This is the 3124th most frequent Turkish word.
dedikten
"Dedikten" means "after saying" or "having said" in English.
The word 'dedikten' is used to indicate the completion of the act of speaking—in this case, stating 'I need to go.'
Selim, 'Gitmeliyim,' dedikten sonra hızla kapıdan çıktı.
Selim said 'I need to go,' and then quickly left through the door.
Here, 'dedikten' signifies the transition from expressing their opinion to their subsequent action of looking at each other.
Çocuklar, 'Oyunun sonu iyiydi,' dedikten birbirlerine baktılar.
The children said 'The game's ending was good,' and then looked at each other.
In this sentence, 'dedikten' connects the teacher's verbal instruction to their follow-up action.