Lesson 110 © Turkish Tea Time

turkishteatime.com
In-Laws Made with love.
So you've found yourself a charming Turkish man or woman to get
hitched to. Congrats! Now it's time to meet the parents. We're here to
make sure you don't go in unprepared.

Addressing family and elders. Noobie

Dialog

1 | Anne Merhaba kızım. Hoş geldin.

2 | Pınar Hoş bulduk annecim. Nasılsınız?

3 | Anne Biz iyiyiz yavrum. Annenler nasıl?

4 | Pınar Onlar da iyiler. Selamları var.

5 | Anne Oğlumla her şey nasıl gidiyor?

6 | Pınar Her şey mükemmel. Beni çok seviyor.

7 | Anne Hayırlısı kızım.

Dialog Translation

1 | Anne Hello my daughter. Welcome.

2 | Pınar I'm glad to be here, mom. How are you?

3 | Anne We are well, my child. How is your family?

 3 | Anne We are well, my child. How is your family?

4 | Pınar They're also go. They send their regards.

5 | Anne How is everything going with my son?

6 | Pınar Everything is great. He loves me very much.

7 | Anne Let's hope for the best, my daughter.

Language Points

Addressing People in Turkish

Turkish has more ways to address people than English does - and your relationship with the person determines
which one is the most appropriate. Using an overly formal address in a casual situation (or vice versa) can be
construed as rude, though people will probably appreciate the attempt by a non-native speaker anyway.

If your significant other happens to be Turkish, here's a guide to make sure you leave the very best impression
with his or her family. First, when referring to the mother of your sevgili:

Teyze.
Use when meeting for the first time. (Literally: aunt.)

Anne
Use when more familiar. (Literally: mom.)

Annecim
Use when very familiar. (Literally: dear mom, mommy.)

And for the father:

Amca.
Use when meeting for the first time. (Literally: uncle.)

Baba
Use when more familiar. (Literally: dad.)
And here is how you can politely address strangers that are much older than you (depending on whether your are
speaking to a man or woman):

Amca. Bey amca. Beyefendi.

Uncle. "Mister uncle." Sir.

Teyze. Hanımefendi.
Aunt. Miss.

And here is how you can politely address your elders with whom you are more familiar:

Amca. Dede.
Uncle. Grandfather.

Teyze.
Aunt

So to sum that up, amca is a sure bet when speaking to older men. Teyze is a good choice when speaking to older
women.

Plural for Families

You can add the plural suffix to names or person nouns to refer to the family of that person. This is exactly what
we do in English when we say the Joneses or the Smiths.

If exchanging small talk with someone about your respective families, it's common to use annenler ("your mother's
people") to refer to the other person's family.

Annenler.
Your family.

Fatma'lar.
Fatma's family.

Teyzenler.
Your aunt's family.

Note this subtle difference if we are talking about a person named "Büşra Özcan."

Büşra'lar.
Büşra's immediate family.
 Özcan'lar.
The entire Özcan family.

(As a final note, this construction doesn't absolutely need to refer to a family. It can also be used to refer to a tight
group. For example, if Büşra is organizing a party with some of her friends, we might say that Büşra'lar parti
organize ediyor: Büşra's group is organizing the party.

What's Up?

Here are a few more casual alternatives to nasılsın to spice up your daily Turkish.

Nasıl gidiyor?
How's it going?

Ne haber? (N'aber?)
What's new?

Ne yaptın? (N'aptın?)
What's up?

Vocabulary

yavrum my little one

mükemmel excellent

hayırlısı hope for the best

nasıl gidiyor how is it going?

her şey everything

oğul son
annecim my dear mother

kızım my girl, my daughter

Review

1. You are welcoming your girlfriend's mom to your home for the first time. What do you say?

a. Merhaba anne. Hoş geldiniz.

b. Merhaba teyze. Hoş geldiniz.

c. Merhaba teyze. Hoş geldin.

d. Merhaba annecim. Hoş geldin.

2. You want to get the attention of an older man on the street. Which of the following is the best address?

a. Baba.

b. Dede.

c. Amcacım.

d. Beyefendi.

3. Which of the following refers to Bengi Yakut's immediate family?

a. Yakut'ler.

b. Yakut'lar.

c. Bengi'ler.

d. Bengi'lar.

4. Translate: How's it going? (write)

 5. Translate using -ler/lar: your uncle's family. (write)

Answer Key

1. b
2. d
3. c
4. Nasıl gidiyor
5. Amcanlar , Senin amcanlar

More. . .

Visit turkishteatime.com/lesson/110/ to:

Listen to our full podcast lesson.

Listen to full audio of the dialog.
See a word-by-word translation of the dialog.
See the entire dialog broken down into suffixes.
Complete the review and unlock a fun Turkish video.
Ask questions.

© Turkish Tea Time | turkishteatime.com