How to Say Hello in Turkish: Merhaba, Selam and Greetings by Time of Day

The short answer

Hello in Turkish is merhaba (MEHR-hah-bah). You can say it to anyone at any hour, and the reply is the same word. With friends and people your age, say selam (seh-LAHM), which means hi. In the morning the usual greeting is günaydın, good morning, and in the evening it is iyi akşamlar, good evening.

Those four cover most of daily life. The sections below add the polite versions, the replies and what to say next. Every phrase in the tables has a listen button, and the say-it column is a rough guide to the sounds.

• Turkish phrases: what to say and what to reply

Merhaba or selam: formal and informal

Merhaba is neutral rather than stiff. It fits a shop assistant, a doctor, a new neighbour and an old friend equally well, so it is the word to choose when you are not sure. To sound warmer or more respectful, add a name or a title: Merhaba Zeynep Hanım, or Merhaba hocam to a teacher.

Selam is lighter. It belongs with friends, classmates and younger relatives, and it can sound too familiar to a stranger much older than you or to your manager. Both words came into Turkish from Arabic, but in everyday use neither one sounds religious.

The full Muslim greeting does: selamünaleyküm, peace be upon you, with the reply aleykümselam. You will hear it at the mosque, among older men and in more traditional neighbourhoods. Turkish dictionaries write each one as a single word.

• Abi, Abla, Hocam: How to Address People in Turkish

Greetings by time of day

Turkish has a phrase for each part of the day, but they do not all work the same way. Günaydın is a true greeting. It joins gün, day, and aydın, bright, and people say it until about late morning. After that, merhaba takes over, and there is no common word for good afternoon. Dictionaries list tünaydın for the afternoon, but you will rarely hear it.

İyi günler means good days, and it is mostly a goodbye: you say it as you leave a shop or an office. You may also hear it as a formal hello on the phone or across a counter. İyi akşamlar works in both directions, as you arrive and as you leave. İyi geceler is only for parting, late at night or before bed. Saying it as a hello is a common beginner slip.

What to reply, and what comes next

Most Turkish greetings are simply echoed. Someone says merhaba and you say merhaba; günaydın gets günaydın. A wish for your day or evening is returned with size de, to you too, or sana da to a friend: Size de iyi günler. Hoş geldiniz is the exception, because it has a fixed partner, hoş bulduk.

The greeting is usually only the opening. The next line is nearly always a question about how the other person is, and it needs its own polite or friendly form. In a shop or an office you can add kolay gelsin, may it come easy, which wishes the person an easy day at work: Merhaba, kolay gelsin.

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Short exchanges you can copy

These five exchanges show the greetings in the places you are likely to use them. Notice how the polite forms appear with neighbours, with shopkeepers and on the phone, and how the friend gets the most casual line. On the phone Turks answer with alo or efendim, and the caller then greets and gives a name.

• Turkish Greetings and Introductions

How to pronounce merhaba and günaydın

Merhaba has three clear syllables, mer-ha-ba, with the stress on the first. The r is a quick tap, each a is open like the a in father, and the h is really pronounced, although fast speech often softens it to something close to meraba.

Günaydın is harder for English speakers. The ü is an ee sound made with rounded lips, and the final ı is the undotted Turkish vowel, a short sound like the a in ago. Listen to both a few times, then say them aloud before you meet anyone.

• The Turkish Alphabet: 29 Letters and How They Sound

How do you say hi in Turkish?

Say selam. It is the closest match to hi, and friends often pair it with a quick question: Selam, naber? With someone you do not know well, merhaba is the better choice.

What does merhaba mean?

It means hello. The word came from Arabic, where مرحبا is a word of welcome, but in Turkish it is simply the everyday greeting and carries no special warmth or formality of its own.

How do you say good morning in Turkish?

Say günaydın, and expect günaydın back. It is one word and has no separate formal version, so you can say it to your family, your teacher and the person at the bakery alike.

Can you say merhaba when you leave?

No, merhaba only opens a conversation. When you leave, say hoşça kal to a friend or hoşça kalın to someone you address politely, and the person staying answers güle güle. In a shop, iyi günler is the easy way out.