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

The short answer

Address an adult by their first name followed by Bey for a man or Hanım for a woman: Mehmet Bey, Zeynep Hanım. A stranger whose name you don’t know is often addressed with a family word chosen by age: abi (older brother) or abla (older sister) for someone a little older than you, amca (uncle) or teyze (aunt) for someone your parents’ age. A teacher is hocam, my teacher.

These words are a large part of everyday politeness. Used in the right place they sound warm and respectful; leaving them out can sound cold. Every word in the tables below has a listen button.

Bey and Hanım: Mr and Ms after the first name

Bey and Hanım are the everyday titles of respect, and they follow the first name, not the surname. A colleague called Mehmet Yılmaz is Mehmet Bey; a neighbour called Zeynep Kaya is Zeynep Hanım. Use them with anyone you would not call by first name alone: a client, a doctor, an older neighbour, your landlord.

For a stranger whose name you don’t know, use the long forms on their own: Beyefendi (sir) and Hanımefendi (madam). In letters, emails and speeches, Sayın goes before the full name, like “Dear” at the top of a formal letter. Bay and Bayan go before a name or surname on forms and official documents, and on toilet doors they mean men and women.

Abi, abla, amca, teyze: family words for strangers

Turkish addresses strangers as if they were family. Abi, short for ağabey, means older brother; abla means older sister. People say them to a man or woman a little older than themselves: a shopkeeper, a taxi driver, a waiter, a friend’s brother or sister. Men and women both use them.

For someone your parents’ age or older, the words move up a generation: amca (literally father’s brother) for a man and teyze (mother’s sister) for a woman. Dayı (mother’s brother) is a casual, street-flavoured way to address an older man. Yenge, a brother’s wife, is what you call a friend’s wife. Kardeşim, my brother or sister, is said to someone younger, or to a stranger about your own age.

Choosing by age is a guess, and the generous guess is the polite one: someone who looks between your age and your parents’ is safer as abi or abla than as amca or teyze.

Hocam and usta: words for teachers and tradespeople

Hoca means teacher; the word came into Turkish from Persian. With the possessive suffix it becomes hocam, my teacher, and that is how students address teachers and university lecturers, usually with no name at all. It has spread well beyond school: colleagues and sports coaches often call each other hocam, a friendly sign of respect for what someone knows.

Usta, also from Persian, is a master of a craft. Call a mechanic, a plumber, a cook or a minibus driver usta. In a café or restaurant, catch the waiter’s eye with Bakar mısınız? (Could you look here?): it is polite to anyone serving you, while a bare Garson! (waiter) sounds abrupt.

Efendim, canım, kanka: polite and friendly words

Efendim is the most useful polite word in Turkish. On its own it means sir or madam, but you will hear it most as “yes?” when someone calls your name, as the way many people answer the phone, and as “pardon?” when you didn’t catch what was said. Said as a question, Efendim? asks someone to repeat.

With people close to you the words get warmer. Canım, my dear (literally my soul), is for family, partners and close friends, and women use it casually with each other. Kanka, someone as close as a brother, is casual slang among friends, mostly young people; don’t use it with someone you call Bey or Hanım.

Sen or siz: the grammar behind it

Turkish has two words for you. Sen is for one friend, a family member or a child. Siz is for several people, and for one person you are being polite to: anyone you would call Bey, Hanım, amca or teyze. The verb changes with it: Nasılsın? to a friend, Nasılsınız? to your teacher. The lesson on personal pronouns covers both.

Several of these address words end in the possessive suffix -(I)m, my: hoca becomes hocam, kardeş becomes kardeşim, can becomes canım. The vowel follows vowel harmony, which is why it is ı in canım and i in kardeşim. The lesson on possessive suffixes teaches the whole set.

• Turkish Personal Pronouns: ben, sen, o
• Turkish Possessive Suffixes: -im, -in, -i

Can a woman call someone abi?

Yes. Abi and abla are used by everyone, whatever their own gender: a woman calls an older man abi just as a man does. Only the person addressed decides the word: abi for a man, abla for a woman.

Is it rude to call someone amca or teyze?

No, it is respectful, but it points to age. Someone who feels young may not enjoy being called teyze, so if you are unsure, choose abi or abla, or Beyefendi or Hanımefendi.

Do Turks address people by their surname?

Rarely in speech. Surnames only became law in Turkey in 1934, and everyday address still goes by the first name: Mehmet Bey, not Mr Yılmaz. Surnames appear in official settings, on forms with Bay and Bayan, and after Sayın in writing.

How do I address my Turkish teacher?

Hocam is the standard choice, in class and in messages, and it needs no name. In a formal email, write Sayın followed by their name, or Hocam if you already speak that way. A teacher of young children is also called öğretmenim, my teacher.