Chapter 3

Lesson 3

How to say “you’re welcome and please” in Turkish

Turkish                           English      
Lütfen                              Please
Rica ederim                     Please (used with phrase or verb)
Bu, lütfen                        This, please
Şu, lütfen                        That, please

Vocabulary
Turkish                           English                           Class
lütfen                                please                             expression
Rica ederim             You’re welcome                     expression
bu                                     this                          Demonstrative pronoun
şu                                     that                           Demonstrative pronoun
istemek                           to want                             verb

Sample Sentences
Turkish                                             English
Bu raftaki, lütfen.                               This one on the shelf, please
Rica ederim benimle bu şekilde         Please do not speak to me like that
konuşma.
Bu çok güzel                                      This is very beautiful.
Ben şu tişört istiyorum, lütfen.           I want that t-shirt, please
Mustafa’da partiye gelmek istiyor.     Mustafa want to come to the party, too

Grammar Tips

In Turkish, “please” is lütfen. The best way to use this word is by pointing at something and saying Bu, lütfen “This one, please” or Şu, lütfen “That one, please” Buis “this” and şu is “that”.

Do not forget  that in Turkey it is a little rude to point at people by using “bu or şu”. But pointing at things, for example, when you are trying to buy something is perfectly okay. Just make sure you say Teşekkür ederim after the object is handed to you.

Another phrase for “please” is Rica ederim. Do not forget that this also means “You’re welcome.” In Turkish, this phrase is used  to ask someone to do something  and it is usually followed by a verb or phrase. The sentences with the phrase Rica ederim is very polite and a little bit old-school.