You will pick the right goodbye for the moment: leaving or being left, to one friend or to a group.
The idea
Turkish chooses the goodbye by who is leaving. The one who goes says hoşça kal, “stay well” (kal- means stay); the one who stays says güle güle, “go smiling”. To several people, or to someone you address politely, the leaver says hoşça kalın. Görüşürüz (“we will see each other”) works for both sides.
| The one who leaves says | The one who stays says | Polite or plural |
|---|---|---|
| hoşça kal | güle güle | hoşça kalın |
| görüşürüz | görüşürüz | görüşmek üzere |
| kendine iyi bak | kendine iyi bak | kendinize iyi bakın |
Examples
- Ben gidiyorum, hoşça kal.I'm leaving, goodbye.Hoşça kal is said by the person who leaves; it literally asks the other to stay well (kal = stay). The pronoun ben may be dropped.
- Güle güle, yarın görüşürüz.Bye, see you tomorrow.Güle güle is said by the one who stays to the one who leaves; it literally means “smiling, smiling” (gül- = to laugh, to smile).
- Hoşça kalın, ben çıkıyorum.Goodbye, everyone, I'm heading out.The ending -ın makes kal plural or polite: hoşça kalın is for several people or for someone you address formally.
- Öğretmene hoşça kalın dedik.We said goodbye to the teacher.
- Kapıda misafirlere güle güle dedik.At the door we said goodbye to the guests.The guests leave and the hosts stay, so the hosts say güle güle (dedik = we said).
- görüşürüzsee you (we will see each other)görüşReciprocal verb suffixür-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)üzAorist person endings: -im, -sin, -iz, -siniz, -ler
- Kendine iyi bak, güle güle.Take care, bye.
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Watch out
Do not say hoşça kal to a guest who is walking out of your door: it tells that person to stay, which is just what they are not doing. The one who stays says güle güle. The reverse is wrong too: if you are the one leaving, güle güle wishes the other person a happy trip.
Try it yourself
You are leaving and your friend stays. Complete the goodbye: hoşça ___ (stay).
Show answer or example answer
kal
kal: you are the one leaving, so you ask the other person to stay, and kal- is the verb for staying.
Your guest is leaving and you stay. Type the goodbye you say (two words).
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güle güle
güle güle: your guest goes and you stay, so you wish them a smiling journey; the word is said twice.
You are leaving a room full of people. Complete the plural, polite form: hoşça ___.
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kalın
kalın: you address several people, so the imperative takes -ın after the back vowel a.
Say “see you tomorrow”: Yarın ___.
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görüşürüz
görüşürüz: gör- (see) + -üş- (each other) + -ür- + -üz (we), “we will see each other”; after the front vowel ö every ending has ü.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
You are leaving and your friend stays. Complete the goodbye: hoşça ___ (stay).
Your guest is leaving and you stay. Type the goodbye you say (two words).
You are leaving a room full of people. Complete the plural, polite form: hoşça ___.
Say “see you tomorrow”: Yarın ___.
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: see you (we will see each other)
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Picture three partings: you leave a friend's flat, a guest leaves yours, you leave a class. Write what each side says, then add görüşürüz where it fits.