turk3 Natural Ways To Say Cheers In Turkish & Drinking Culture

Ling Learn Languages
5 min readApr 30, 2023

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Original blog post: https://ling-app.com/tr/cheers-in-turkish/ (with audio🔊)

Learn how to say cheers in Turkish to enjoy your drink and chill with your Turkish friends! This is your chance to impress them with your knowledge about drinking traditions in Turkey!

No matter where you go in the world, there is something that people do in common: drinking. It’s a common social activity that people do to celebrate a special day or cut loose. Either way, many people around the world enjoy a night out drinking with friends.

It is the same in Turkey. You might have been thinking that Turkey is a Muslim country in the middle east, so drinking alcohol must be prohibited or something however it’s simply NOT TRUE!

I got the urge to shed some light on this matter because I’ve seen some people mistake Turkey for Arab countries ruled by Islamic law. Since it is not the case in Turkey, plus there is a good number of the non-religious population besides the Muslim population living in the country.

Alright, if it’s understood that drinking is totally okay in Turkey, it’s time to learn about the drinking culture in Turkey, alcoholic drinks in Turkish cuisine (I’m planning to spare a whole another blog post about non-alcoholic drinks), and how to say cheers in Turkish.

Turkish Drinking Traditions

The Turkish word for a drink, as a noun, is “içki” (p.s. içki is used for only alcoholic drinks; you can say “içecek” for non-alcoholic drinks) which comes from the verb “içmek” to drink.

Alcohol is a big part of social activity in daily life such as eating and drinking together while chatting. In Turkish culture, there is a special menu for casual drinking which is called “içki sofrası” the literal translation would be a “drink table/meal” in English. It is because drinking gatherings provide a warm atmosphere of comfort and friendship which allows people to express their feelings directly.

The “drinking meal” usually consists of “meze” which is a kind of appetizer, to accompany alcohol. So that people can focus on the conversation and sharing a chill moment rather than the food itself.

Alcoholic Drinks In Turkish Cuisine

Though Turkish cuisine is known for its delicious and satisfying foods, they can’t overshadow the common traditional drinks. Here are the popular alcoholic drinks that you must try while you’re in Turkey.

Raki — Rakı

“Rakı” is an alcoholic drink made of twice-distilled grapes. It is a popular drink in Turkey as it is in other Balkan countries. It is often served with seafood or meze. It is comparable to several other alcoholic beverages available around the Mediterranean and the Middle East; such as pastis, ouzo, and arak.

One thing that differentiates Turkish rakı from the others mentioned above is that it changes color when water is added and it looks milky white. It is also known as the lion’s milk among local people because of its color.

Kumis — Kımız

“Kımız” is a fermented dairy product originally made from mare milk or donkey milk. Though it is not a popular drink choice today, it is still an important traditional drink for the Turkic people.

Kumis is a dairy product similar to kefir but is produced from a liquid starter culture, in contrast to the solid kefir grains. Because mare’s milk contains more sugar than typical cow’s milk. When fermented, kumis has a higher alcohol content compared to kefir.

Wine — Şarap

“Şarap” is an alcoholic drink usually made from fermented grapes. Different kinds of grapes and strains of yeasts are the major factors that create wine in different styles.

It is estimated that Turkey is home to approximately 1000 indigenous varieties of Vitis vinifera (the European grapevine). Did you know that Turkey is the world’s fourth-leading producer of grapes for wine production?

How To Say Cheers In Turkish?

After getting to know the drinking culture and popular drinks in Turkey, now it’s finally time to learn how to say cheers in Turkish! Here are the most commonly used phrases to say cheers.

Şerefe!

It is the most commonly used phrase when drinking and it is basically the counterpart of “cheers” in English. It is appropriate for both formal and informal occasions.

Sağlığnıza!

It literally means “to your health” and is a pretty common phrase when toasting. Again, it is appropriate for both formal and informal occasions.

En Kötü Günümüz Böyle Olsun!

This one is a bit longer than the others but it has a beautiful meaning. It can be translated as “let it be our worst day ever” in English. People say it when they feel happy in a gathering with their friends. This phrase is also used when you want to cheer up your friend. It is better to use it only on informal occasions.

Useful Turkish Words And Phrases

Well, I tried my best to inform you about Turkish drinking culture as a person who doesn’t even know the taste of alcohol.😂 Anyway, if you’re curious about the Turkish language make sure to check out Ling App!

Learn Turkish With Ling App!

If you want to learn Turkish or any other language, waste no more time and check out the Ling App right now!

Ling is a language-learning app designed to help language learners from the beginning of their language-learning journeys. Ling App consists of different engaging activities, from writing and listening exercises to an AI chatbot to practice your pronunciation and speaking skills, and with much more, the Ling App offers you everything you’re looking for in a language learning app.

Also, don’t forget to visit Ling’s Turkish blog for weekly articles about the Turkish language and culture!

Trust me; you won’t regret it if you give Ling a try for FREE by downloading it from the App Store or Play Store.

Untill next time! Hoşçakalın!

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Ling Learn Languages
Ling Learn Languages

Written by Ling Learn Languages

Ling is a game-like language learning app with a pack of 60+ languages. You will learn languages in fun ways!