A meal gives you three different speaking roles: wishing the diners well, receiving that wish, and thanking the person who cooked. Choose your words according to who is eating and who prepared the food.
The idea
Afiyet olsun wishes someone enjoyment and well-being from their food. It can accompany the start of a meal or be said afterwards. Learn it as a fixed expression: olsun stays the same for one person or a whole table, as in Hepinize afiyet olsun. A simple reply is Teşekkür ederim. If the other person is also eating, you can return the wish with Sana da to a friend or Size de politely or to several people; da/de is written separately. To thank the cook, use Eline sağlık informally or Elinize sağlık politely or to several cooks.
Examples
- Hepinize afiyet olsun.Enjoy your meal, everyone.
- Size de afiyet olsun.Enjoy your meal too. (Polite or plural.)
- Çorba için teşekkür ederim.Thank you for the soup.
- Buyurun, afiyet olsun; ekmek de burada.Here you are, enjoy your meal; the bread is here too.
- Teşekkür ederim, size de.Thank you, you too.
- Elinize sağlık, çorba çok lezzetli olmuş.Thank you for cooking; the soup has turned out very tasty.
- Yemek bitti, elinize sağlık.The meal is over; thank you for cooking.
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Watch out
Do not automatically answer a server with Size de: it means “you too”, so it fits when they are eating as well. Elinize sağlık thanks someone for their work; it is not the ordinary wish to a person who is only eating. Nor does addressing several diners turn the fixed phrase into afiyet olsunlar.
Try it yourself
Your guests are starting lunch. Wish everyone a good meal using hepinize.
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Hepinize afiyet olsun / Afiyet olsun hepinize
Hepinize afiyet olsun / Afiyet olsun hepinize: hepinize includes every guest, while the wish itself needs no plural ending.
A server who is not eating says Afiyet olsun. Give a simple thank-you using teşekkür.
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Teşekkür ederim / Teşekkürler
Teşekkür ederim / Teşekkürler: both acknowledge the server’s kind words without assuming that the server is having a meal.
A friend eating with you says Afiyet olsun. Reply “you too” in two words, starting with sana.
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Sana da
Sana da: your friend is also eating, so “to you too” returns the wish. The separate da means “too”; it is not a location ending.
The soup was delicious. Thank the cook politely with an expression ending in sağlık.
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Elinize sağlık / Ellerinize sağlık
Elinize sağlık / Ellerinize sağlık: both appreciate the cook’s effort. The respectful address suits someone you do not know well, even when only one person cooked.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Your guests are starting lunch. Wish everyone a good meal using hepinize.
Hepinize afiyet olsun / Afiyet olsun hepinize
A server who is not eating says Afiyet olsun. Give a simple thank-you using teşekkür.
Teşekkür ederim / Teşekkürler
A friend eating with you says Afiyet olsun. Reply “you too” in two words, starting with sana.
The soup was delicious. Thank the cook politely with an expression ending in sağlık.
Elinize sağlık / Ellerinize sağlık
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write two short exchanges: one with a server who is not eating and one with a friend sharing your meal. Add a separate thank-you to the cook. If your browser offers a Turkish voice, listen to the examples and repeat them.