It's not worth sulking in Turkish
A friend urging reconciliation with her sister in Turkish. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ablanla hâlâ küs müsün?» — Are you still not speaking to your sister?; «İki haftadır konuşmuyoruz. Çok alındım.» — We haven't spoken for two weeks. I was really offended. 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: a friend urging reconciliation with her sister. 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.
- Ablanla hâlâ küs müsün?Are you still not speaking to your sister?
- İki haftadır konuşmuyoruz. Çok alındım.We haven't spoken for two weeks. I was really offended.
- Ne oldu ki? Büyük bir kavga mıydı?So what happened? Was it a serious conflict?
- Aslında küçük bir yanlış anlaşılma.Actually, it was a small misunderstanding.
- O zaman ilk adımı sen at. Biraz taviz ver.Then take the first step yourself. Give in a little.
- Beni suçlayacak diye korkuyorum.I'm afraid she'll blame me.
- Suçlarsa sus, kendini savunma. Sonra konuşursunuz.If she does, stay silent, don't defend yourself. You'll talk later.
- Haklısın. Bu akşam arayıp barışacağım.You're right. Tonight I'll call and make up.
Lines one by one
| Turkish | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ablanla hâlâ küs müsün? | — | Are you still not speaking to your sister? |
| İki haftadır konuşmuyoruz. Çok alındım. | — | We haven't spoken for two weeks. I was really offended. |
| Ne oldu ki? Büyük bir kavga mıydı? | — | So what happened? Was it a serious conflict? |
| Aslında küçük bir yanlış anlaşılma. | — | Actually, it was a small misunderstanding. |
| O zaman ilk adımı sen at. Biraz taviz ver. | — | Then take the first step yourself. Give in a little. |
| Beni suçlayacak diye korkuyorum. | — | I'm afraid she'll blame me. |
| Suçlarsa sus, kendini savunma. Sonra konuşursunuz. | — | If she does, stay silent, don't defend yourself. You'll talk later. |
| Haklısın. Bu akşam arayıp barışacağım. | — | You're right. Tonight I'll call and make up. |
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?
“Ablanla hâlâ küs müsün?” — Are you still not speaking to your sister?. 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.