Turkish · Exclamations
Yarabbi!
yah-RAH-bee · /jaˈɾabːi/
Oh my God! / Good Lord!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"O my Lord!"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
A heartfelt "good Lord" for shock, worry, or that's-too-much. Leans a little more devout and dramatic than "Allah Allah," and skews to older speakers and moments of real dismay. "Yarabbi şükür" ("thank God") is the relieved flip side. Reverent, not rude.
Heard in the wild
Yarabbi, bu ne hâl böyle!
Good Lord, what a state this is!
Where it lands
Turkey-wide; skews older/devout
Quick answers
- What does "Yarabbi!" mean?
- In Turkish, "Yarabbi!" means "Oh my God! / Good Lord!". Literally it's "O my Lord!". A heartfelt "good Lord" for shock, worry, or that's-too-much. Leans a little more devout and dramatic than "Allah Allah," and skews to older speakers and moments of real dismay. "Yarabbi şükür" ("thank God") is the relieved flip side. Reverent, not rude.
- Is "Yarabbi!" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "Yarabbi!"?
- Say it "yah-RAH-bee" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: jaˈɾabːi.
Related in Turkish
Be BEH Man / geez — punchy emphasis, friendlier and older-school than 'lan' Yapma ya! yahp-MAH YAH No way! / Come on! / Get outta here! / Stop it! Allah Allah! ah-LAH ah-LAH What on earth?! / How strange! / What the—?! Vay anasını! VY ah-nah-suh-NUH Holy cow! / Well I'll be damned! Oha! oh-HAH Whoa! / Holy crap! / OMG! Hassiktir! hah-sik-TEER Holy shit! / Oh fuck!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Unbelievable".
- French Oh la vache ! Holy cow! / Wow! / Whoa!
- German Verdammt nochmal! God damn it! / For crying out loud!
- Greek έλα ρε Come on! / No way! / You're kidding — disbelief, protest, or delight depending on tone.
- Italian Minchia! Holy shit! / Wow! / Damn!
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 헐 Whoa / no way / I can't even — the all-purpose stunned noise.
- Polish masakra A disaster / unbelievable / total carnage — the all-purpose 'this is insane.'
- Portuguese Caramba! Wow! / Geez! / Holy cow!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.