Turkish Emoji Proverbs: guess the saying from the emojis
🍵💬✨ is çay bahane, muhabbet şahane. Five emoji puzzles a day, the same for everyone, one guess each. Learn the saying, what it says word for word and what it really means. Then paste your colored squares into the family chat.
Guess the Turkish saying from the emojis
Five puzzles. Four answers each, one try each. A hint shows the word-for-word English, and turns your square yellow.
Your streak and best score stay in this browser only.
Which Turkish saying is this?
Result
How to play
- Look at the emojis. They are a picture of the saying: a teacup and a speech bubble can be çay bahane, muhabbet şahane.
- Pick the matching Turkish saying out of four. If you are stuck, the hint shows the word-for-word English. It turns your square yellow.
- After each round you see what the saying means. After five rounds you get a row of squares to share: 🟩 correct, 🟨 correct with a hint, 🟥 not this time.
- Come back tomorrow for five new ones, or use practice rounds as often as you like.
Sayings are short, rhythmic and full of everyday life, and they sound odd when translated word for word. That is part of the fun. Meanings below are the commonly understood ones; usage can vary from family to family. If you spot something that looks off, please tell us on the contact page.
All 61 Turkish sayings in this game
Each entry shows the emoji clue, the Turkish, the word-for-word English and the meaning: 14 everyday sayings, 40 proverbs and 7 idioms. Search by a word in either language.
Everyday sayings (14)
Çay bahane, muhabbet şahane
Word for word: “Tea is the excuse, the chat is the delight”
Meaning: Tea is only the excuse to sit together; the real treat is the conversation.
Nazar değmesin
Word for word: “May the evil eye not touch it”
Meaning: A kind wish said after a compliment or good news, so that envy does not spoil it. A custom, usually said with a smile.
Afiyet olsun
Word for word: “May it be for your health”
Meaning: Said to people who are eating, like “bon appétit”. The usual reply is “sana da”.
Eline sağlık
Word for word: “Health to your hand”
Meaning: A thank-you to the cook, or to anyone who made something for you: may your hands stay well.
Geçmiş olsun
Word for word: “May it be past”
Meaning: Said to someone who is ill or had a bad time: get well soon, I hope it is behind you.
Güle güle
Word for word: “Laughing, laughing”
Meaning: Goodbye, said by the person who is staying. “Güle güle kullan” means “enjoy your new thing”.
Su gibi git, su gibi gel
Word for word: “Go like water, come back like water”
Meaning: A travel wish: may the journey flow smoothly. Some families pour a little water behind the traveler as they leave.
Nice senelere
Word for word: “To many years”
Meaning: Said on birthdays and anniversaries: here is to many more years.
Sana da
Word for word: “To you too”
Meaning: The reply to a good wish. “Afiyet olsun” gets “sana da” in return.
Hayırlı olsun
Word for word: “May it be for the best”
Meaning: Said when someone has a new home, job or purchase: may it bring good things.
Kolay gelsin
Word for word: “May it come easy”
Meaning: Said to someone who is working: may your work go easily.
Çok yaşa
Word for word: “Live long”
Meaning: Said to someone who sneezes. The reply is “sen de gör” (may you see it too).
Tatlı yiyelim tatlı konuşalım
Word for word: “Let us eat sweet and speak sweet”
Meaning: A popular saying when sweets are served: let us keep our words kind, too.
Gönül ne kahve ister ne kahvehane, gönül sohbet ister kahve bahane
Word for word: “The heart wants neither coffee nor a coffeehouse; it wants conversation, and coffee is the excuse”
Meaning: An old saying close to “çay bahane”: what people really want is company and a good talk.
Proverbs (atasözleri) (40)
Damlaya damlaya göl olur
Word for word: “Drop by drop, a lake forms”
Meaning: Small things add up: a little saving or a little learning every day becomes a lot.
Üzüm üzüme baka baka kararır
Word for word: “A grape darkens by looking at another grape”
Meaning: People take on the habits of those around them, so choose your company well.
Sütten ağzı yanan yoğurdu üfleyerek yer
Word for word: “One whose mouth was burned by milk blows on their yogurt”
Meaning: After a bad experience people become overcautious: once bitten, twice shy.
Söz gümüşse sükût altındır
Word for word: “If speech is silver, silence is gold”
Meaning: Sometimes saying nothing is wiser than speaking.
Her horoz kendi çöplüğünde öter
Word for word: “Every rooster crows on its own dunghill”
Meaning: People feel confident and speak loudly on their own turf.
Balık baştan kokar
Word for word: “The fish rots from the head”
Meaning: When something goes wrong in a group, the problem usually starts at the top.
Sabır acıdır, meyvesi tatlıdır
Word for word: “Patience is bitter, its fruit is sweet”
Meaning: Waiting is hard, but what comes at the end is worth it.
Dağ dağa kavuşmaz, insan insana kavuşur
Word for word: “A mountain does not meet a mountain, a person meets a person”
Meaning: Mountains never meet, but people do: people who are apart can find each other again.
Ateş düştüğü yeri yakar
Word for word: “Fire burns the place where it falls”
Meaning: The person living through a hardship feels it most.
Bir elin nesi var, iki elin sesi var
Word for word: “What can one hand do? Two hands make a sound”
Meaning: Together we can do more than alone.
Bugünün işini yarına bırakma
Word for word: “Do not leave today’s work for tomorrow”
Meaning: Do what you can today instead of putting it off.
Komşu komşunun külüne muhtaçtır
Word for word: “A neighbor needs the neighbor’s ash”
Meaning: Neighbors need each other, even for small things.
İki dinle bir söyle
Word for word: “Listen twice, speak once”
Meaning: Listen more than you talk.
Bir fincan kahvenin kırk yıl hatırı vardır
Word for word: “A cup of coffee is remembered for forty years”
Meaning: A small kindness or a shared cup is remembered for a very long time.
Her şerde bir hayır vardır
Word for word: “In every bad thing there is something good”
Meaning: Even a setback can lead to something good.
Aç ayı oynamaz
Word for word: “A hungry bear does not dance”
Meaning: Nobody can do their best work when their needs are not met.
Ağaç yaşken eğilir
Word for word: “A tree bends while it is young”
Meaning: Habits, manners and new skills are easiest to learn when someone is young.
El elden üstündür
Word for word: “One hand is above another hand”
Meaning: There is always someone better, so stay humble.
Gülü seven dikenine katlanır
Word for word: “Whoever loves the rose puts up with its thorn”
Meaning: If you love something, you accept its difficult parts, too.
Erken kalkan yol alır
Word for word: “One who gets up early covers distance”
Meaning: Starting early helps you get far.
Ayağını yorganına göre uzat
Word for word: “Stretch your feet according to your quilt”
Meaning: Live within your means.
Komşuda pişer bize de düşer
Word for word: “What cooks at the neighbor’s reaches us too”
Meaning: When people nearby have good things, we often get a share.
Güneş girmeyen eve doktor girer
Word for word: “The doctor enters the house the sun does not”
Meaning: Sunlight and fresh air keep a home, and the people in it, healthy.
Tatlı dil yılanı deliğinden çıkarır
Word for word: “A sweet tongue brings the snake out of its hole”
Meaning: Kind words can win over even difficult people.
Veren el alan elden üstündür
Word for word: “The giving hand is above the taking hand”
Meaning: Giving is nobler than taking.
Sabreden derviş muradına ermiş
Word for word: “The patient dervish reached his wish”
Meaning: Patience brings you to your goal.
Horozu çok olan köyün sabahı geç olur
Word for word: “The village with many roosters has a late morning”
Meaning: When too many people try to run things, nothing gets done quickly.
Sakla samanı gelir zamanı
Word for word: “Keep the straw, its time will come”
Meaning: Do not throw things away: a time may come when you need them.
Ne ekersen onu biçersin
Word for word: “You harvest what you sow”
Meaning: What you do comes back to you.
Gülme komşuna gelir başına
Word for word: “Do not laugh at your neighbor, it may come to your own head”
Meaning: Do not mock other people’s bad luck; it could happen to you.
Taşıma su ile değirmen dönmez
Word for word: “A mill does not turn with carried water”
Meaning: Lasting results need a real, steady source, not borrowed help.
Kervan yolda düzülür
Word for word: “The caravan lines up on the road”
Meaning: Start the journey and things fall into place as you go.
Her yiğidin bir yoğurt yiyişi vardır
Word for word: “Every brave person has their own way of eating yogurt”
Meaning: Everyone has their own way of doing things.
İşleyen demir ışıldar
Word for word: “Iron that works shines”
Meaning: What you keep using and practicing stays sharp; skills rust when unused.
Dost acı söyler
Word for word: “A friend speaks bitterly”
Meaning: A true friend tells you the truth even when it is hard to hear.
Dost kara günde belli olur
Word for word: “A friend shows on a dark day”
Meaning: You find out who your real friends are in hard times.
Görünen köy kılavuz istemez
Word for word: “A village in sight needs no guide”
Meaning: What is obvious needs no explanation.
Terzi kendi söküğünü dikemez
Word for word: “The tailor cannot sew his own rip”
Meaning: People often cannot fix their own problems, even when they are good at fixing others’.
Misafir umduğunu değil bulduğunu yer
Word for word: “A guest eats what they find, not what they hope for”
Meaning: Guests should be happy with what is offered.
Bin bilsen de bir bilene danış
Word for word: “Even if you know a thousand things, ask the one who knows”
Meaning: Even when you know a lot, ask someone who knows the subject better.
Idioms (deyimler) (7)
İğneyle kuyu kazmak
Word for word: “To dig a well with a needle”
Meaning: To work with great patience on something very hard.
Kulağına küpe olsun
Word for word: “Let it be an earring in your ear”
Meaning: Remember this as a lesson.
Tuz ekmek hakkı
Word for word: “The right of salt and bread”
Meaning: The loyalty owed to someone who has shared a meal and their hospitality with you.
Ağzı kulaklarına varmak
Word for word: “The mouth reaches the ears”
Meaning: To grin from ear to ear.
Yüreği ağzına gelmek
Word for word: “The heart comes up to the mouth”
Meaning: To get a big fright; to have your heart in your mouth.
Ağzından bal damlamak
Word for word: “Honey drips from the mouth”
Meaning: To speak very sweetly.
Kulak misafiri olmak
Word for word: “To be an ear-guest”
Meaning: To overhear something by chance.
Atasözü, deyim or everyday saying?
An atasözü is a proverb: a complete sentence that carries advice or a lesson, like damlaya damlaya göl olur. A deyim is an idiom: a fixed phrase with a figurative meaning that sits inside a sentence, like iğneyle kuyu kazmak. Everyday sayings such as afiyet olsun or geçmiş olsun are the little phrases people use dozens of times a week. The game mixes all three, and each entry above is labeled.
A good way to use this page with children: show the emojis first, let them guess in English, then say the Turkish saying together. Or ask a grandparent to tell the story behind a favorite saying.
Designs inspired by Turkish sayings
Çay Bahane, Nazar Değmesin and Sana Da are Roots & Talks designs. Here are a few ideas.
More free Turkish culture games
No app and no sign-up. Pick another one.
Questions people ask
Is the puzzle the same for everyone?
Yes. The five sayings come from today’s date (UTC), so everyone who plays today gets the same five, in the same order. Practice rounds use random sayings.
Do I need to know Turkish to play?
No. The answers are in Turkish, but a hint shows the word-for-word English and every answer is explained in English after you pick.
What do the green, yellow and red squares mean?
Green: correct without a hint. Yellow: correct after using the hint. Red: not this time. The five squares make the row you can share.
How many sayings are in the game?
61 sayings: 14 everyday sayings, 40 proverbs and 7 idioms. The full list, with meanings, is on this page.
What is the difference between an atasözü and a deyim?
An atasözü is a proverb, a complete sentence that carries advice, like “Damlaya damlaya göl olur”. A deyim is an idiom, a fixed phrase with a figurative meaning, like “İğneyle kuyu kazmak”.
Where are my streak and best score saved?
Only in your own browser on this device. They are not sent anywhere, and clearing your site data resets them.
Can I play on my phone?
Yes. The game is built phone first, runs in the browser and needs no app or account.