Turkish Family Terms: What to Call Your In-Laws (Yenge, Enişte, Kayınvalide)

What is the Turkish word for mother-in-law, and what do you call the rest of the in-laws?

The Turkish word for mother-in-law is kaynana, and the more formal word is kayınvalide. The father-in-law is kaynata or kayınpeder. The Turkish Language Association (TDK) defines kaynana as the mother of one's spouse, from the point of view of either partner, and lists kayınvalide as a synonym. It defines kaynata in the same way for the father, with kayınbaba and kayınpeder as synonyms. So the same word works for a husband and for a wife, which surprises many English speakers.

Turkish family vocabulary is more detailed than English. Where English says "sister-in-law" for several different people, Turkish has a separate word for each, and which word you use depends on who you are in the family. This guide gives you the map first and the everyday habits second. If you want the emotional side of the mother-in-law relationship, read our piece on the Turkish mother-in-law, kaynana. Here we stay with the words.

Which in-law term means what? A quick map

Here are the main terms, with the definitions as the TDK dictionary gives them. A word of caution: these are the dictionary meanings, and families often stretch them a little in daily life.

Checked against the TDK Güncel Türkçe Sözlük in October 2026.

What does yenge mean?

Yenge is the word that causes the most confusion, because TDK lists four meanings. First, the wife of a person's brother, maternal uncle (dayı) or paternal uncle (amca). Second, the word a man uses when he speaks about his own wife. Third, a polite way to address a woman. Fourth, the woman who guides the bride at a wedding, sometimes called gelin abla.

In practice, this means that a yenge at a family gathering is usually the wife of one of the men in the family, and she is often called that by the younger generation. If you are a woman who has married into the family, the younger cousins will probably call you yenge too. The görümce has a guide of her own: görümce, the Turkish sister-in-law.

One more point of usage: when a man talks to close friends about his wife, he may call her yengen, "your yenge", which is the dictionary's second meaning. In most other settings people simply use her name or say eşim, which means "my spouse".

What does enişte mean, and who is an enişte in the family?

TDK defines enişte as the husband of a person's sister or of one of their female relatives. In a typical family that covers your sister's husband, and also the husband of an aunt, so your hala or teyze's husband. The word is used both for talking about him and for talking to him, often as Ahmet enişte, with the name first.

Aunts and uncles have their own precise words too. TDK describes hala as the father's sister, teyze as the mother's sister, amca as the father's brother and dayı as the mother's brother. Turkish keeps all four apart, while English folds them into "aunt" and "uncle". For a partner who grew up abroad, learning these four is a small gesture that families notice.

How do you address your partner's parents and relatives in daily life?

The dictionary terms are for describing relationships. When you speak to someone, habits differ from family to family, and there is no single rule. Here is what is common and safe, as general practice.

• The parents. Many people begin with a polite form such as Ayşe Hanım and Mehmet Bey, or teyze and amca, and let the parents say how they would like to be called. Some families soon invite you to say anne and baba, and some do not. Wait for the invitation.
• Older relatives. Teyze and amca are also used as respectful words for women of your mother's generation and for older men who are not related at all, and TDK records both uses.
• Siblings and cousins of your own age. Use the first name. Add abla or abi for someone clearly older, which we explain in abla and abi: meaning.
• Talking about them. You can say kayınvalidem or kaynanam, but note that kaynana carries a joking tone in some families, so kayınvalide is the neutral choice.

When unsure, ask your partner a simple question before the visit: "What should I call your mother and father?" It is a normal question and it shows care.

Why does Turkish have so many words for in-laws?

The short answer is that the extended family has always been a central part of social life, and a language tends to name what matters. A sister-in-law who is the husband's sister (görümce) is in a different position from one who is the husband's brother's wife (elti), and each position comes with its own habits, jokes and expectations. Two men married to sisters even have their own word for each other, bacanak.

None of this means every family follows a script. Practice varies by region, by generation and by the family itself, and many younger couples use first names or simple words like abla and abi across the board. The terms are best treated as a vocabulary you understand, not a rulebook you must obey. For the relationship itself, the kaynana post goes deeper.

How can you practise the words before you meet the family?

Pick the three or four words that apply to you and learn them with the people they describe. If you are a woman marrying in, your set is kayınvalide, kayınpeder, görümce and elti. If you are a man, it is kayınvalide, kayınpeder, baldız and bacanak. Ask your partner to say which relative is which, and write it down. A simple family tree on a sheet of paper works better than any list.

If you are still looking for a partner who shares this background, you can meet Turkish singles with the same roots, and these words will feel familiar from the start. On Lokum, a match needs a like from both sides, and profiles show intent and memleket, so it is easier to begin with someone whose family culture is close to your own. The words are the easy part, and the rest comes with time and respect.