Who has the remote? in Turkish
An evening at home: two people can't agree on what to watch in Turkish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Kumanda sende mi? Haberleri açalım.» — Do you have the remote? Let's put on the news.; «Haberler bitti. Şimdi dizi var.» — The news is over. There's a series on now. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an evening at home: two people can't agree on what to watch. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Kumanda sende mi? Haberleri açalım.Do you have the remote? Let's put on the news.
- Haberler bitti. Şimdi dizi var.The news is over. There's a series on now.
- Hangi kanalda? Ben o diziyi hiç izlemedim.On which channel? I haven't watched this series at all.
- Beşinci kanalda. Sunucusu da çok komik.On channel five. And the host is very funny.
- Bence reklam çok fazla. Yarısı reklam filmi.In my opinion, there's too much advertising. Half of it is commercials.
- Haklısın, ama canlı yayın olunca izleyici çok oluyor.You're right, but when it's live, there are lots of viewers.
- Peki, altyazılı bir film bulalım. Sen ne düşünüyorsun?Fine, let's find a film with subtitles. What do you think?
- Kısmen katılıyorum, ama önce diziyi bitireyim.I partly agree, but first let me finish the series.
Lines one by one
| Turkish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Kumanda sende mi? Haberleri açalım. | — | Do you have the remote? Let's put on the news. |
| Haberler bitti. Şimdi dizi var. | — | The news is over. There's a series on now. |
| Hangi kanalda? Ben o diziyi hiç izlemedim. | — | On which channel? I haven't watched this series at all. |
| Beşinci kanalda. Sunucusu da çok komik. | — | On channel five. And the host is very funny. |
| Bence reklam çok fazla. Yarısı reklam filmi. | — | In my opinion, there's too much advertising. Half of it is commercials. |
| Haklısın, ama canlı yayın olunca izleyici çok oluyor. | — | You're right, but when it's live, there are lots of viewers. |
| Peki, altyazılı bir film bulalım. Sen ne düşünüyorsun? | — | Fine, let's find a film with subtitles. What do you think? |
| Kısmen katılıyorum, ama önce diziyi bitireyim. | — | I partly agree, but first let me finish the series. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Turkish in this situation?
“Kumanda sende mi? Haberleri açalım.” — Do you have the remote? Let's put on the news.. The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.