The Official Guide to Turkish Sneezing

Are you ready for cold, flu and allergy season in Turkey …?

When cold and flu season rolled around while growing up in the United States, if a friend / relative sneezed, it was traditional for passersby to say Health! gold God bless you! gold Gesundheit! (The latter is used more often by German relatives on my mother’s side.) If a friend / relative sneezed several times, we kept repeating Health! gold Gesundheit! And, almost the only response the sneeze could utter was a Thanks.

Where Peri grew up in Turkey, there was quite a different tradition for the same sneezing scenario when cold and flu season rolled around. If someone sneezed at Peri’s house, the most common response from viewers was Çok yaşa! (Long live! Or Long live!)

And the sneeze would traditionally respond Sen de gör (May you also see a long life).

But, for multiple sneezes (up to 3), the sneeze etiquette at Peri’s house got more elaborate, and it’s still pretty much the same today.

First sneeze:

The viewer says Çok Yaşa! (Long life!).

Sneeze says Sen de gör (You too).

Second sneeze:

The viewer says Bin Yaşa! (1000 long lives!).

Sneeze says Sen de gör gold

Hep berber (That is true for both / for all).

Third sneeze:

The viewer says About Bin Yaşa! (10,000 long lives!).

Sneeze says Sen de gör

gold Hep berber.

If you stick to the above, you’ll be fine when it comes to your own sneeze etiquette in Turkey. But to keep you on your toes (and complicate things a bit more) … the following is also considered good Turkish etiquette when sneezing …

First sneeze:

The viewer says Çok Yaşa!

Sneeze says Sen de gör.

Second sneeze:

The viewer says Güzel Yaşa! (May you live to a beautiful age!)

Sneeze says Sen of Gor.

Third sneeze:

The viewer says Uzun Yaşa! (Long live!) And / or

Torun okşa (That you caress many grandchildren).

Sneeze says Hep Beraber.

Why ‘God bless you’ in Turkish is not used for sneezing situations …

First of all, there is no universally accepted translation for “God bless you” in Turkish. Second, the closest you can get to that meaning is the phrase ‘Allah senden razı olsun’ (May you and God be one). But that colloquial phrase is already reserved for the purpose of saying ‘Thank you’ (for a favor or a good deed), and it would be quite inappropriate if it were used for a sneezing event due to a cold, flu or allergy, or for a nose. common. tickle.

[Click following to access a fully illustrated HTML version of The Official Turkish Sneezing Guide.]