Farewell in Turkish

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There are some different forms of farewell in Turkish. As a difference from English, we say "Allah'a ısmarladık" if we are going, and "güle güle" if staying. This is one of the most confusing parts for the foreigners who learn Turkish as beginners. There are also different type farewell words too, like "hoşça kal."

Here are the common farewell words in Turkish:

• Allah'a ısmarladık and Güle güle
• Hoşça kal and Güle güle
• Görüşürüz
• Kendine iyi bak or Kendine dikkat et
• Selametle
• Allah'a emanet ol

"Allah'a ısmarladık" and "Güle güle"

As far as I know, that has been the most common farewell word group. But as time is changing, usage is changing as well. The most important point of these words is; one is said by one who goes, and the other is who stays.

Let's write a short scenario about this. Ahmet and Mehmet are friends, Ahmet is at Mehmet's house to visit him. And after a couple of hours they enjoyed together, Ahmet decides to go. As Ahmet is the one who goes, he says "Allah'a ısmarladık". And Mehmet is the one who stays, he says "Güle güle".

Ahmet: Allah'a ısmarladık!
Mehmet: Güle güle!

What do these words mean exactly?

"Allah" is the special name of God in Islam.
"ısmarlamak" is the infinitive of the verb ısmarladık.
This phrase means "I entrust you to God". That is like "I am going now, and I know you will be safe with God". For that reason, it is said by the person who goes. Even though there is no strict rule about this, that is the exact meaning, and when someone says this accidently, it seems old and sometimes funny.

"Güle güle" is an adverb, which tells us the figure or type of an action. Gülmek is shape of this adverb that means "to laugh" or "to smile". So, it means "(go) by smiling". Even though there is no word "go" in this phrase, it can also be added sometimes: "güle güle git". "git" is the imperative form of the verb "gitmek" (to go). Or "gidin" imperative of plural "you": "güle güle gidin"

As "Allah'a ısmarladık" is a phrase, some resources accept this as one word like this: "Allahaısmarladık".

"Hoşça kal" and "Güle güle"

Very similarly to the previous phrases, "hoşça kal" is used like "Allah'a ısmarladık" generally. But this one is some more flexible. You may use it for both sides, when you are going and also when you are staying.

"kal" is the imperative form of the verb "kalmak"="to stay", and "hoş" means "nice". "hoşça" is the adverb form, which tells us the figure of the action. So, "hoşça kal" means "stay nicely" or "stay well" basically. If there is more than one person as "you", it will be "hoşça kalın" as the plural "you" form of the imperative of "kalmak".

As a reply to "hoşça kal", both "hoşça kal" and "güle güle" can be said.

"Görüşürüz"

"Görüşmek" is "to see each other". Some verbs in Turkish get little suffixes, and they change as doing that action "each other". "Görmek" is "to see", we add a suffix -ş, and we make it to see each other: "görüşmek". And we say: "görüşürüz". That means "we (will) see each other".

That is one of the most used phrases for farewell.

"Kendine iyi bak" or "Kendine dikkat et"

"Kendine iyi bak" is "take care of yourself". A friend of mine told me that is a new phrase that came from English customs. Indeed, it has been "kendine dikkat et", and the meaning is same.

"bakmak" means "to look". But here it has another meaning; "to look after", just like looking after a baby as a nany. When you say "[birine] iyi bak", that means "look well after [someone]". And when you add "kendine", it means "yourself".

"dikkat etmek" is "to take care" or "to be careful", so "kendine dikkat et" means "take care of yourself" or "be careful about yourself".

In chat, or sms wrtings, you may see an abbreviation: "kib". That is "Kendine iyi bak". Plural versions of these sayings are:

• Kendinize iyi bakın
• Kendinize dikkat edin

PS: "Kendine iyi bak" and "Kendine dikkat et" are not like "Allah'a ısmarladık" and "Güle güle". These are not the answer of another like the previous phrases. You can use "Kendine iyi bak" and "Kendine dikkat et" as you wish.

"Selametle"

"Selam" and "selamet" are from same root in Arabic. That is about safety. "Selametle" is an adverb again. It means "(go/stay) with safity/safe". This can be used both with "go" and "stay", you can use them "selametle git/gidin" and "selametle kal/kalın".

"Allah'a emanet ol"

Meaning is same as "Allah'a ısmarladık" but has a different feeling. It is a bit more Arabic and religious type saying. As "Allah'a ısmarladık" is some more traditional, "Allah'a emanet ol" gives a feeling that one says it not because he is used to. That is more expressed, so it seems a bit more religious.

There might be some more phrases when you are leaving a place or someone, but these are the most common sayings. If you catch more, you may write them as a comment, so you can make this list richer.

Now it is time to leave this article. Hoşça kalın, kendinize iyi bakın!