# idare ediyoruz



## bahama

Merhaba,

I asked a student of Turkish, "Ne var, ne yok?" (What's up?)
He replied, "Idare ediyoruz."
What does this mean? He's not a native speaker of Turkish, so he might have said something unidiomatic.

Thanks!


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## Torontal

Merhabalar,

 it can be used as an informal answer. 

idare etmek here means to manage, handle, so idare ediyoruz: "we are handling/managing (the life or situation)" or "holding on". 

I don't know what would be the best English equivalent, "alright", "ok", "so-so"?


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## Cagsak

As Torontal pointed idare eder, or idare ediyoruz are the expressions that we use to say "so-so" or "not bad"


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## bahama

Thank you to both of you!
Cagsak: Didn't you mean "idare ederiz"? I think "idare eder" would refer to "he/she". I mean, it would mean "He or she is so-so."


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## Torontal

idare eder is perfectly fine, i've actually heard it more often.

 idare eder refers to "it", as in "it (=the situation/life/things) is so-so/not bad/alright/ok". "Ne var, ne yok?" ~What's up (literally what is there, what isn't)? Or other examples "(Hayat) nasıl gidiyor?"  ~ How is it (life) going? or "işler nasıl?" ~How are the things? idare eder in 3rd person suits better IMO.

the more formal answer to "ne var, ne yok" is also an impersonal "iyilik sağlık"


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## Cagsak

bahama said:


> Thank you to both of you!
> Cagsak: Didn't you mean "idare ederiz"? I think "idare eder" would refer to "he/she". I mean, it would mean "He or she is so-so."


No, I can reply you "idare eder." If you ask me "Naber, nasılsın?" . When I say "idare eder" I mean "(o) idare eder."  There is an unwritten "O", and it refers to everything that I have. Indeed, it is similar to those phrases : How is it going? It's not bad.


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## bahama

Ah, so there are three possible replies to "Ne var, ne yok?":

- İdare eder.
- İdare ediyoruz.
- İyilik sağlık.

My question is: why did that student of Turkish use the plural form? I was only addressing him. I would have expected, "İdare ediyorum."


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## Rallino

In street-talk, it's common to refer to oneself in the plural form. It probably emerged in the sense that "me and my family, we're managing," but nowadays, it's also used just for oneself, in non-serious conversations.


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## bahama

Thanks! By the way, I just asked a Turk what he would say naturally when asked, "Ne var, ne yok?" He replied that although _İdare eder._ is not incorrect, it would be much more natural to say _İdare ediyor_. However, I must add that he is a Kurd, so his Turkish might have been influenced by his Kurdish.


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## Cagsak

bahama said:


> Thanks! By the way, I just asked a Turk what he would say naturally when asked, "Ne var, ne yok?" He replied that although _İdare eder._ is not incorrect, it would be much more natural to say _İdare ediyor_. However, I must add that he is a Kurd, so his Turkish might have been influenced by his Kurdish.


İdare ediyor would be incorrect when you answer someone that had asked you Naber?


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## bahama

Got it. However, I had asked him what to reply to "Ne var, ne yok?"


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## Cagsak

bahama said:


> Got it. However, I had asked him what to reply to "Ne var, ne yok?"


You can use both. "naber?" and "ne var ne yok?" have so close meanings. I can say both have the same meaning.


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## RimeoftheAncientMariner

bahama said:


> Merhaba,
> 
> I asked a student of Turkish, "Ne var, ne yok?" (What's up?)
> He replied, "Idare ediyoruz."
> What does this mean? He's not a native speaker of Turkish, so he might have said something unidiomatic.
> 
> Thanks!


We've ( i have ) been managing things well recently.


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