Learn some phrases your professor won't teach you
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Ece: Merhabalar! I’m Ece! |
| Gina: And I’m Gina. Welcome back to TurkishClass101.com! This is All About, Lesson 13 - Top 5 Phrases Your Turkish Teacher Will Never Teach You! |
| Ece: I think this lesson will be a lot of fun. |
| Gina: Definitely! In this lesson, we’re going to learn about conversational phrases that you may not learn easily from books. |
| Ece: But you might come across them in everyday life. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Gina: Okay, so what’s the first phrase? |
| Ece: ‘Harika!’ |
| Gina: What does it mean? |
| Ece: “Awesome!” “Great!” “Wonderful!” |
| Gina: Is it slang? |
| Ece: Not at all, but it’s not very common in formal situations. That’s because it’s used in the same sense as “Cool!” in English. Other than that, it sounds natural when it’s used as an adjective with nouns, or within a sentence. |
| Gina: Cool! Also you said it in a cheerful way. Can we hear it again? |
| Ece: ‘Harika!’ If you want to emphasize the cheerfulness more, you can elongate the first vowel- “Haaaaaaaaaaaarika!” |
| Gina: “Coooooool.” When can we use it? |
| Ece: When something is awesome! |
| Gina: (laughs) Ok... Now, what’s the second phrase- |
| Ece: ‘Canım’. |
| Gina: What does it mean? |
| Ece: Literally it is “my soul”, but it’s closer to “my dear, my dear one” in English. |
| Gina: So what type of a daily phrase is it then? |
| Ece: We use ‘canım’ a lot, especially when we’re addressing someone, but definitely not with just anyone. |
| Gina: Ok, so who can you use it with? |
| Ece: First of all, ‘canım’ is an affectionate word, and it shows a closeness or intention to be close. We can use this word towards anyone in our family and our friends, and with juniors and peers among people we’ve just met. |
| Gina: So it’s not proper to address the elders that you have formal relationships with, or total strangers. |
| Ece: Right. Also, even if it’s a person we know and who is the same age, in some situations it’d be improper again, like a girl calling her best friend’s boyfriend ‘canım’, like “my dear one”. |
| Gina: Ahh, so it carries a little bit of a romantic connotation too? |
| Ece: Yes. But on the other hand, you can use ‘canım’ towards elders and in some formal situations, if you add the honorific title, like “my dear teacher” or “my dear uncle”. But not only “my dear”. |
| Gina: Got it, more or less like “dear” in English. So the third one is… |
| Ece: ‘Üff!’ |
| Gina: Is it an exclamation? |
| Ece: Yes, as a word it doesn’t carry any meaning. But as an exclamation, it indicates boredom. |
| Gina: Like a sigh? |
| Ece: Yes, but I have to say, it’s too colloquial, so it’s better not to use it in formal situations. Turkish girls in particular use these a lot. |
| Gina: Why? |
| Ece: Because acting coy is a valued character trait traditionally, they don’t hesitate to show their lovers how bored they are! |
| Gina: Bored with what? |
| Ece: If the boy tries to criticize her actions or doesn’t pay enough attention to her, then she says ‘Üff!’ like “That’s enough”, “How boring” “It did not attract my attention at all” or “I don’t feel like...” |
| Gina: Giving a hard time to their lovers, how interesting! |
| Ece: Well, it depends on the situation. Keep in mind that this is usually considered childish or juvenile! |
| Gina: I see! Ok, next phrase please. |
| Ece: ‘Yok yaa!’ |
| Gina: What does it mean? |
| Ece: It’s hard to find an English equivalent, but it’s close to “Oh really? I dare you!” or “Oh yeah? Try and see!” with negative implications. This one is a little childish as well. |
| Gina: I’m guessing it’s colloquial again. |
| Ece: Yes. ‘Yok yaa!’ can be said when someone talks about doing something that really annoys you. It’s a phrase that shows your anger and disapproval. For example, if a child tells his mum, “Now I’m going out to play, I’ll tidy my room later.” And she gets angry because he’s supposed to do his chores first, then play. So she says ‘Yok yaa!’ indicating that’s not even an option. |
| Gina: Got it! And the last phrase comes now. |
| Ece: ‘Haydaa…’ |
| Gina: Please tell us how it’s used and what it indicates. |
| Ece: It is often said after you hear unexpected and disappointing news. Or when something you’ve been waiting for turns out to be another thing, that will not meet your requirements or expectations. |
| Gina: Can you give us an example? |
| Ece: An assistant brings the news -“The professor is still at a meeting so I’ll be the one in charge of the class today.” And the students say ‘Haydaa…’ expressing both their feeling of being surprised, and the disappointment about a sudden change, especially without a notification in advance. |
| Gina: But is this situation really such a big disappointment? |
| Ece: Not really, but Turkish people tend to speak their minds and be vocal about their emotions. ‘Haydaa’ can also be used in a situation like... |
| Gina: “Oh, I ordered a pair of blue sneakers, but they sent me grey ones!” |
| Ece: ‘Haydaa…’ |
| Gina: Well, that’s all for this lesson, listeners. Go ahead and start using these phrases in your daily life when you’re speaking Turkish! |
| Ece: And see the lesson notes for further examples of their usages in regular conversation. |
Outro |
| Gina: See you next time, everyone! |
| Ece: Hoşça kalın! |
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