“Thank you” in Turkish is teşekkür ederim (or the shorter teşekkürler), and the casual everyday version is sağ ol. “Please” is lütfen, and “sorry” is özür dilerim for a real apology, or pardon and affedersiniz for small things like squeezing past someone.
These words are easy to memorise, but using them naturally takes a little more. Turkish has several ways of saying thank you for different situations, a fixed set of replies, and polite request forms that matter more than lütfen itself. This guide covers all of it.
Pronunciation hints are rough English approximations: uh stands for the Turkish ı, ö and ü are as in German, and ğ lengthens the vowel before it. To hear the real sounds, use the Turkish alphabet tool.
Thank you
| Turkish | Pronunciation hint | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teşekkür ederim | teh-shek-kür eh-deh-reem | Thank you | Standard and polite; safe everywhere. |
| Çok teşekkür ederim | chok teh-shek-kür eh-deh-reem | Thank you very much | |
| Teşekkürler | teh-shek-kür-lehr | Thanks | Shorter but still polite; very common in shops. |
| Sağ ol | saah ol | Thanks | Casual and warm; lit. “be healthy”. |
| Sağ olun | saah oh-lun | Thanks | Polite or plural form of sağ ol. |
| Eyvallah | ey-vahl-lah | Cheers, thanks | Colloquial; mostly used by men among themselves. |
| Mersi | mehr-see | Thanks | From French; informal, used by some urban speakers. |
| Var ol / Var olun | vahr ol / vahr oh-lun | Thanks (warmly) | Lit. “may you exist”; a little old-fashioned. |
| Zahmet oldu / Zahmet ettiniz | zah-met ol-du / et-tee-neez | Sorry for the trouble; you shouldn’t have | Thanks someone who went to some effort for you. |
| Eline sağlık / Elinize sağlık | eh-lee-neh saah-luhk | Bless your hands | For a meal someone cooked or work they did. |
Which one should I use?
- With strangers, staff and officials: teşekkür ederim, teşekkürler or sağ olun.
- With friends and family: sağ ol, teşekkürler, or the casual eyvallah.
- After a meal someone cooked: elinize sağlık. This and other daily formulas are covered in essential Turkish expressions.
Teşekkür ederim is literally “I do thanks”: the noun teşekkür plus ederim, the aorist tense of etmek (to do). That is why “we thank you” is teşekkür ederiz, a form you will see on shop signs and receipts.
To say what you are thanking someone for, use the postposition için (for):
- Yardımınız için teşekkür ederim. — Thank you for your help.
- Her şey için teşekkürler. — Thanks for everything.
- Davetiniz için çok teşekkür ederim. — Thank you very much for your invitation.
How to reply to thank you
| Turkish | Pronunciation hint | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rica ederim | ree-jah eh-deh-reem | You’re welcome | The standard reply. |
| Bir şey değil | beer shey deh-yeel | It’s nothing | Very common. |
| Ne demek | neh deh-mek | Don’t mention it | Lit. “what does that mean?”; friendly. |
| Önemli değil | ö-nem-lee deh-yeel | It’s no problem | Also a reply to an apology. |
| Asıl ben teşekkür ederim | ah-suhl ben teh-shek-kür eh-deh-reem | No, thank you | |
| Estağfurullah | es-taah-fu-rul-lah | Oh, not at all | Polite and humble; used when someone apologises to you or belittles themselves. More common among older speakers. |
Please
Lütfen (lüt-fen) means “please”, and it can go at the start or the end of a request:
- Bir çay, lütfen. — A tea, please.
- Lütfen bekleyin. — Please wait.
- Lütfen ayakkabılarınızı çıkarın. — Please take off your shoes.
Turkish politeness, however, lives mainly in the verb form. A bare imperative like Ver! (Give!) sounds blunt even with lütfen attached. Natural polite requests are phrased as questions:
| Turkish | English | Register |
|---|---|---|
| Su verir misiniz? | Could you give me some water? | Polite (aorist question) |
| Bir su alabilir miyim? | Could I have a water? | Polite (“can I”) |
| Yardım edebilir misiniz? | Could you help me? | Polite |
| Kapıyı kapatır mısın? | Could you close the door? | Friendly (sen) |
| Bir şey rica edebilir miyim? | May I ask you a favour? | Very polite |
| Hesabı alabilir miyiz? | Could we have the bill? | Polite, restaurants |
The “could I / could you” forms come from -ebilmek, the ability suffix. Learn alabilir miyim? (could I have?) early: it works in every café, shop and office.
Buyurun: the word for offering
You will hear buyurun (boo-yoo-run; informal buyur) constantly. It is not “please” in the sense of asking for something; it covers the offering side:
- Buyurun! — Here you are. (handing something over)
- Buyurun, oturun. — Please, have a seat.
- Buyurun? — Yes? How can I help? (a shopkeeper, or someone opening the door)
- Buyurun, siz geçin. — After you.
Sorry and excuse me
| Turkish | Pronunciation hint | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Özür dilerim | ö-zür dee-leh-reem | I’m sorry; I apologise | A real apology. |
| Kusura bakma / bakmayın | ku-su-rah bahk-mah / bahk-mah-yuhn | Sorry; excuse me | Lit. “don’t look at the fault”; very common and polite. |
| Affedersiniz | ahf-feh-der-see-neez | Excuse me; pardon me | Getting attention or apologising politely. Informal: affedersin. |
| Pardon | pahr-dohn | Sorry; excuse me | Quick: bumping into someone, passing, interrupting. |
| Efendim? | eh-fen-deem | Pardon? Sorry? | Polite “what did you say?”; also how many people answer the phone. |
| Geçmiş olsun | gech-meesh ol-sun | Get well soon; sorry to hear that | Lit. “may it be in the past”; for illness, accidents or any trouble. |
| Çok üzüldüm | chok ü-zül-düm | I’m so sorry to hear that | Sympathy, not an apology. |
Apology or sympathy?
English “sorry” covers both “I apologise” and “I feel bad for you”. Turkish keeps them apart:
- Apology: Özür dilerim, geç kaldım. — Sorry, I’m late.
- Sympathy: Çok üzüldüm, geçmiş olsun. — I’m so sorry, I hope things get better.
- After a death: Başınız sağ olsun. — My condolences. See Turkish holiday greetings and condolences for more.
Kusura bakmayın is the polite negative imperative of kusura bakmak (to look at the fault), so it means “don’t hold it against me”. The negative -ma- and the polite -yın ending are explained on the imperative mood page.
Replying to an apology
- Önemli değil. — It’s not important.
- Sorun değil. — No problem.
- Olur öyle şeyler. — These things happen.
- Estağfurullah. — Oh, please, there’s no need (polite).
Dialogue: at a café
Garson: Buyurun, ne alırsınız? Hello, what would you like?
Müşteri: Bir çay, lütfen. Bir de su alabilir miyim? A tea, please. Could I also have a water?
Garson: Tabii. Buyurun. Of course. Here you are.
Müşteri: Teşekkür ederim. Thank you.
Garson: Rica ederim. You’re welcome.
(The customer knocks over the glass.)
Müşteri: Ay, kusura bakmayın! Oh, I’m so sorry!
Garson: Önemli değil, ben hallederim. It’s nothing, I’ll take care of it.
Müşteri: Çok sağ olun. Thanks so much.
For ordering food and paying the bill, see dining out in Turkish.
Common mistakes
- Saying teşekkür ederiz on your own. -iz means “we”. Alone, say teşekkür ederim.
- Spelling. Teşekkür has a double k; sağ ol is two words; rica is spelled with c (pronounced like English j).
- Using özür dilerim for tiny things. For brushing past someone it sounds heavy; pardon is enough.
- Apologising with üzgünüm. It means “I’m sad”. You will hear it in dubbed films, but for an apology özür dilerim or kusura bakmayın sounds more natural.
- Relying on lütfen with a bare imperative. Lütfen su ver is grammatical but sounds like an order; to a stranger, say Su verir misiniz?
Mini-quiz
- A shopkeeper hands you your change. Give two polite ways to say thanks.
- Someone thanks you. Give two replies.
- You step on someone’s foot on the bus. What do you say?
- A friend tells you she has the flu. What do you say?
- Make this polite: Su ver.
- Say “Thank you for the invitation” (formal).
Answers: 1. Teşekkürler / Sağ olun / Teşekkür ederim. 2. Rica ederim, Bir şey değil (or Ne demek). 3. Pardon or Kusura bakmayın. 4. Geçmiş olsun (Çok üzüldüm, geçmiş olsun). 5. Su verir misiniz? or Bir su alabilir miyim? 6. Davetiniz için teşekkür ederim.
Next steps
Pair these phrases with Turkish greetings and you can handle most short everyday exchanges. To practice the aorist forms behind ederim and verir misiniz, try the verb conjugator.
