“How are you?” in Turkish is Nasılsın? with friends and family, and Nasılsınız? with strangers, older people or a group. The standard reply is İyiyim, teşekkürler. Sen nasılsın? — “I’m fine, thanks. And you?”
Beyond that core exchange, Turkish has casual versions (naber?), follow-up questions about work and family, and a range of replies from “great” to “so-so”. Below are the phrases, the small piece of grammar that makes them work, and the social rules around them.
Pronunciation hints are rough English approximations: uh stands for the Turkish ı, and ö and ü are as in German. To hear the real sounds, use the Turkish alphabet tool.
Ways to ask “how are you?”
| Turkish | Pronunciation hint | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nasılsın? | nah-suhl-suhn | How are you? | Informal (sen). |
| Nasılsınız? | nah-suhl-suh-nuhz | How are you? | Formal or plural (siz). |
| Ne haber? | neh hah-ber | What’s up? | Casual. |
| Naber? | nah-ber | What’s up? ’Sup? | Very casual contraction of ne haber; also written n’aber, texted as nbr. |
| Nasıl gidiyor? | nah-suhl gee-dee-yor | How’s it going? | Casual to neutral. |
| Ne var ne yok? | neh vahr neh yok | What’s new? | Lit. “what is there, what isn’t there”. |
| Keyifler nasıl? | key-eef-lehr nah-suhl | How are you doing? | Warm and casual; lit. “how are the moods”. |
| İşler nasıl? | eesh-lehr nah-suhl | How’s work? | Also “how’s business?” to a shopkeeper. |
| Ailen nasıl? / Aileniz nasıl? | ah-ee-len / ah-ee-leh-neez nah-suhl | How’s your family? | A very common follow-up. |
| İyi misin? | ee-yee mee-seen | Are you OK? | When someone seems upset or unwell. |
| Hayırdır? | hah-yuhr-duhr | What’s going on? Is something wrong? | When something unusual happens, like an unexpected visit or call. |
Why “nasılsın” works
Nasılsın is not a verb. It is the question word nasıl (how) plus -sın, the suffix that means “you are”. Literally: “how-are-you”. The same set of “to be” suffixes lets you describe how anyone is. The question words page covers nasıl and its relatives, and the personal pronouns and “to be” page covers the suffixes.
| Person | Question | Answer with iyi (good) | Answer with yorgun (tired) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ben (I) | Nasılım? | İyiyim. | Yorgunum. |
| sen (you) | Nasılsın? | İyisin. | Yorgunsun. |
| o (he/she) | Nasıl? | İyi. | Yorgun. |
| biz (we) | Nasılız? | İyiyiz. | Yorgunuz. |
| siz (you, pl./formal) | Nasılsınız? | İyisiniz. | Yorgunsunuz. |
| onlar (they) | Nasıllar? | İyiler. | Yorgunlar. |
Two things to notice:
- Buffer y. İyi ends in a vowel, so before -im and -iz Turkish adds a y: iyi-y-im, iyi-y-iz. This is one of the buffer letters.
- Vowel harmony. The suffix vowel changes with the word: nasıl-sın, iyi-sin, yorgun-sun. You can check any combination with the harmony calculator.
To ask about someone else, put the person first: Annen nasıl? (How’s your mum?), Çocuklar nasıl? (How are the kids?). To say you are not well, use değil plus the suffix: İyi değilim (I’m not well). The negation page explains değil in detail.
How to reply
| Turkish | Pronunciation hint | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| İyiyim | ee-yee-yeem | I’m fine | The default. |
| Çok iyiyim | chok ee-yee-yeem | I’m very well | |
| Harikayım | hah-ree-kah-yuhm | I’m great | |
| İyidir | ee-yee-deer | All good | Casual; the typical answer to naber. |
| Fena değilim | feh-nah deh-yee-leem | Not bad | |
| İdare eder | ee-dah-reh eh-der | So-so; it’ll do | Lit. “it manages”. |
| Şöyle böyle | shöy-leh böy-leh | So-so | |
| Eh işte | eh eesh-teh | Meh, you know | Casual, slightly negative. |
| Yorgunum | yor-gu-num | I’m tired | |
| Hastayım | hahs-tah-yuhm | I’m ill | Expect the reply Geçmiş olsun (get well soon). |
| Hiç iyi değilim | heech ee-yee deh-yee-leem | I’m not good at all | Invites follow-up questions. |
| Çok şükür | chok shü-kür | Fine, thank God | A traditional expression used by religious and secular speakers alike. |
| Turp gibiyim | turp gee-bee-yeem | Fit as a fiddle | Idiom; lit. “I’m like a radish”. |
Asking back
It is polite to return the question. Thank the person first, then ask:
- İyiyim, sağ ol. Sen nasılsın? — I’m fine, thanks. How are you?
- Teşekkür ederim, iyiyim. Siz nasılsınız? — Thank you, I’m fine. And you? (formal)
- Ya sen? / Ya siz? — And you?
- İyidir, senden naber? — All good, what about you? (casual, after naber)
- Sağ ol, ben de iyiyim. — Thanks, I’m fine too.
“How was it?” and other follow-ups
Once the greeting is done, the conversation often moves to how something went. These questions use the past form of “to be” (-dı/-di/-du/-dü), the same ending you meet in the definite past tense:
| Turkish | English | Typical reply |
|---|---|---|
| Tatil nasıldı? | How was the holiday? | Çok güzeldi! (It was great!) |
| Hafta sonu nasıldı? | How was the weekend? | Fena değildi. (It wasn’t bad.) |
| Sınav nasıl geçti? | How did the exam go? | İyi geçti, sanırım. (It went well, I think.) |
| Nasıl oldun? | How are you feeling now? | Daha iyiyim, sağ ol. (I’m better, thanks.) |
| Daha iyi misin? | Are you feeling better? | Evet, çok daha iyiyim. (Yes, much better.) |
| Ne oldu? | What happened? |
Nasıl oldun? is specifically for someone who has been ill or has had a hard time; you wouldn’t use it as a general greeting. When the news is good, you can answer with Sevindim! (I’m glad!) or İyi olmana sevindim (I’m glad you’re well).
Is “nasılsın” a real question?
With acquaintances, colleagues and shopkeepers it is mostly a ritual, and İyiyim, teşekkürler is a complete answer. With friends and family it is often a genuine question, and older relatives may ask about your health, work and family one after another, expecting a short answer to each.
If someone tells you something is wrong, react rather than moving on: Hayırdır, ne oldu? (Oh, what happened?) or, for illness and trouble, Geçmiş olsun (I hope it gets better soon).
Use Nasılsınız? with Bey or Hanım in formal settings: Nasılsınız, Ahmet Bey? Our guide to sen vs siz explains when to switch.
Dialogue 1: two friends
Deniz: Selam Can, naber? Hi Can, what’s up?
Can: İyidir, senden naber? All good, what about you?
Deniz: Valla biraz yorgunum. Dün gece geç yattım. Honestly, I’m a bit tired. I went to bed late last night.
Can: Hadi, kahve içelim o zaman. Come on, let’s have a coffee then.
Valla (from vallahi) is a colloquial “honestly, really”, very common in speech.
Dialogue 2: a formal exchange
Ayşe: İyi günler, Mehmet Bey. Nasılsınız? Good afternoon, Mr Mehmet. How are you?
Mehmet: Teşekkür ederim, iyiyim. Siz nasılsınız? Thank you, I’m fine. How are you?
Ayşe: Sağ olun, ben de iyiyim. Aileniz nasıl? Thanks, I’m fine too. How’s your family?
Mehmet: Hepsi iyi, çok şükür. Oğlum bu yıl üniversiteye başladı. They’re all well, thank God. My son started university this year.
Ayşe: Ne güzel! Hayırlı olsun. How nice! Congratulations.
Hayırlı olsun (lit. “may it be good”) is what you say about a new beginning: a new job, home, car or school.
Common mistakes
- Ben iyi. The “to be” suffix is missing. Say İyiyim.
- İyim. The buffer y is missing. Say İyiyim.
- Nasıl sın? The suffix is written together with the word: Nasılsın?
- Nasılsın? to an older stranger. Use Nasılsınız?
- İyiyim, ve sen? This is word-for-word English. Turkish says İyiyim, sen? or İyiyim, ya sen?
- Sen de? for “and you?” Sen de means “you too”. It works as a reply to a wish like İyi günler! but not to ask how someone is.
Mini-quiz
- Ask a new colleague who is older than you how they are.
- Say “I’m tired.”
- Answer “not bad”.
- A friend says Hastayım. What do you reply?
- Complete: Biz ___ (we are fine).
- Give a casual way to say “What’s up?”
Answers: 1. Nasılsınız? 2. Yorgunum. 3. Fena değilim. 4. Geçmiş olsun. 5. İyiyiz. 6. Naber? or Ne haber?
Next steps
If you haven’t yet, learn the Turkish greetings that usually come just before nasılsın, and the thank you and sorry phrases you will use in your answers.
