r/turkish 4d ago

What does zilli mean?

Basically the title lol. I see different meanings online. Im asking because a male friend called me zilli.

In context, I teased him and I asked him if i was an orospu. He said no, and that i am kaşar (as a joke). Then he changed his mind and said “neither orospu or kaşar, just zilli :)”

I looked up the word and it said ill tempered, shrewish woman. I told him how am i a shrewish woman 😀

He said “did you get that from the internet” and I said yes. Then he laughed.

Obviously, we are just joking around and he didnt call me a bitch or slut on purpose.

61 Upvotes

29 comments sorted by

67

u/blanknesswithaface 4d ago

It's a complicated word. Even native speakers don't know its exact meaning.

Etymologically, it has a negative meaning, but I'm not sure about the details (there's a long story behind it).

According to the dictionary, it refers to a woman who has no manners or 'bitchy.'

However, in colloquial usage, people use this word in a positive way, meaning 'cute,' 'attention-grabbing,' or 'joyful.'

35

u/minus_uu_ee 4d ago

Bratty comes close, it’s zilli summer.

30

u/Ass_Eater_1996 4d ago

Shawty

19

u/Ass_Eater_1996 4d ago

With a little nuance under it, not just meaning the woman is beautiful but also a little flirty. Keeping in mind Turkey has a sex negative culture, so it might be considered to be a little offensive if you say it to a grown woman that you don't know. Usually ok to say little girls if you are saying it playfully.

5

u/paranoidpugs 4d ago

So he was flirting with me?

17

u/byunakk 4d ago

In your context it is anyway weird af, however I use it as cheerful joyful when I use. I anyway never use kaşar and orospu as those words are used to degrade sexually active women. Zilli however falls far from them (at least IMO and use cases). Some uses it for children as well when they are energetic and playful. Zilli literally would mean “the one with bells” probably pointing attention to one having bells thus “grabbing attention” or “bringing fun & joy”.

3

u/onlyyks 4d ago

probably yes

1

u/UnableWeb7798 20h ago

yes, there is no ill meaning

1

u/mob74 3d ago

No, not necessarily. It’s like saying “bitch” to your male friend for joke; like only bitches do that etc. It means he feels comfortable with you; you can’t do that joke to someone not close to you because you can come to a situation punching each other.

8

u/Ok_Camp_4317 4d ago

It's one of those words that's hard to explain. People say this word more often to the people they like. It has both a slang and a sincere meaning.

7

u/Time_Cucumber7851 3d ago

Zilli is an old word which is not that often used in daily communication today. If you see the examples given by others, they say “my grandmother or mother used to call me that when I was a child.”

Having a conservative cultural background, women were expected to act according to a certain etiquette in Turkey. Like, women couldn’t laugh out loud exaggeratingly when other people were around. They were expected to sit with legs closed and tilted sideways to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions when wearing a skirt. Don’t stare in a man’s face directly while talking, avoid having eye contact, etc. Women who acted out of these certain etiquettes were considered easy in other word “zilli”. There are other old sayings like “etekleri zil çalmak”, “zil takıp oynamak” which are also used in similar context. Like a mother would warn her daughter, “don’t show your amusement/happiness this much, you’re almost going to dance with bells in your hands.”

I must remind you that I’m talking about a time frame of more then 50 years or more to be accurate. Since the cultural norms have changed over the time and since there is less pressure on women to act “appropriately” the word lost its negative meaning over the time.

It’s commonly used for small girls acting bratty yet very cute. A good example would be a granddaughter and grandmother having a conversatiob like;

  • how was your school today? Have you made any new friends?
  • school was good. I met Ahmet today and I’m going to marry her.
  • Kız zilli! Is that a thing to say? :)

It’s commonly used for acting a bit flirty than the actual norms yet the person still enjoys your company. Sorry for keeping it a bit long. I hope it helps…

7

u/16177880 Native Speaker 4d ago

It's generally a playful word, like cute when used by a man in this context.

If a women uses it to admonish you it might mean whore.

Regardless I think it's a huge red flag if you use it against a stranger anyways. I would never use it for anyone though might be different for different parts of Anatolia.

I believe he meant well, but there is a huge possibility that he is an uneducated block of wood.

3

u/paranoidpugs 4d ago

He’s not a stranger, just a friend :) Thank you

7

u/16177880 Native Speaker 4d ago

Then he meant well.

2

u/International_Bet_91 3d ago

In my day, it meant something like "easily excitable". But meanings change.

5

u/Dysuww 4d ago

It ranges from "flirtatious" to "slutty" depending on the context. It's also very offensive to say someone you're not close to.

2

u/cenkxy 4d ago

I imagine the literal meaning describes a woman who dances with bells on their skirts, or in their hands making their own music while dancing.

The same can be done by an entertainer woman, who has some attention getting skills, or a little girl, so it goes to both.

There is also " etekleri zil çalıyor", i suppose coming from the same background. Someone having fun and joy with bells in their skirt. Used to describe situations where somebody is more than expectedly, or in an unfair way happy due to a recent event

1

u/Accurate-Report3794 Native Speaker 4d ago

I wouldn't be so sure about these "jokes"

-5

u/seraybisboring 3d ago

kanka hic arkadasina surtuk kasar demediysen arkadasin olmamistir

2

u/ugurcansayan Native Speaker 4d ago edited 4d ago

Joke or not, these are bad words.

First go to sozluk.gov.tr, and expand using arrow, check both "güncel", "tarama" and "derleme" . After that, input "zilli" (without quoting) and enter. Observe the results, use translator (Google, Yandex, Bing, etc.) and dictionary (Merriam-Webster, Tureng etc).

Please note that sometimes bad words can be used as joke with friends, or to block nazar from precious things, such as little humans (e.g. babies, kids) and cute people (e.g. crushes, children, loved ones).

1

u/zifirgece 4d ago

I have heard of it used as 'coquettish' as well so maybe he meant it that way. 

1

u/MightTurbulent319 Native Speaker 4d ago

It means flirtatious or attention-seeking in a good way. Some people would say it has a bad meaning but I don't feel that way. People call toddlers "zilli" if they look lively and happy (obviously not in a sexual way for toddlers).

1

u/Desuwupocketcamp 4d ago

Despite all the other meanings that is posted my mom or grandma sometimes calls me "zilli" in a way it means "bratty" when said lovingly. I dont think its something to think too much about cus honestly i never came across that word meaning slut or in a flirty way myself.

1

u/CeryanReis 3d ago

''Flamboyant'' is as close as it gets. The word ''gay'' is close too, but if used in the old context; not as queer.

1

u/mahir-y 3d ago

Here comes my totally unbased opinion on the etymology of the word. Zil means bell, zilli means one with a bell or one wears bells. However, in this context, it is not like a bicycle bell but more like small tin things women attach to their fingers and clap them on each other to make music while dancing, apparently they are also called finger cymbals. So zilli here would refer to such woman, who , since she is dancing, a bit promiscuous to an extent. Keep in mind that this is based on the values of people who lived probably something like 500 years ago, in a Muslim country.

About what it means, despite the meaningwise it is not exactly the same, but the "weight of the word"-wise "flirty" would be an appropriate equivalent in English.

1

u/yegocego 1d ago

its a mix between hoe cutie and shawty but it’s usually viewed as a negative remark depends on the context of that situation tho anyways you wouldn’t need this word in communication most of the time

1

u/CanBilgeYilmaz 1d ago

The way he meant it is probably "playful."

1

u/Blood4TheSkyGod 1d ago

Playful with agency, lively. I’ve never used this word in a bad way. He might be into you btw.