nasılsınız in those situations.

Saying Günaydın in the afternoon. Günaydın is for the morning only. Later in the day, go back to Merhaba, then switch to İyi akşamlar in the evening.

Mixing up good evening and good night. İyi akşamlar is used to greet or leave someone in the evening. iyi geceler is said when you part for the night, when someone is going to bed. Don't say iyi geceler when you arrive at someone's house at 8 p.m.

Ignoring the special letters. If you write Turkish words without their cedillas and dots, readers will usually still understand you. But when you speak, the sounds ş, ü and ı really change the pronunciation. Practice with the transcriptions in the table.

Pronouncing the dotless i like an English "i". The ı in nasılsın is not an "ee" or an "ih". If you pronounce it like a regular i, you'll be understood, but your accent will stand out right away. Aim for the /ɯ/ sound, with relaxed, unrounded lips.

Using selam in a formal context. selam is friendly and casual. For a job interview, an appointment at a government office or a first meeting with an older person, Merhaba is more appropriate.

Leaving without saying goodbye. In Turkey, you don't walk away from a conversation without a parting phrase. A simple Hoşça kal or iyi günler is enough, but it is expected.

Going further

Reading greetings isn't enough: you need to hear them and repeat them out loud. Turkish pronunciation is very regular (each letter matches one sound), but some sounds, like ı and ü, take practice, especially for English speakers. The most effective method is to listen to native speakers and imitate them.

On Targumi, Turkish lessons come with audio recorded by native teachers. That's true for every sentence in this article, from the opening "Merhaba! Nasılsın?" to the final "İyi günler, görüşürüz!". You can listen to each line of the dialogue between Ayşe and Mehmet, repeat it and compare your pronunciation.

A few tips to make progress:

• Learn in pairs. Always memorize a question together with its answer: "Nasılsın?" with "İyiyim, teşekkürler!".
• Act out the dialogue. Play Ayşe, then Mehmet. The lines are short, and if you repeat them for a few days in a row, you'll know them by heart.
• Link each greeting to a moment. Say Günaydın over your morning coffee, İyi akşamlar when you get home in the evening, iyi geceler before you go to sleep.
• Check your level. If you already know some Turkish, a level test will show you where to pick up.

Conclusion

Greetings are the entry point to any conversation in Turkish. With Merhaba, Nasılsın?, Teşekkür ederim, iyi günler and Hoşça kal, you can already greet people, ask how they are, thank them and say goodbye politely. Remember the difference between nasılsın and nasılsınız, match your greeting to the time of day, and never forget to return the question. Turkish people will notice these small courtesies. Next, listen to the native audio, practice the dialogue and check where you stand with a level test.

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