You will greet someone in the evening, wish someone a good night and answer either wish.
The idea
Both wishes are plural: iyi geceler (from gece, night) and iyi akşamlar (from akşam, evening), each with iyi (good) in front. Say iyi akşamlar when you meet someone in the evening and iyi geceler when you part for the night or go to bed. The reply is Sana da to a friend or Size de to someone you address politely, usually followed by the same wish.
| Say | Reply to a friend | Reply, polite |
|---|---|---|
| İyi geceler | Sana da iyi geceler. | Size de iyi geceler. |
| İyi akşamlar | Sana da iyi akşamlar. | Size de iyi akşamlar. |
| İyi uykular | Sana da. | Size de. |
| Tatlı rüyalar | Sana da. | Size de. |
Examples
- Ben yatıyorum, iyi geceler.I am going to bed, good night.The pronoun ben may be dropped: Yatıyorum, iyi geceler.
- Sana da iyi geceler.Good night to you too.The particle da is written apart and takes its vowel from sana. To someone you address politely say Size de iyi geceler.
- Annem çocuklara iyi geceler diyor.My mother is saying good night to the children.
- Size de iyi akşamlar.Good evening to you too.
- Müşteri mağazaya girdi ve iyi akşamlar dedi.The customer walked into the shop and said good evening.
- gecelernightsgeceler-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
- akşamlareveningsakşamlar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
- İyi uykular.Sleep well.
- Tatlı rüyalar.Sweet dreams.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Turkish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Turkish device voice is available. You can still read the text.
Watch out
Do not greet with the night wish: if you arrive at a friend's door at eight in the evening, say iyi akşamlar, because iyi geceler is what you say when you leave or go to sleep. Keep the plural as well; the standard wish is iyi geceler, not iyi gece.
Try it yourself
You are going to bed. Complete the wish with the plural of gece (night): good night.
Show answer or example answer
geceler
geceler: you are going to bed, so the wish is the night one, and gece ends in the front vowel e, so the plural is -ler.
You meet a neighbour at seven in the evening. Complete the greeting with the plural of akşam (evening): good evening.
Show answer or example answer
akşamlar
akşamlar: you meet someone in the evening, and the last vowel of akşam is a, so the plural is -lar.
A friend wishes you good night. Reply with 'to you too': fill in da or de.
Show answer or example answer
da
da: the particle is written apart and copies the vowel of sana, which is a.
An older neighbour you address politely wishes you good evening. Reply with 'to you too': fill in da or de.
Show answer or example answer
de
de: the particle is written apart and copies the vowel of size, which is e.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
You are going to bed. Complete the wish with the plural of gece (night): good night.
You meet a neighbour at seven in the evening. Complete the greeting with the plural of akşam (evening): good evening.
A friend wishes you good night. Reply with 'to you too': fill in da or de.
An older neighbour you address politely wishes you good evening. Reply with 'to you too': fill in da or de.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: nights
Tap the parts in order to build this word: evenings
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Write the greeting for arriving at a neighbour's door in the evening and the wish for leaving at night, then write a reply to each with Sana da or Size de.