Kolay Gelsin: The Everyday Turkish Phrase You Should Be Using

Kolay gelsin is one of those phrases that has no real English equivalent but that you'll hear in Turkey every day. You say it to someone who is working, in any sense of the word. Learners who start using it quickly notice how much warmer their everyday interactions become.

What it literally means

Break it into parts:

• kolay = easy
• gel- = to come
• -sin = third-person imperative/optative ending: “let it…” or “may it…”

So kolay gelsin is “may it come easy (to you)”. The unspoken subject is whatever the person is doing: their work, their task, their effort. It's a small wish that the job goes smoothly.

When to say it

• Walking into a shop, pharmacy, office or workshop: Merhaba, kolay gelsin. It works as a friendly opener before your actual request.
• Passing someone at work: a cleaner, a builder, someone carrying heavy boxes.
• Phoning someone at work: Kolay gelsin, müsait misiniz? (“Hope I'm not interrupting, are you free?”)
• At home: to someone cooking, cleaning, packing or moving house.
• To students: to someone studying or preparing for exams.
• When leaving: Kolay gelsin, iyi günler! (“Hope the rest of the work goes well, have a good day!”)

It suits any kind of effort, not just manual labor, so an office worker or a programmer is just as natural a recipient as a mechanic. It isn't used for someone who is relaxing, eating or ill; those situations have their own phrases, below.

How to respond

• Sağ ol / Sağ olun: thanks (informal / polite). The most common reply.
• Teşekkürler / Teşekkür ederim: thanks / thank you.
• Eyvallah: informal thanks, common among men in shops and workshops.

A shopkeeper will often answer Sağ olun, buyurun, “Thanks, how can I help?”, which neatly moves the conversation on.

Example sentences

• Merhaba, kolay gelsin. Ekmek kaldı mı? (Hello, hope work's going well. Is there any bread left?)
• Kolay gelsin usta, araba ne zaman hazır olur? (Hi there, when will the car be ready?)
• Kolay gelsin, size bir şey sorabilir miyim? (Sorry to interrupt, may I ask you something?)
• Anne, kolay gelsin! Yardım edeyim mi? (Mum, that looks like hard work! Shall I help?)
• Sınavlara mı hazırlanıyorsun? Kolay gelsin! (Studying for your exams? Good luck with it!)

Related phrases

• İyi çalışmalar: “have a good work session”. Said when leaving a workplace, ending a call with someone at work, or closing a work email.
• Hayırlı işler: “may your business be blessed”. Said to shopkeepers and business owners; a little more traditional.
• Geçmiş olsun: “may it be in the past”. Said to someone who is ill, injured, or has had a bad experience. Reply: Sağ ol.
• Hayırlı olsun: “may it be beneficial”. For a new car, new home, new job or an engagement. Reply: Sağ ol or Teşekkürler.
• Afiyet olsun: “enjoy your meal”. For someone eating.

Common learner mistakes

• Saying it to someone who is ill. Use geçmiş olsun.
• Saying it to someone eating. Use afiyet olsun.
• Confusing it with “hoş geldin”. Kolay gelsin is about work, hoş geldin is a welcome. They share the verb gelmek but nothing else.
• Spelling. Two words, no capital on the second: kolay gelsin.

What you'll notice in dizi

Watch any scene set in a neighborhood shop, a market or a kitchen and you'll likely hear it. Characters walking into the corner shop (bakkal) greet the owner with kolay gelsin; someone stepping into the kitchen says it to whoever is cooking. It's such a natural part of everyday speech that it barely registers, which is exactly why using it yourself makes you sound at home in Turkish.