rahatlamak
/ɾahatlamak/from spelling rules
To relax in Turkish is rahatlamak.
Rahatlamak is an intransitive verb used to describe both physical relaxation, such as resting your body and mental relief, such as the feeling of being relieved after a stressful situation.
Meaning: (intransitive) to rest and become relieved of stress (verb)
What does it mean word for word?
The verb is formed by adding the verb-forming suffix -lamak to the adjective rahat, which means comfortable, easy or relaxed.
Which one should you use?
While rahatlamak means to relax oneself, the causative form rahatlatmak is used when you want to say you are relaxing someone else.
How does it change in a sentence?
For the first-person singular past tense, "I relaxed" is rahatladım. To express the continuous present tense, "he/she/it is relaxing" is rahatlıyor.
How do you pronounce it?
The pronunciation is /ɾahatlamak/. The /ɾ/ sound is like the [t] in the American English word "atom", /h/ is like [h] in "home", /m/ is like [m] in "much" and /k/ is like [c] in "core".
Did you know?
- In Turkish culture, the phrase rahatına bak literally means 'look to your comfort' and is used to tell someone to make themselves at home.
- If you say you are 'rahatsız' instead of 'rahat', you are not just 'unrelaxed' but actually 'disturbed' or 'unwell', which can be used to politely decline an invitation.
- The root of the word, rahat, comes from Arabic and originally referred to a sense of ease or being 'at rest', which is why it is also found in many older Ottoman-era texts.
Examples in context
- İyi bir roman ile rahatlamak istiyorum.I like to relax with a good novel.This sentence shows how to use rahatlamak when expressing a desire to relax with a book.Tatoeba #4320837 by duran, translation #2269431 by DiePain
- Rahatlamak için, yavaş yavaş nefes alın.To relax, breathe slowly.This sentence uses rahatlamak to give instructions for breathing to achieve relaxation.Tatoeba #1289274 by duran, translation #680423 by Source_VOA
- Tom biraz rahatlamak istediğini söyledi.Tom said he wanted to relax a little bit.This sentence uses rahatlamak to report what someone else said about wanting to relax.Tatoeba #6565922 by duran, translation #6528038 by CK
- Lütfen sakin olun. Her şey düzelecek.Please stay calm. Everything will be fine.
- Sakin ol, her şey yoluna girecek.Relax, everything will work out.
- 7 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Elif and Can are talking at home after a busy week.
- ElifHafta sonu biraz rahatlamak istiyorum.I want to relax a bit this weekend.
- CanSenin için en iyisi, sıcak bir banyo yapmak.The best thing for you is to take a hot bath.
- ElifEvet, gerçekten de rahatlamak istiyorum.Yes, I really want to relax.
- CanBen de seninle birlikte dinleneceğim.I will rest with you too.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry rahatlamak, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Turkish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries rahatlamak, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
