Goodbye depends on who is leaving
Mixing up "Hoşça kal" and "Güle güle" is one of the most common beginner slips, since English uses the same word regardless of who is staying or going. Turkish speakers are generally used to hearing learners get this backwards and rarely find it confusing in practice.
Dotted and dotless "I" are two different letters
Turkish uses both a dotted İ/i and a dotless I/ı as separate letters representing different vowel sounds, not just a stylistic variation — mixing them up can occasionally change a word's meaning entirely, though context usually saves the conversation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Turkish related to Arabic or Persian?
No. Despite centuries of vocabulary borrowing and using the Arabic script until the 1920s, Turkish belongs to the separate Turkic language family, and has used a Latin-based alphabet since a 1928 spelling reform.
Which greeting should I use with strangers?
"Merhaba" is the safest, most neutral choice — it works at any time of day and in almost any formal or informal setting.