This article will help you to gain the understanding and language you need to go shopping in Turkish with confidence.
1. BAKAR MISINIZ?
+ Pardon, bakar mısınız?
Bakar mısınız? means “Excuse me”. You can use it when you want to get someone’s attention in a polite way. We use this expression for strangers like a waiter in a restaurant or a seller in a store.
2. BUYURUN
– Buyurun+ Bir kahve lütfen
Buyurun has many meanings. In this context it is a kind of greeting and it means “How can I help you?”. It’s polite and formal.
Related post 10 Most Common Turkish Greetings
+ Bir tane elma alabilir miyim?– Buyurun.
Another meaning of buyurun is “here you are”, “take it, please”. You can use this expression when you give something to someone and when you want to sound polite.
3. ... VAR MI?
+ Çay var mı?– Evet, var.
var mı? means “Is/Are there….?”, or “Do you have…?”. Possible responses to it:
- Evet, var. (Yes, there is.)
- Hayır, yok. (No, there is not.)
- Maalesef yok. (Unfortunately there isn’t.)
- Maalesef kalmadı. (Unfortunately we don’t have any left.)
4. ... ALABİLİR MİYİM?
+ Domates alabilir miyim?
… alabilir miyim? means “Can I have…?”. It’s a very polite way of asking for something. It’s better to use this expression instead of istiyorum (I want) if you want to sound more polite and nicer.
5. KAÇ TANE?
+ Ekmek alabilir miyim?
– Kaç tane?+ Üç tane
Kaç tane? means “how many?”. It’s used for countable nouns.
Tane means “a single thing, item, piece ” as in bir tane domates (a tomato). It is not always necessary to use tane, but it’s commonly used (even overused) by Turkish speakers, not only for things but also (very surprisingly) for people as in bir tane kadın (a woman), bir tane adam (a man). It’s usually left untranslated.
6. NASIL OLSUN?
-Nasıl olsun? Büyük mü küçük mü?+ Büyük olsun.
- …olsun (I want it to be …)
- Nasıl olsun? (How do you want it to be?)
- Büyük mü küçük mü? (Big or small?)
7. BAŞKA BİR ŞEY VAR MI?
– Başka bir şey var mı?
Başka bir şey var mı? means “Is there anything else?”. It’s also shortened to başka?.
When you want to buy another item, you can say bir de … lütfen (And also … please).
8. BU KADAR
– Başka bir şey?+ Bu kadar.
And when you don’t want to buy anything else, you can say bu kadar, which means “That’s it.”
9. NE KADAR?
+ Ne kadar?– 20 lira.
Ne kadar? means “how much?”, “how much does it cost?”
10. ŞUNU BOZABİLİR MİSİNİZ?
+ Şunu bozabilir misiniz?– Tabi.
When you want to buy something super cheap (a bottle of water or so) and pay it with a hundred lira bill, it’s nice to ask just before paying if they can change it or not. Most of the time they will try to help you.
11. BOZUK PARA
– Bozuk (para) var mı?+ Hayır, yok.
Bozuk para means “small change”. Bozuk is the shorter version of it.
12. KREDİ KARTIYLA ÖDEYEBİLİR MİYİM?
+ Kredi kartıyla ödeyebilir miyim?– Maalesef.
Kredi kartıyla ödeyebilir miyim? means “Can I pay by credit card?” Possible responses to it:
- Tabi, ödeyebilirsiniz. (Sure, you can.)
- Maalesef sadece nakit kabul ediyoruz. (Unfortunately we only accept cash.)
13. PARA ÜSTÜ
– Buyurun, para üstü.+ Teşekkürler.
When you pay, remember to get your para üstü back. Para üstü means “change”.
14. FİŞ ALABİLİR MİYİM?
+ Fiş alabilir miyim?– Tabi, buyurun.
When you need a fiş (receipt), this is how you can ask for it:
“Fiş alabilir miyim?”
15. POŞETE GEREK YOK
– Poşet ister misiniz?+ Hayır, teşekkürler. Poşete gerek yok.
Do you want to reduce plastic pollution? This is how you can refuse a plastic bag: Poşete gerek yok!
- … ister misiniz? (Would you like to have …?)
- poşet (plastic bag)
- -e gerek yok (no need for)
