ne cehennem
/ne d͡ʒehennem/from spelling rules
The English phrase "what the hell" can be translated into Turkish as ne cehennem.
ne cehennem serves as an intensive form of the question word "what".
Meaning: an intensive form of what (phrase)
How do you pronounce it?
To pronounce ne cehennem, use the following sounds: /n/ as in [n]ot, /dʒ/ as in [j]ump, /h/ as in [h]ome and /m/ as in [m]uch.
When do people say it?
Turkish speakers often use other informal expressions to convey surprise or astonishment, such as Vay anasını! to express disbelief or Allah Allah! to convey astonishment.
Did you know?
- The word cehennem originates from the Hebrew name for the 'Valley of Hinnom', a place outside Jerusalem that became a symbol of eternal punishment.
- Using cehennem in an exclamation can be jarring because Turkish culture often treats mentions of the afterlife with more gravity than English does with 'the hell'.
Examples in context
- Lan ne bu? Çok garip bir ses geliyor.Dude, what is this? There's a very strange sound coming from here.
Example conversation
Merve finds a huge mess in the kitchen.
- MerveEmre, ne cehennem yaptın buraya?Emre, what the hell did you do here?
- EmreSadece yemek yapmaya çalıştım.I was just trying to cook.
- MerveHer yer un içinde kalmış!Everywhere is covered in flour!
- EmreHemen temizleyeceğim, söz veriyorum.I will clean it up immediately, I promise.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Turkish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries cehennem, ne, CC BY-SA 4.0.
