5 Turkish phrases to learn first
When preparing for a trip to Turkey, it will not be superfluous to learn the simplest phrases. They will help you win over sellers, taxi drivers, waiters in restaurants, administrators in hotels, and indeed all Turkish citizens around.
Your social level as a foreigner in Turkey instantly rises by a few points if you can speak even a few words in Turkish. The Turks regard your efforts to learn their (no doubt wonderful) language as respect and attentiveness. And their sympathy is growing.
What if you don’t speak Turkish?
If you immediately speak English, then on the Mediterranean coast, perhaps you will be understood. In Istanbul – not in every area. In the Turkish hinterland – almost certainly not.
And it should be taken into account that the English of the majority of the Turkish population is not the most progressive. A person may think that he speaks English well, but he will not be able to understand you. This is especially noticeable when, when calling to various services and stores, you ask to be translated into an English-speaking employee. If you are not calling an international company, then there is a high probability that the so-called English-speaking employee will speak average English with a terrible accent.
If you immediately start a conversation with a Turk in the language of the Slavic group (for example, in Russian), then in the province of Antalya you may well be understood in general terms. For example, in the markets, sellers usually know the numbers, as well as the names of fruits and vegetables in Russian.
If you are from Kazakhstan and know Kazakh, then you will most likely be understood too: Turkish and Kazakh are from the same language group. But, as the citizens of Kazakhstan explained to us, there are still a lot of discrepancies between the languages, it is easy to get confused and confuse the Turkish interlocutor. It is better to learn Turkish – and start with greeting phrases.
The same 5 phrases
MERHABA
It is read as “merhaba”, although the Turks often swallow “x” and pronounce: “Meraba”.
This is a neutral greeting with no reference to the time of day. You can refer to a person of any gender and age in this way.
TEŞEKKÜRLER
It reads like this: “Teshekkurler”.
So thank you, this is the Turkish version of “thank you.” Difficult word for a foreigner, you need to practice.
PARDON
Pronounced intuitively: “Sorry”.
This is the simplest apology ever. There are more difficult apologies, but “sorry” is the easiest to learn – the French root is familiar to us (Turkish has a lot of borrowings from French).
KOLAY GELSİN
Transcription: “Kolay gelsin”.
Literally translated: “Let it be easy!”
This good wish can be addressed to any person who is busy with something: a postman, a merchant, a cook, a boutique manager, and so on. There are no analogues in the languages we know.
“Kolai gelsin” can replace the words of greeting and farewell.
AFİYET OLSUN
It reads like this: “Afiet olsun”.
It’s kind of like “bon appetit”. Literally, the phrase is translated as follows: “May you have good health,” but it is used only at a meal.
