bay
/ˈbaj/
The Turkish word for Mr. is bay.
bay is used as a formal title placed before a man's surname or full name, functioning much like the English "Mr."
Which one should you use?
While bay is the standard formal title for a man, it is not used as a common noun to mean "man" or "gentleman" in everyday conversation. Instead, speakers use adam or beyefendi for those meanings.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ˈbaj/. The /b/ sound is like the [b] in "about" and the /j/ sound is like the [y] in "yes".
Did you know?
- The word bay is a linguistic 'artificial' creation from the 20th-century language reforms, designed specifically to provide a modern, secular equivalent to older titles.
- While bay comes before the name, the title bey is placed after the first name, such as Ahmet Bey. Using bey after the name is often more common in daily social interactions than using bay before the surname.
- The title beyefendi is a hybrid word that combines the Turkish bey with the Persian word efendi meaning 'master' or 'lord'.
Examples in context
- Bence o Bay Brown.I think he is Mr Brown.This sentence is useful for identifying someone using the title bay.Tatoeba #8261941 by deyta, translation #34277 by AlanF_US
- Bay Su evde değil.Mr. Su is not at home.This sentence is useful for stating someone's location using the title bay.Tatoeba #11651625 by deyta, translation #11651188 by CN
- Bay Jones ofiste mi?Is Mr. Jones in the office?This sentence is useful for asking about someone's presence in an office using the title bay.Tatoeba #1060799 by duran, translation #1477637 by CN
- Sayın Başkan, nasıl yardımcı olabilirim?Mr. President, how can I assist you?
- 730 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Emre is introducing a new colleague to Zeynep.
- EmreBak, bu Bay Wilson.Look, this is Mr. Wilson.
- ZeynepMemnun oldum, Bay Wilson.Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson.
- EmreO bizim yeni müdürümüz.He is our new manager.
- ZeynepHoş geldiniz, Bay Wilson.Welcome, Mr. Wilson.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry bay, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries bay, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
