You can say more with your own attitude than with words. There are times when you want to be pleasant but the trouble is, most Turkish men misunderstand us. To be on the safe side, treat them all the same and keep them at arms length.
If anyone starts asking you personal questions that you dont wish to answer, nip your face in and show disapproval saying coldly "efendim" like you cant believe they are asking you this!
A few phrases to get you started:
“Bırak” = leave it off
“Bırak beni” = leave me alone
“Bıktım” (pronounced: “Bucktum”) means you are fed up with something or someone. Its quite strong especially if you say it with “ya” at the end so “Bıktım ya”
“Yeter artik” = I’ve had enough
Baksana! Biz turist değiliz, burası oturuyoruz, onun için o kadar saçma gerek yok!
“Look you, we are not tourists, we live here so there is no need to put on an act”.
Or if you are on your own: “turist değlim, burası oturuyorum”= I’m not a tourist I live here.
“Değil" (say it: deyeel): this word is the negative of the verb “to be” and is used a lot.
One of the simplest and easiest to remember is of course:
"Sana ne" = whats that to you?
and equally
‘’Bana ne’’ = what do i care/whats that to me?
The words that will halt many in their tracks is a curt “Terbiyesiz” or “Ayıp”.
“Terbiyesiz” means rude and “Ayıp” means disgraceful.
This is a good one when you are being hassled in the street, maybe walking past a restaurant etc. and you are pestered by catcalls.
There are of course a lot of vulgar words, but they will get you nowhere although it is worthwhile learning a few of the common ones, that way you will know who is using language that you wouldn’t tolerate in English!
Of course ladies, the most important one to remember in any language is body language. It says more than words ever can!
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