You will greet someone in Turkish at any hour, choose between merhaba and selam, and learn the one place where only selam works.
The idea
Merhaba is the all-purpose hello: it fits any hour and any person, from a shop assistant to a friend, and it has no formal or informal version. Selam is the casual one, used among friends and peers. To greet a group, use the plural: merhabalar, selamlar.
| Greeting | To a group | Example |
|---|---|---|
| merhaba | merhabalar | Merhaba, ben Elif. |
| selam | selamlar | Selam, nasılsın? |
Examples
- Merhaba, ben Elif.Hello, I am Elif.
- Annene selam söyle.Say hello to your mother for me.To pass a hello on to someone who is not there, Turkish says selam söylemek. Merhaba is only said face to face.
- Her sabah komşuma merhaba diyorum.Every morning I say hello to my neighbour.Turkish has no single verb for "to greet" here: it says merhaba demek, "to say merhaba". Demek becomes diyorum in the present.
- MerhabaHelloSay the h: it is mer-ha-ba, and the h is never silent.
- SelamHiSelam comes from the Arabic word for peace. It is casual, for friends, and it is also the word you send to others.
- Selam, nasılsın?Hi, how are you?Selam is the casual hello among friends, and nasılsın is the matching informal "how are you".
- Merhaba, nasılsınız?Hello, how are you?Merhaba stays the same for everyone; only the next word changes: nasılsınız is the polite or plural form.
- MerhabalarHello, everyoneMerhabalar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
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Watch out
Merhaba is only for the person in front of you. To send a hello to someone who is absent you need selam: Annene selam söyle, not Annene merhaba söyle. Also pronounce the h in merhaba: it is mer-ha-ba, not mer-a-ba.
Try it yourself
Fill the gap with the hello you send to someone absent: Say hello to your mother.
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selam
selam: this hello travels to your mother, who is not there, and a hello is passed on only with selam (selam söylemek).
Greet a group: add the plural suffix to merhaba.
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merhabalar
merhabalar: the plural -lar follows the back vowel a of merhaba and greets several people.
Fill the gap with a greeting: Every morning I say hello to my neighbour.
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merhaba / selam
merhaba or selam: both go with demek (to say); diyorum comes from demek, so Turkish literally says "I say merhaba".
You greet someone you have never met. Type the safer hello: selam or merhaba?
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merhaba
merhaba: it suits a stranger because it assumes no familiarity; selam assumes you know each other.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Fill the gap with the hello you send to someone absent: Say hello to your mother.
Greet a group: add the plural suffix to merhaba.
Fill the gap with a greeting: Every morning I say hello to my neighbour.
You greet someone you have never met. Type the safer hello: selam or merhaba?
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: Hello, everyone
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Write three greetings: one for a shop assistant, one for a friend and one for a group. Then add a hello that someone should pass on to your mother.