Turkish for Living in Turkey: The Conversations You'll Have

Living in Türkiye comes down to a small, predictable set of conversations: renting a flat, opening a bank account and getting a phone line, the migration office appointment, the pharmacy and the doctor, the pazar and cargo deliveries, and chatting with your neighbours. About forty phrases, the right level of politeness and two or three ways to ask someone to slow down will get you through all of them. Each situation below has the key phrases in a table and a short dialogue of the kind you'll actually hear.

This article covers language only. It isn't legal advice and doesn't describe residence-permit rules. For procedures, go to the official site of the Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı).

Sen or siz: get this right first

Turkish has two words for "you". Sen is for friends, family, children and people your own age once you know them. Siz is for strangers, officials, older people and anyone you'd call "sir" or "madam". Start with siz in every situation below except the chat with neighbours you already know. If the other person wants sen, they'll usually tell you.

• Sara: Ahmet Bey, nasılsınız?
• Ahmet: İyiyim, sağ olun. Bu arada, bana sen diyebilirsin, aynı yaştayız.
• Sara: Tamam, o zaman sen de bana Sara de.

In offices, the polite request ending -abilir misiniz? ("could you...?") does most of the work, and it attaches to almost any verb: Yardım edebilir misiniz? (Could you help?), Yazabilir misiniz? (Could you write it down?).

Renting a flat: the emlakçı, the landlord, the deposit and the aidat

Most rentals go through an emlakçı (estate agent), and you meet the ev sahibi (landlord) when you sign. Two words cause most of the confusion. Depozito is the deposit. Aidat is the building's shared fee for cleaning, the lift and the kapıcı (caretaker), paid to the building manager (yönetici), and it's often separate from the rent. You may also hear DASK, the compulsory earthquake insurance run by the Doğal Afet Sigortaları Kurumu.

• You: Merhaba, ilandaki daire için aramıştım. Hâlâ kiralık mı?
• Agent: Evet. Ne zaman görmek istersiniz?
• You: Yarın akşam olur mu? Bir de, aidat kiraya dahil mi?
• Agent: Değil, aidatı yöneticiye ayrıca ödüyorsunuz.
• You: Depozito ne kadar?
• Agent: İki kira.
• You: Anladım. Sözleşmeyi önceden görebilir miyim?
• Agent: Tabii, fotoğrafını size atarım.

The bank and the phone line

At the bank, start with a question: Hangi belgeler gerekiyor? (Which documents are needed?). Each bank sets its own requirements, so ask before you queue. Note that şifre means both PIN and password.

At the phone shop you'll choose between faturalı (a contract, billed monthly) and faturasız (prepaid). If your phone was bought abroad, its IMEI number has to be registered (IMEI kaydı) within a set period after you enter the country, or it will be cut off from Turkish networks. The Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) sets the rules and fees, so check the current version there or ask the operator.

• You: Merhaba, hat almak istiyorum.
• Clerk: Faturalı mı olsun, faturasız mı?
• You: Faturasız. Paketleriniz neler?
• Clerk: Şunlar var. Pasaportunuzu alabilir miyim?
• You: Buyurun. Telefonum yurt dışından, IMEI kaydı gerekiyor mu?
• Clerk: Evet, önce onu yapalım.

The migration office appointment

This is the conversation most people worry about, so prepare your sentences in advance. You'll hear göç idaresi for the office, randevu for the appointment, başvuru for the application, ikamet izni for the residence permit, and evrak or belge for documents. The official e-İkamet portal handles online applications, lists the required documents and has English, Arabic and Russian versions. For questions, the Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı runs the YİMER 157 line. Rules change, and only these official sources can tell you what applies to you.

What you can control is how you speak at the desk. Use siz, keep your sentences short, and say so when you don't understand. Asking an official to repeat something is normal, and far safer than guessing.

• You: Günaydın. Saat onda randevum var.
• Officer: Pasaportunuz?
• You: Buyurun.
• Officer: Bu belgenin aslı da lazım.
• You: Aslı burada. Fotokopisi de lazım mı?
• Officer: Gerek yok. Tamam, şimdilik bu kadar.
• You: Teşekkür ederim, iyi günler.

The pharmacy and the doctor

The eczane (pharmacy) is often the first stop, and pharmacists are used to helping you describe symptoms. At night and on holidays, look for the nöbetçi eczane (duty pharmacy). The Ministry of Health's personal health record system, e-Nabız, has a finder for duty pharmacies and the nearest hospital.

State hospital appointments go through MHRS (Merkezi Hekim Randevu Sistemi, the central appointment system): the website, the app or the ALO 182 phone line. The site describes logging in through e-Devlet and e-Nabız, so check whether your ID works there before you need it. In an emergency, call 112 or go to acil (the emergency department). Your family doctor is the aile hekimi.

• You: İyi akşamlar. Boğazım çok ağrıyor, biraz da ateşim var.
• Pharmacist: Ne zamandır?
• You: İki gündür.
• Pharmacist: Bir ilaca alerjiniz var mı?
• You: Hayır, yok.
• Pharmacist: Bunu günde üç kere alın. Ateşiniz düşmezse doktora görünün.
• You: Teşekkürler. Ne kadar?

Shops, the pazar and cargo deliveries

At the weekly pazar (street market), prices are per kilo and sellers talk fast. You'll hear abla and abi all the time, and you can use them back. Deliveries are called kargo, and couriers often phone before they come, so expect a quick call in fast Turkish.

• Courier: Alo, kargonuz var. Evde misiniz?
• You: Şu an değilim. Kapıcıya bırakabilir misiniz?
• Courier: Olur. Kapıcının adı ne?
• You: Mehmet Bey. Çok teşekkürler.
• Courier: Rica ederim, iyi günler.

Neighbours and small talk

Small talk with neighbours runs on fixed phrases tied to moments: someone is working, someone is ill, someone has moved in, someone has cooked. They're easy to learn and they make you sound friendly long before your grammar is solid. Food comes up a lot, and when a neighbour brings something on a plate, many people return the plate with something on it.

• Ayten: Merhaba, hoş geldiniz! Üçüncü kata siz mi taşındınız?
• Sara: Evet, geçen hafta taşındık. Ben Sara.
• Ayten: Memnun oldum, ben Ayten. Hayırlı olsun!
• Sara: Teşekkür ederim. Bu arada, çöpler ne zaman alınıyor?
• Ayten: Her akşam. Kapının önüne koyuyorsunuz, kapıcı alıyor.
• Sara: Çok sağ olun.
• Ayten: Rica ederim. Bir şeye ihtiyacınız olursa söyleyin.

How to practise these conversations

The phrases stick when you say them out loud, at normal speed, to someone who answers back. Role-play works well: a teacher plays the clerk or the landlord and changes the script each time, so you have to understand the reply as well as say your own lines.

Ceylan, our teacher, teaches Turkish for living in Türkiye this way. 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. If you're starting from zero, our guide to how long it takes to learn Turkish gives a realistic timeline. If you'll need a certificate later, see TÖMER or TYS: which Turkish C1 certificate you need. For Turkish at work, read business Turkish for emails, meetings and calls, and if your children are coming too, see Turkish for bilingual children.

Frequently asked questions

What level of Turkish do I need for daily life in Türkiye?

A2 covers most of the exchanges above if the other person speaks slowly. The Council of Europe's CEFR global scale describes A2 as handling simple, routine exchanges on familiar topics such as shopping and local geography. At B1 you can deal with the unexpected, like a problem with the contract or a parcel that went missing.

Can I do the migration office appointment in English?

You may meet staff who speak English, or you may not, so don't count on it. Prepare the phrases above, bring your documents in order, and use the official Göç İdaresi Başkanlığı site and the YİMER 157 line for questions about procedure.

Is it rude to use sen with strangers?

With officials, older people and anyone serving you in a formal setting, it can sound rude. Shopkeepers and market sellers are more relaxed, and abi, abla or hocam keep the tone friendly and still respectful. When in doubt, use siz and let the other person switch.

Can Turkly help with my residence permit or visa?

No. Ceylan is a language teacher only and doesn't provide residence, visa or citizenship services. She can help you handle the conversation at the desk in Turkish. For the procedure itself, use the official migration site or a qualified lawyer.

To practise the conversations you'll actually have, 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, whether that's the landlord, the pharmacy or the neighbour on the stairs. We answer every request within 24 hours.