- Forum >
- Topic: Turkish >
- "Merhaba, iyi akşamlar."
43 Comments
I wonder how it comes that Turkish adopted the Arabic "marhaban" but changed the first vowel into "e" despite the harmony laws.
No actually Turkish adopted the word "merhaba" from arabic The word in arabic is "marhaba" But because we say "to you" in arabic "bek" = marhaban bek" We delete the last part "bek" And remain the "n" So it turn to "marhaban" But the word it self is "marhaba" It came from the arabic root "rahaba"="r.h.b"
Would it make sense in Turkish saying both "Hello" and "Good Evening" in the same sentence? Since it would sound unusual saying two greetings at once in English and probably most other languages...
86
Very interesting! It's convenient if we want to show our special liking and respect for a person, we can say both
not specifically "to show our special liking and respect" as it can be a way to just be plainly polite to somebody
Am I right that -lar is a plural ending? If so, then why is akşamlar in the plural? Does it have a singular form and what would that mean?
akşam is evening. we use it in plural to say "good evening", similar for good night or good day
Adding to the answer here- generally when you wish a good something to someone in Turkish, it's plural. For example: İyi şanslar (good luck), İyi bayramlar (happy holiday - for religious or national holidays in the American usage of the word), İyi geceler (good night), iyi yolculuklar (happy travels/bon voyage), mutlu yıllar (Happy New Year, or a phrase to use on a birthday), etc. :-)
Would we say "iyi akşamlar" when we meet someone (like bonsoir in French) or when we leave (like "have a nice evening")?
- 52
The pronunciation of the word: "aksamlar" sounds to me like "M" and "L" are reversed. Doesn't it?
Nope, those would be "iyi günler" and "günaydın" respectively
Oh..some guys at my school would say "Merhaba" to each other every morning, so I thought so.. Anyway, cool.. thanks!
What exactly is the difference in Turkish between evening and night? Is evening anything past afternoon, up until sunset? As a native English speaker, I've honestly gone through life thinking evening and night were basically synonyms.
I dont think evening and night are synonyms in Enlish, and they are certainly not in Turkish. There are no strict definitions but evening is typically after sunset, but before it is too late. For me after 7pm is evening, and after 10-11pm is nigt. I also dont think you would say good evening to a person who is going to bed, or good night to a person who you see in the evening. So even if people might not agree when evening and night are, I guess everyone would agree when to say good evenin or good night.
The duo pronunciation sounds sort of like "mehr-haba", but when I hear this spoken, it is often more like "mar-haba". Is this -ar pronunciation of 'er' correct or is it more true ro the english 'er'?
have you really heard it like "mar-haba" from Turkish speakers? That's the Arabic pronunciation and we Turkish people don't pronounce it like this. We even actually usually omit the h, and just say "Meraba"
Ahh, I see, thank you. Learning a language can be different when people from different areas speak it to you (which is inevitable), I worry often about how my own pronunciation is in unconsciously reflecting them.
Hello! What's between "Iyi aksamlar" and "Iyi geceler"? I'm confused. Regards!
Aksamlar sounds like the plural of aksam...what does it literally mean ?
