Translated in English, "alın yazısı," literally means "What is written on your forehead," but what it refers to is the widespread belief in Turkey that your destiny is predetermined, similar to the English idiom for when a particular fate "is written in the stars."

A true testament to the importance placed on Turkish coffee for Turks, the proverb, "Bir kahvenin kırk yıl hatırı vardır," is a proverb whose
literal translation is, "A cup of coffee will be
remembered for 40 years." But what is actually infers is that partaking in a cup of Turkish coffee with a Turk means you will share a 40-year friendship.

The proverb "Dost acı söyler," which translates into English as "A friend says what hurts," means that a real friend tells the bitter truth and it is used when someone needs to soften the blow of having to deliver or receive unfortunate news from a close buddy.

The idiom "Tuzu kuru," which literally translates to "his/her salt is dry," means that someone is financially well-off, or as the English equivalent would say, "sitting pretty."

This particular Turkish idiom, "Bu ne perhiz, bu ne lahana turşusu," is certainly one of the most perplexing, literally translates to "What is this diet, what is this pickled cabbage?" Without aiming to decipher the words, and their placement, the meaning in the culture that uses it is what matters most and in this case, this statement is used to point out inconsistencies in one's behavior or words.

While the meaning is the same, only the animals and items discussed vary in the Turkish idiom "Eşek hoşaftan ne anlar?" which translates to "What does a donkey know about compote?" and its English equivalent "casting pearls before swine." Both capture the notion of offering something valuable or good to someone who would be completely unaware of its value.

The saying "Armut, ağacın dibine düşer," which best translates to "A pear drops to the bottom of its own tree" is basically the Turkish equivalent of the English idiom "a chip off the old block" and refers to the generalization that children usually turn out like their parents.

The Turkish idiom "Pireyi deve yapmak," which translates into "Don't turn a flea into a camel" is the equivalent to the English idiom of "making a mountain out of a molehill" and refers to overreacting to and exaggerating a minor issue.

A similar idiom to "Şeytanın bacağını kırmak," which translates to "Breaking the Devil's Leg" in English would be "getting the show on the road" as this idiom is used to denote starting something you haven't been able to somehow for a long time or similarly to travel somewhere you have been unable to get to.

One of the more recent idioms to surface in Turkish is the comical "Maydanoz olma," which in English literally as "Don't be a parsley." The meaning of this phrase is to mind your own business, and to unlike parsley, not stick your nose into everything.