You can travel through Azerbaijan without speaking Azerbaijani, especially in Baku, but a few local words change the tone of an encounter straight away. A greeting at a tea house, a polite request in a market, a thank-you to a driver at the end of a long mountain road: small efforts like these are noticed, and they tend to be answered with warmth.
This guide uses standard Azerbaijani as spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan, written in its modern Latin alphabet of 32 letters. Some English speakers call the language Azeri; this article uses Azerbaijani throughout. Each entry gives the phrase as it is written, a simple pronunciation guide with the stressed syllable in capitals, the meaning and a note on when to use it. A few letters do not sound as an English reader expects, so the pronunciation guides are approximations. Close is good enough.
What are the most useful Azerbaijani phrases for travelers?
If you learn only a handful, make them salam (hello), çox sağ olun (thank you very much), zəhmət olmasa (please), bəli and xeyr (yes and no), bağışlayın (excuse me) and bu neçəyədir? (how much is this?). They cover greetings, courtesy and shopping, which is most of a traveler's day. The full list of 25 adds food and drink, directions, taxis and a few phrases for talking with people.
The basics of politeness
1. Salam (sa-LAM) — Hello
The everyday greeting, and one that works with anyone: hotel staff, shopkeepers, drivers, people you pass in a village. It is short for the fuller salam əleyküm, which you will also hear, particularly from older people. In the morning sabahınız xeyir ("good morning") is a slightly more formal alternative.
2. Çox sağ olun (chokh SAGH o-lun) — Thank you very much
The standard polite thanks. Sağ olun on its own means "thank you", and çox ("very") makes it warmer. Literally it wishes the other person good health. You will also hear təşəkkür edirəm, a more formal "I thank you"; both are correct, and sağ olun is the one used most in daily life.
3. Zəhmət olmasa (zäh-MÄT OL-ma-sa) — Please
Literally "if it is no trouble". Put it at the start or end of any request: a coffee, a ticket, a question. It is polite without being stiff, and adding it to a single word, such as çay, zəhmət olmasa, already makes a complete and courteous order.
4. Bəli / Xeyr (BÄ-li / kheyr) — Yes / No
The standard, polite pair. In relaxed conversation people more often say hə for yes and yox for no; yox is not rude, but xeyr is the more formal choice with strangers.
5. Hələlik (hä-lä-LIK) — Goodbye
A light, friendly farewell, roughly "bye for now". Sağ olun from entry 2 is just as common when leaving a shop or a taxi, since it works as both thanks and goodbye. A more formal option is görüşənədək, "until we meet".
6. Bağışlayın (ba-ghısh-la-YIN) — Sorry / Excuse me
One word for both jobs: apologizing when you bump into someone, and getting a stranger's attention before a question. It is the polite, plural form, which is the right one with anybody you do not know well.
Eating, drinking and Azerbaijani hospitality
7. Sağlığınıza (sagh-lı-ghı-nı-ZA) — To your health
The usual toast when glasses are raised, addressed to the people you are with. At a formal dinner, toasts can be longer speeches led by one person at the table, and guests are sometimes invited to add a few words; this phrase is all you need. Not everyone in Azerbaijan drinks alcohol, and the toast works equally well with tea or juice.
8. Nuş olsun (nush ol-SUN) — Enjoy your meal
Said to someone who is eating or about to eat, and by hosts and waiters when they set food down. It is not a drinking toast, so do not confuse it with the previous entry. You can also say it in return to a cook or host, where it carries the sense of "may it do you good".
9. Çay (chay) — Tea
Perhaps the most useful noun in the country. Black tea is served throughout the day in pear-shaped armudu glasses, often with jam, lemon or sugar on the side, and an offer of tea is a common first gesture of hospitality in homes, shops and guesthouses. Accepting a glass is rarely the wrong answer.
10. Su (su) — Water
Short and easy. In a restaurant you will usually be asked whether you want it still or sparkling: qazsız is still and qazlı is sparkling.
11. Çörək (chö-RÄK) — Bread
Bread arrives with almost every meal, and it is treated with respect: many people avoid throwing it away or leaving it on the ground. Təndir çörəyi, baked against the wall of a clay oven, is worth looking for at bakeries and markets.
12. Çox dadlıdır (chokh dad-LI-dır) — It's very tasty
The compliment a cook or host is glad to hear. Dadlıdır on its own means "it's tasty"; çox strengthens it. It is especially welcome in family guesthouses, where the meal is often home cooking.
13. Hesabı, zəhmət olmasa (he-sa-BI, zäh-MÄT OL-ma-sa) — The bill, please
Hesab is the bill, and the ending marks it as "the bill". In most restaurants the bill is brought only when you ask, so this phrase saves waiting. Some places add a service charge, so check before leaving a tip.
Getting around and shopping
14. … haradadır? (ha-ra-DA-dır) — Where is…?
Put the place first and the question after it: Otel haradadır? (where is the hotel?), Stansiya haradadır? (where is the station?), Muzey haradadır? (where is the museum?). The word order is the reverse of English, which is the only thing to remember.
15. Tualet (tu-a-LET) — Toilet
Close to the word many European languages use, so it is easy to remember. With the previous entry it gives Tualet haradadır?, the most practical question on any trip.
16. Bu neçəyədir? (bu ne-chä-YÄ-dir) — How much is this?
For markets, souvenir stalls and small shops where prices are not displayed. In shops and restaurants prices are fixed; at bazaars and with some street taxis a little friendly negotiation is normal, though it is not expected everywhere. If the answer is too high, bahadır means "it's expensive".
17. Kömək edə bilərsiniz? (kö-MÄK e-DÄ bi-LÄR-si-niz) — Can you help me?
A polite way to ask for assistance with directions, a ticket machine or a phone call, and far more useful day to day than a shouted "help". Start with bağışlayın from entry 6 and people will generally stop and try, often well beyond what you asked.
18. Burada saxlayın, zəhmət olmasa (bu-ra-DA sakh-la-YIN) — Stop here, please
What you say to a taxi or minibus driver when you want to get out. Saxlayın is the polite form of "stop", and burada means "here". In Baku most visitors use ride-hailing apps, where it is hardly needed, but in shared minibuses and regional taxis it is how you ask for your stop.
19. Sol / Sağ / Düz (sol / sagh / düz) — Left / Right / Straight
Three short words that make directions understandable, whether you are following an answer to "where is…?" or guiding a driver to your guesthouse. Note that sağ also means "healthy", which is why it appears in sağ olun.
Talking with people
20. İngiliscə danışırsınız? (in-gi-LIS-jä da-nı-SHIR-sı-nız) — Do you speak English?
The polite way to check before switching language. In central Baku, in hotels and among younger people the answer is often yes. Elsewhere it is less likely, and Russian is the more common second language among older people.
21. Başa düşmürəm (ba-SHA DÜSH-mü-räm) — I don't understand
The honest phrase that slows a conversation down when it gets ahead of you. People often answer a foreigner's salam with a friendly stream of Azerbaijani, and this lets you say so without awkwardness.
22. Mənim adım … (mä-NIM a-DIM) — My name is…
Add your name at the end: Mənim adım Anna. In careful speech the ending -dır is attached to the name, but leaving it out is normal in conversation. To ask someone else politely, say Adınız nədir?, "what is your name?"
23. Çox şadam (chokh SHA-dam) — Nice to meet you
Literally "I am very glad". The full form is tanış olmağıma çox şadam, "I am very glad to have met you"; the short version is natural after exchanging names with a guide, a driver or a host.
24. Necəsiniz? (ne-JÄ-si-niz) — How are you?
The polite form, right for adults and anyone you do not know well. With friends and children the informal necəsən? is used. The question is usually meant, so expect a real answer and a question back.
25. Yaxşıyam (yakh-SHI-yam) — I'm fine
The simple reply. Add thanks and return the question with Yaxşıyam, sağ olun. Bəs siz?, "I'm fine, thank you. And you?"
A final note on Azerbaijani pronunciation
Azerbaijani is written almost exactly as it is spoken, so learning a few letters goes a long way. Ə (shown as "ä" in the pronunciation guides) is the "a" of "cat". X ("kh") is the rough sound at the end of Scottish "loch". Ğ ("gh") is its softer, voiced partner, close to a French "r". Q is a hard "g" as in "go". C is the "j" of "jam", ç the "ch" of "church" and ş the "sh" of "ship". I without a dot, written "ı", is a short, dull vowel like the "e" in "roses"; the dotted i is "ee". Ö and ü sound as in German, like the vowels of French "peu" and "tu".
Stress usually falls on the last syllable, with some regular exceptions: the endings that mean "am", "is" and "are", and the syllable after a negative, are not stressed, which is why the capitals in a few guides sit earlier in the word. Azerbaijani and Turkish are closely related and share a great deal of vocabulary, but they are separate languages with different sounds and everyday words, so Turkish phrases are not a substitute. None of this needs to be perfect. An approximate phrase offered with goodwill does its job.
For everything else about planning the trip, see our Ultimate Guide to Traveling to Azerbaijan, or browse our private Azerbaijan tours. If your journey continues across the Caucasus, the companion lists of 25 essential Georgian words and phrases and 25 essential Armenian words cover the neighbours.
