Business Turkish: Emails, Meetings and Phone Calls

Business Turkish is everyday Turkish in a formal register: you use siz instead of sen, address people as Selin Hanım or Murat Bey, open emails with Sayın or Merhaba and close them with Saygılarımla or İyi çalışmalar. On top of that comes a small set of fixed phrases for meetings, phone calls and saying no politely, plus a few dozen workplace words. Each situation below has a phrase table and a short dialogue, and the last section matches job tasks to CEFR levels.

The formal register: siz, Bey/Hanım and titles

Use siz with clients, managers, suppliers and anyone you've just met. Colleagues at your own level often switch to sen quickly, but let them offer it. The verb has to agree, so Nasılsınız? and Bakar mısınız? rather than Nasılsın? and Bakar mısın?.

Bey (Mr) and Hanım (Ms) go after the first name, never before it and never with the surname alone. The Turkish Language Association (TDK) dictionary defines bey as a term of respect used after men's names and hanım as one used after women's names. Sayın works the other way round. It comes before the name, and TDK describes it as a word of respect placed before names in speech and writing. In practice you hear Sayın in speeches and read it in emails, but in conversation people say Selin Hanım.

Emails: Sayın, Merhaba, Saygılarımla and İyi çalışmalar

A Turkish business email has the same parts as an English one, and each part has two or three stock phrases. Sayın plus the full name is the safe opening for a first contact. Once you've exchanged a few emails, Merhaba Selin Hanım or Selin Hanım merhaba is normal. For closings, Saygılarımla (with my respects) is formal and İyi çalışmalar (literally "good work") is the friendly everyday choice.

Letters to and from government bodies follow stricter rules. Türkiye's regulation on official correspondence, the Resmî Yazışmalarda Uygulanacak Usul ve Esaslar Hakkında Yönetmelik (2020), says that when the addressee is a person, Sayın comes first, followed by the first name in normal case and the surname in capitals: Sayın Selin KAYA (Article 14). Official letters end with arz ederim when written to a higher or equal office and rica ederim when written to a lower one (Article 16). A petition from a private person isn't rejected because it ends differently (Article 31). You won't need arz ederim in a normal company email, but you'll see it in letters from ministries and universities.

Meetings and small talk

Meetings often open with a few minutes of small talk, frequently over tea. The phrases are short and fixed, so learn them as whole chunks. Hoş geldiniz (welcome) always gets the answer Hoş bulduk, and Kolay gelsin (literally "may it come easy") is what you say to anyone who's working.

• Murat Bey: Hoş geldiniz, Anna Hanım. Yolculuk nasıldı?
• Anna: Hoş bulduk. Gayet iyiydi, teşekkür ederim.
• Murat Bey: Çay mı alırsınız, kahve mi?
• Anna: Çay alayım, teşekkürler.
• Murat Bey: O zaman başlayalım. Gündemde üç konu var.
• Anna: Başlamadan önce bir şey sorabilir miyim? Sunumu daha sonra bizimle paylaşabilir misiniz?
• Murat Bey: Tabii, toplantıdan sonra e-postayla gönderirim.

Phone calls

Phone calls are harder than meetings because you can't see the other person and the line may be bad. Office calls usually open with the company name and iyi günler. Efendim is how many people answer their own mobile, so don't read it as "sir". Keep two lifelines ready: Biraz daha yavaş konuşabilir misiniz? (Could you speak a bit more slowly?) and Tekrar eder misiniz? (Could you repeat that?).

• Receptionist: Arda Lojistik, iyi günler.
• Anna: İyi günler. Selin Hanım'la görüşebilir miyim?
• Receptionist: Kim arıyor diyeyim?
• Anna: Anna Weber, Berlin ofisinden arıyorum.
• Receptionist: Selin Hanım şu an toplantıda. Not bırakmak ister misiniz?
• Anna: Evet, lütfen. Teklifle ilgili aradığımı söyler misiniz? Ben de ona e-posta atarım.
• Receptionist: Tamam, iletirim. İyi çalışmalar.
• Anna: Teşekkür ederim, size de.

Negotiations and polite refusals

A bare hayır (no) sounds abrupt at work. Polite refusals usually start with thanks, then ama or ancak (but), then a reason or a counter-offer. Maalesef (unfortunately) softens almost any bad news. If you need time, Ekibimle görüşüp size dönerim (I'll talk to my team and get back to you) is a polite way to avoid answering on the spot.

• Supplier: Bu fiyat bizim son teklifimiz.
• Anna: Anlıyorum. Ancak bu haliyle bütçemizi aşıyor. Ödeme vadesinde biraz esneklik olabilir mi?
• Supplier: Vadeyi altmış güne çıkarabiliriz.
• Anna: Bu iyi bir başlangıç. Ekibimle görüşüp yarın size dönebilir miyim?
• Supplier: Tabii, bekliyorum.

Common workplace words

These words come up in almost every office email and meeting. Learn them with the verb they usually take. Toplantı yapmak means to hold a meeting, teklif vermek to make an offer, and izin almak to take leave.

What level do you need for which job tasks?

The Council of Europe's CEFR Companion Volume has separate scales for formal meetings, correspondence and telecommunications, so you can match levels to tasks. The descriptions in this table are paraphrases of those descriptors.

So B1 is the working minimum for routine calls and emails, B2 is where you can handle your own correspondence in the right tone, and negotiation belongs to C1. If an employer asks for proof of your level, our guide to TÖMER and TYS certificates explains the options, and how long it takes to learn Turkish gives realistic timelines for each step.

How to practise business Turkish

Phrase lists help most when you rehearse them in your own situations, such as the supplier call you keep putting off. Role-play does this directly. Your teacher plays the supplier or the receptionist and changes the script each time, so you learn to understand the reply as well as say your part.

Business Turkish is one of the specialties of Ceylan, our teacher. She is a native Turkish speaker with an MA in Teaching Turkish and eight years of teaching, and she teaches every level from A1 to C2, one-to-one or in groups, online. Explanations can be in Turkish or English. If you also need Turkish outside the office, see our guide to Turkish for living in Türkiye.

Frequently asked questions

What level of Turkish do I need to work in a Turkish office?

It depends on the task. B1 covers routine calls, simple emails and familiar meetings. B2 lets you write formal emails in the right register and take an active part in meetings. For negotiating or disagreeing diplomatically, aim for C1. These levels follow the descriptors in the CEFR Companion Volume.

Should I use siz or sen with colleagues?

Start with siz and Bey or Hanım after the first name. Colleagues at your level often switch to sen soon, but wait until they suggest it. With managers, clients and suppliers, keep siz unless they clearly invite you to drop it.

Is İyi çalışmalar too informal to end an email?

No. İyi çalışmalar is a normal sign-off in everyday business emails. For a first contact, a formal request or someone much more senior, Saygılarımla is the safer choice.

Do I put Bey or Hanım before or after the name?

After the first name: Murat Bey, Selin Hanım. Sayın goes before the name, usually the full name in writing: Sayın Selin Kaya.

To work on the emails, calls and meetings in your own job, start with the free level test to see where you are. Then request a free trial lesson and tell us which situations you need first. We answer every request within 24 hours.