Thank You in Turkish: Teşekkür Ederim and What to Reply

The short answer

Thank you in Turkish is teşekkür ederim (teh-shek-KÜR eh-DEH-reem). It is polite and safe with anyone, from a bus driver to a professor. Teşekkürler (thanks) is a little lighter. With friends and family, the natural word is sağ ol. When someone thanks you, the usual reply is rica ederim, you’re welcome.

Add çok, very, for more warmth: çok teşekkür ederim means thank you very much. Each table below has listen buttons, and the say-it columns are a rough guide to the sounds.

• Turkish phrases: what to say and what to reply

What teşekkür ederim really says

The phrase has two parts. Teşekkür is a noun from Arabic, meaning thanks, and ederim is I do, from etmek, to do. Word for word, you are saying I do thanks. Change the ending and the person changes too: teşekkür ederiz means we thank you, and it is what you often hear from a shop or a restaurant as you pay.

To say what you are thankful for, put için, for, after the thing: Yardımınız için teşekkür ederim, thank you for your help. To a friend, the possessive changes: Yardımın için teşekkür ederim. To stress that the thanks is for this person, name them in the dative: Size çok teşekkür ederim.

• Turkish Dative Case: -e, -a
• Turkish Possessive Suffixes: -im, -in, -i

Sağ ol: the friendly thank you

Sağ ol means be healthy or be alive: sağ is healthy, and ol is the command form of olmak, to be. It is the thank-you you will hear most between friends, relatives and neighbours, and it sounds warmer than teşekkürler. The ğ is silent and only lengthens the vowel, so it comes out close to SAH-ohl.

Because ol speaks to one person you know well, the polite and plural form adds -un: sağ olun. The same split runs through most friendly thanks, as the table shows. If you address someone as siz, use the right-hand column.

• Turkish Imperative: Commands and Requests
• Turkish Personal Pronouns: ben, sen, o

Thanks that fit the moment

Turkish has set phrases for particular kinds of gratitude. After a meal, thank the cook with eline sağlık or ellerinize sağlık, health to your hands, and the cook answers afiyet olsun. The same phrase thanks anyone who made or repaired something for you. When someone has done you a real kindness, Allah razı olsun, may God be pleased with you, is deep and heartfelt, and people of every age use it. A common reply is hepimizden, with all of us.

Eyvallah is a relaxed thanks, heard mostly between men in shops and on the street. At the far end, size minnettarım, I am indebted to you, is strong and rather literary, so save it for letters and big moments.

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What to reply to thank you

Rica ederim is the standard, polite reply. Rica means request, so it literally says I request, in the sense of please, there is no need. Bir şey değil, it’s nothing, and önemli değil, it’s not important, are lighter. Ne demek is friendly and common. It uses the same words as the question what does it mean, so here it comes out like what are you saying, of course.

Estağfurullah needs a note. It comes from the Arabic for I seek God’s forgiveness, but in Turkish it is a modest not at all, said when someone thanks or praises you. Between friends, when someone says sağ ol, the natural answer is sen de sağ ol, you too.

Thank you in everyday scenes

Here is how the phrases and their replies sound together. Notice that a reply often adds a little more, a wish or a kind word, so the moment does not end flat.

How to pronounce teşekkür ederim

Break it into te-şek-kür e-de-rim. The ş is the sh in ship, the double k is held for a moment, and the ü is an ee sound with rounded lips. Say the two words as one smooth phrase, with the main stress on kür and a lighter one on de. In quick speech they run together, and you will hear something close to teşekkürederim.

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How do you say you’re welcome in Turkish?

Say rica ederim. Do not translate the English word by word: hoş geldiniz also means welcome, but it greets someone who has just arrived. It never answers a thank-you.

Is teşekkürler less polite than teşekkür ederim?

Only slightly. Teşekkürler is friendly and fine with colleagues and shop staff. With an elder or at a formal moment, teşekkür ederim sounds more respectful.

How do you say thank you very much in Turkish?

Say çok teşekkür ederim or çok teşekkürler. Çok means very, and you can repeat it for more feeling: çok çok teşekkür ederim. Among friends, çok sağ ol does the same job.

How do you write thanks in a Turkish text message?

Teşekkürler is the usual choice. Among friends you will also see the shortened tşk and tşk ederim. Keep those for people you know well, and write the word in full to anyone you address as siz.