LingoflyGreetings and goodbyes in Turkish
10 words in Turkish on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: merhaba — hello, selam — hi, hoşça kal — goodbye, güle güle — bye (said by the one staying). 10 words can be played from recordings.
10 words on the topic
- merhabahelloAn Arabic loanword that fits any time of day and any company — the one safe greeting everywhere, halfway between formal and friendly.
- selamhiCasual, for people on familiar terms; use merhaba with strangers and elders. Same root as "salaam" and "shalom" — literally "peace".
- hoşça kalgoodbyeSaid by the one who leaves: "stay well". The one staying answers güle güle — "go with smiles".
- güle gülebye (said by the one staying)The other half of the farewell pair with hoşça kal: whoever stays behind is the one who says this.
- nasılsın?how are you?"nasıl" is "how" and -sın is the "you" ending — there is no separate "you" word in the phrase, it lives inside the word.
- nasılsınız?how are you (formal)?The same word wearing the -sınız ending — polite and plural at once.
- günaydıngood morning"gün" is "day" and "aydın" is "bright" — literally "may your day be bright". Comes with built-in sunshine.
- iyi gecelergood nightThe plural geceler — you wish not one night but all of them. Said when going off to sleep; for meeting in the evening there is iyi akşamlar.
- iyi günlergood afternoonBefore noon it is günaydın; after that, this. It also doubles as a daytime farewell when leaving a shop.
- iyi akşamlargood eveningThe suffix is -lar, not -ler: vowel harmony looks at the "a" in akşam. Before bed it is already iyi geceler.
Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
merhaba — hello. An Arabic loanword that fits any time of day and any company — the one safe greeting everywhere, halfway between formal and friendly.
selam — hi. Casual, for people on familiar terms; use merhaba with strangers and elders. Same root as "salaam" and "shalom" — literally "peace".
hoşça kal — goodbye. Said by the one who leaves: "stay well". The one staying answers güle güle — "go with smiles".
güle güle — bye (said by the one staying). The other half of the farewell pair with hoşça kal: whoever stays behind is the one who says this.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is merhaba — hello.
- What is this word?
It is iyi geceler — good night.
- What is this word?
It is nasılsın? — how are you?
- What is this word?
It is selam — hi.
- What is this word?
It is iyi günler — good afternoon.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hello” in Turkish?
An Arabic loanword that fits any time of day and any company — the one safe greeting everywhere, halfway between formal and friendly.
- How do you say “good night” in Turkish?
The plural geceler — you wish not one night but all of them. Said when going off to sleep; for meeting in the evening there is iyi akşamlar.
- How do you say “how are you?” in Turkish?
"nasıl" is "how" and -sın is the "you" ending — there is no separate "you" word in the phrase, it lives inside the word.
- How do you say “hi” in Turkish?
Casual, for people on familiar terms; use merhaba with strangers and elders. Same root as "salaam" and "shalom" — literally "peace".
- How do you say “good afternoon” in Turkish?
Before noon it is günaydın; after that, this. It also doubles as a daytime farewell when leaving a shop.
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “hello” in Turkish?
«merhaba». An Arabic loanword that fits any time of day and any company — the one safe greeting everywhere, halfway between formal and friendly. It is one of 10 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 10 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.
Is there audio?
Yes, 10 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.