Turkish · Joy & Praise
Efsane!
ef-sah-NEH · /efsaˈne/
Legendary! / Awesome! / Epic!
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"Legend / myth"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
"Legend" as an all-purpose rave for a night out, a meal, a person, a play. "Efsaneydi" (it was epic), "efsane adam." The go-to enthusiasm word for anything great; think "banger/epic." Safe everywhere, ubiquitous online.
Heard in the wild
Dün geceki konser efsaneydi!
Last night's concert was legendary!
Where it lands
Turkey-wide; universal
Quick answers
- What does "Efsane!" mean?
- In Turkish, "Efsane!" means "Legendary! / Awesome! / Epic!". Literally it's "Legend / myth". "Legend" as an all-purpose rave for a night out, a meal, a person, a play. "Efsaneydi" (it was epic), "efsane adam." The go-to enthusiasm word for anything great; think "banger/epic." Safe everywhere, ubiquitous online.
- Is "Efsane!" 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 "Efsane!"?
- Say it "ef-sah-NEH" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: efsaˈne.
Related in Turkish
Vay anasını! VY ah-nah-suh-NUH Holy cow! / Well I'll be damned! Vay be! VY BEH Wow / damn / would you look at that Helal olsun! heh-LAHL ol-SOON Good on you! / Respect! / You earned it! Aferin! ah-feh-REEN Well done! / Good job! / Attaboy! Kral! KRAHL You're the man! / Legend! / Boss! Harika! hah-ree-KAH Wonderful! / Fantastic! / Great!
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "That's awesome".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Greek ρε μαλάκα Hey man / dude / bro — the affectionate-insult greeting between friends.
- Italian Figo! Cool! / Awesome! / Sick!
- Japanese やばい Insane / crazy / no way — good OR bad, from context
- Korean 존나 Fucking / hella — the vulgar intensifier that goes in front of everything.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Do caralho Fucking awesome — OR, with 'casa do', the middle of nowhere
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.