· 6 min read
Turkish Phrases for Travel: 22 Essentials
By Language Lab editorial team
22 Turkish phrases for travel with meanings: greetings, thanks, asking for help and saying goodbye, plus why Turkish is easy to read. From the BBC's guide.
Turkish is friendly to travellers because you can read it. Since 1928 it has been written in a slightly modified Latin alphabet that is almost phonetic, so once you know the letters you can read what you see. Merhaba is hello and Teşekkür ederim is thank you. Evet is yes and Hayır is no. To introduce yourself, say Benim adım and your name. Nasılsınız? asks how are you, and İyiyim, teşekkür ederim answers I'm fine, thank you. If you are lost, Anlamıyorum means I don't understand and İngilizce biliyor musunuz? asks whether someone speaks English. Goodbye is Hoşçakalın, or Görüşürüz for see you later. The 22 phrases here come from the BBC's guide to Turkish.
Greetings and goodbyes
| Turkish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Merhaba | Hello |
| Selam | Hi! |
| Hoş geldiniz! | Welcome! |
| Hoşçakalın | Goodbye |
| Hoşçakal | Bye! |
| Görüşürüz | See you later! |
Polite words
| Turkish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Teşekkür ederim | Thank you |
| Birşey değil | You're welcome |
| Özür dilerim | I'm sorry |
| Evet | Yes |
| Hayır | No |
| Harika | Great! |
Meeting people
| Turkish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Benim adım… | My name is ... |
| Sizinle tanıştığıma memnun oldum | Pleased to meet you |
| Nasılsınız? | How are you? |
| İyiyim, teşekkür ederim | I'm fine, thank you |
| İyi değilim | I'm not well |
When you need help
| Turkish | Meaning |
|---|---|
| İngilizce biliyor musunuz? | Do you speak English? |
| Anlamıyorum | I don't understand |
| Üzgünüm, Türkçe bilmiyorum. | I'm sorry, I don't speak Turkish. |
| Yardıma ihtiyacım var | I need help, please |
| Tuvalet nerede acaba? | Where is the toilet, please? |
Why Turkish is easier to read than you expect
- The alphabet is Latin and almost phonetic. Borrowed words are respelled the Turkish way, so you can decode them: restoran is restaurant, otel is hotel, televizyon is television.
- There is no grammatical gender. The BBC's guide says the absence of feminine or masculine forms of nouns and adjectives makes life easier for learners.
- You will recognise words. Turkish has taken many from French, such as kriz for crisis, and English has taken some from Turkish, such as yogurt, kiosk and kayak.
- Menus look familiar too: döner kebap and şiş kebap need no translation.
What takes getting used to
- Formal and informal you. Like French, Turkish has two forms: the informal sen and the formal siz.
- Verbs come at the end of the sentence.
- Suffixes do the work. Tense and person are added to the end of the verb: the guide's example is gidiyorum, I am going, gittim, I went, and gideceğim, I will go, all from the verb to go.
A short exchange
- A: Merhaba. Nasılsınız? Hello. How are you?
- B: İyiyim, teşekkür ederim. I'm fine, thank you.
- A: Benim adım … My name is ...
- B: Sizinle tanıştığıma memnun oldum. Pleased to meet you.
- A: Görüşürüz. See you later.
How to learn them
- Read each phrase aloud. Because the spelling is almost phonetic, reading is real practice.
- Watch the special letters, such as ş, ç, ı, ö and ü, and copy the audio for their sounds.
- Test yourself from English to Turkish.
- Review over several days. A 2013 review of learning research rated practice testing and distributed practice as high utility, and rereading as low.
- If you carry on, plan for the long term: the US State Department lists Turkish in Category III, at about 44 weeks or 1,012 class hours.
Language Lab's Turkish course is built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor, so you can practise these exchanges aloud.
Frequently asked
How do you say hello in Turkish?
Merhaba. A casual hi is Selam.
How do you say thank you in Turkish?
Teşekkür ederim. You're welcome is Birşey değil.
How do you say yes and no in Turkish?
Yes is Evet and no is Hayır.
How do you say goodbye in Turkish?
Hoşçakalın is goodbye, Hoşçakal is the shorter bye, and Görüşürüz means see you later.
Is Turkish easy to read?
Yes. Since 1928 it has been written in a slightly modified Latin alphabet which the BBC's guide describes as almost phonetic.
Is Turkish hard to learn?
Reading and gender are easy: the alphabet is nearly phonetic and nouns have no gender. The BBC's guide says the suffixes may cause difficulty at first. The US State Department places Turkish in Category III.
Sources: BBC Languages, A Guide to Turkish: Key phrases and 10 facts about the Turkish language, and Turkish Quick Fix (archived pages); US Department of State, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Foreign Language Training; Dunlosky et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: The Blue Mosque above the rooftops of Istanbul, Bernard Gagnon / CC BY-SA 3.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
