Essential Turkish Expressions: Eline Sağlık, Afiyet Olsun, Geçmiş Olsun & More

Turkish has a ready-made phrase for many everyday moments: after a meal, after a shower, when someone buys something new, when someone is ill. These expressions are short, fixed and used constantly, and learners who use them sound far more natural than those who stick to teşekkürler (thanks) for everything.

Most of them are wishes. Several end in olsun (“may it be”), the third-person form of the imperative and optative mood, which Turkish uses for wishes and blessings. Here are the most useful ones, with when to say them and how to reply.

Quick reference

A note on sen and siz: most of these phrases have an informal and a polite form. Eline sağlık becomes Elinize sağlık, güle güle kullan becomes güle güle kullanın, and sağ ol becomes sağ olun. Use the polite forms with strangers, older people and anyone you would call siz; see sen vs. siz.

1. Eline sağlık — “Health to your hand”

• Pronunciation: eh-lee-NEH sah-LUHK
• When: to whoever cooked the meal you’re eating: a host, a friend, your partner, or the cook at a small lokanta. It also works for anything someone made or did with their hands: a repair, a knitted scarf, a haircut.
• Reply: if it was food, Afiyet olsun! (Enjoy it!). Otherwise Sağ ol / Sağ olun (Thanks).

Eline is el (hand) + -in (your) + -e (to): “to your hand”; the polite elinize uses -iniz (your, plural/formal). It’s a neat example of possessive suffixes followed by a case ending. A warmer version is Elinize emeğinize sağlık (health to your hands and your effort).

2. Afiyet olsun — “Enjoy your meal”

• Pronunciation: ah-fee-YET ol-SUN
• When: to anyone who is eating or about to eat: your table companions as the food arrives, a colleague having lunch at their desk, a guest you’ve just served. The cook also says it in reply to eline sağlık.
• Reply: Teşekkürler or Sağ olun. If you’re the one eating and the other person isn’t, you can politely offer: Buyurun! (Please, join me!).

3. Geçmiş olsun — “Get well soon” and much more

• Pronunciation: getch-MEESH ol-SUN
• When: someone is ill or injured, had an accident, was stuck in a nightmare commute, lost their wallet, or had any bad experience. It’s far broader than English “get well soon”.
• Reply: Sağ ol / Sağ olun or Teşekkür ederim.

You’ll hear it from pharmacists and doctors too; our pharmacy and hospital guide has more health phrases.

4. Sıhhatler olsun — after a shower or haircut

• Pronunciation: suh-hat-LER ol-SUN
• When: someone has just had a bath or shower, or come out of the barber’s or hairdresser’s. If you walk out of the bathroom with wet hair, a Turkish host or flatmate may well say it. Barbers say it as they take off the cape; see our barber and hair salon guide.
• Reply: Sağ ol or Teşekkürler.

5. Kolay gelsin — to anyone who is working

• Pronunciation: ko-LAI gel-SIN

Say kolay gelsin (“may it come easy”) to anyone who is working: shop staff, drivers, colleagues, cleaners. The usual reply is Sağ ol or Sağ olun. It is so common that we’ve given it its own guide: what “kolay gelsin” means and how to reply.

6. Başınız sağ olsun — condolences

• Pronunciation: bah-shuh-NUHZ sah ol-SUN
• When: to someone who has lost a family member or friend. It is the standard expression of sympathy, at a funeral, a condolence visit or in a message.
• Reply: Dostlar sağ olsun (may our friends be well), or simply Sağ olun.

You will also hear Allah rahmet eylesin (may God have mercy on him/her) about the person who died. For more phrases for holidays and sad occasions, see our guide to Turkish holiday greetings and condolences.

7. Güle güle kullan — “Use it happily”

• Pronunciation: gew-LEH gew-LEH kul-LAN
• When: someone shows you something new: a phone, a car, a coat. The verb changes with the object: güle güle giy for clothes (“wear it happily”), güle güle otur for a new home (“live in it happily”).
• Reply: Sağ ol / Teşekkürler.

Don’t confuse it with plain Güle güle!, which is what you say to someone who is leaving (goodbye).

8. Hayırlı olsun — “May it bring good”

• Pronunciation: hah-yuhr-LUH ol-SUN
• When: for new beginnings: a new job, a new flat, an engagement, a shop opening, a new car.
• Reply: Teşekkürler / Sağ ol.

9. Nazar değmesin and maşallah — protecting a compliment

• Pronunciation: nah-ZAR DEH-meh-sin; MAH-shahl-lah
• When: after praising a baby, a new house, someone’s success or a happy couple. By tradition, strong praise is said to attract the evil eye (nazar), so people add Nazar değmesin (“may the evil eye not touch it”) or Maşallah (“what God has willed”). Both are traditional expressions used by religious and secular speakers alike, much like “touch wood” in English.
• Custom: people often knock on wood (tahtaya vurmak) at the same time, and the blue glass bead you see everywhere (nazar boncuğu) is meant to ward off the evil eye.

A short dialogue

You’ve just had dinner at a Turkish friend’s home.

Sen:      Her şey çok lezzetliydi, eline sağlık!
          (Everything was delicious, thank you for cooking!)

Elif:     Afiyet olsun! Bir çay daha ister misin?
          (Glad you enjoyed it! Would you like another tea?)

Sen:      Olur, teşekkürler. Bu arada yeni koltuk çok güzel olmuş.
          (Yes, thanks. By the way, the new sofa looks great.)

Elif:     Sağ ol, geçen hafta aldık.
          (Thanks, we bought it last week.)

Sen:      Güle güle kullanın! Nazar değmesin.
          (Enjoy it! Touch wood. — lit. may the evil eye not touch it)

Next steps

Pick two expressions, such as eline sağlık and geçmiş olsun, and use them this week whenever the moment comes up. Then add the rest one by one. For more everyday phrases, see how to say thank you, please and sorry in Turkish.