On The Fly

The most important vocabulary and phrases for quick communication:

Evet. = Yes.
Hayır. = No.
Tamam. = That’s fine. / Okay.

Affedersin(iz). = Excuse me (excuse me [plural] / excuse me [formal]) please.
Pardon. = Pardon me.

(Çok) Teşekkür ederim. = Thanks (a lot).
Sağ ol(un). = Thank you (you [plural] / you [formal]).
Bir şey değil. = No problem. / No need to thank me.

Lütfen. = Please. (when asking for something)
Buyurun. = Here you go. (when handing something over)

… istiyorum. = I would like …

Anlamıyorum. = I don’t understand.
Tuvalet nerede? = Where is the restroom?
Üzgünüm, Türkçe konuşmuyorum. = I’m sorry, I don’t speak any Turkish.
Lütfen beni rahat bırak(ın). = Please leave me alone (leave me alone [plural] / leave me alone [formal]).

İmdat! = Help!

turizm bürosu = tourist information
havaalanı or havalimanı = airport
şehir merkezi = downtown
dikkat = caution
su = water
ekmek = bread
plaj = beach
buz = ice (not to be confused with ice cream, or dondurma)

GREETINGS:

Günaydın. = Good morning.
Merhaba. / İyi günler. = Good day.
İyi akşamlar. = Good evening. (can also be said when you’re leaving)
İyi geceler. = Good night.
Hoş geldiniz. = Welcome. (literally: You come in joy.)
Hoş bulduk. = literally: We have found joy – is the answer to “hoş geldiniz.”

The plural form (we / you [plural]) is always used here – regardless of whether you’re alone or not.

Selamun aleyküm. = from Arabic: Peace be upon you [plural]!
(Va) Aleyküm selam. = answer: (And) peace be upon you [plural]!

This greeting is used when greeting a group of men, for example. It isn’t common to greet women in this way.

More casual greetings include:

Selam. = Hello.
Merhaba çocuklar. = Hi guys.

SAYING GOODBYE:

Allahaısmarladık. = Goodbye. (said by the person leaving, literally: We have been called to God.)
Güle güle. = Goodbye! (said in response by the person staying behind, literally: Smiling, smiling.)
Görüşmek üzere. = Goodbye.

More casual greetings include:

Hadi, bana eyvallah. = All right, see ya.
Hadi, ben kaçıyorum. = All right, I’m taking off.
Hadi is a shortened form of haydi, which means something like “let’s go,” “come on,” “off we go” …

ASKING SOMEONE HOW THEY’RE DOING:

Nasılsın(ız). = How are you (you [plural] / you [formal])?
İyi, teşekkür ederim. Ya sen (siz)? = Good, thanks. And you (you [plural] / you [formal])?

Instead of teşekkür ederim, the shorter sağ ol(un) can also be said.

Other forms of “How’s it going?”:

Ne var ne yok? = What’s up?
Ne haber? = What’s new?

Possible answers:

İyilik. = literally: Goodness. (as in, that’s what’s new)
Şöyle böyle. = So-so.

OTHER PHRASES:

Görüşürüz. = See you. (when saying goodbye)
Bol şanslar. = Good luck!
İyi yolculuklar. = Have a good trip / journey!
And maybe the most crucial thing to close: İki çay lütfen. = Two teas, please.