; I can't speak Greek [well]. : Δεν μιλώ (καλά) ελληνικά. (''dhen mee-LOH KAH-lah eh-lee-nee-KAH'')
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; Do you speak English? : Μιλάτε αγγλικά; (''mee-LAH-teh ang-glee-KAH?'')
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; Is there someone here who speaks English? : Μιλάει κανείς εδώ αγγλικά; (''Mee-LAH-ee ka-NEES e-DHO ang-glee-KAH?'')
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; Help! : Βοήθεια! (''Voh-EE-thee-yah!'')
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; Good day. : Καλημέρα. (''kah-lee-MEH-rah'')
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; Good evening. : Καλησπέρα. (''kah-lee-SPEH-rah'')
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; Good night. : Καληνύχτα. (''kah-lee-NEEKΗ-tah'')
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; I don't understand. : Δεν καταλαβαίνω. (''dhen kah-tah-lah-VEH-no'')
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; Where is the toilet? : Που είναι η τουαλέτα; (''poo ΕΕ-ne ee too-ah-LEH-tah?'')
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; Condom : Προφυλακτικό (''pro-fee-lak-tee-ko'')
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===Problems===
===Problems===
Revision as of 22:56, 7 June 2009
Greek is one of the oldest attested Indo-European languages, known from 1400 BC in inscriptions in a syllabary of Minoan origin. The present alphabet was introduced by a Phoenician called Qadmu (Καδμος) about 800 BC, and has been in use, with a few letters added and removed, continuously since then. The 24-letter alphabet used in Classical Greek is the same one used today. Greek is the official language of both Greece and Cyprus.
Many Greek words have been borrowed into other languages, so you will find a lot of these words familiar, such as τραυμα (trauma, "injury") and σοφία (sofia "wisdom, knowledge"). Originally they were borrowed into Latin, which became the Romance languages. The changes Greek words underwent in Latin are different from those they underwent in Greek. For instance, in a rare case of someone actually returning a word he borrowed, κινημα (kinema, motion) was borrowed into Latin as cinema, which in French acquired the meaning "movie", and was returned to Greek as σινεμα (sinema).
Greek has changed less in the last two thousand years than English has in the last five hundred. It still has three genders, five cases, and movable ν. Although the dative dropped out of use in Greek before the dative merged with the accusative in English, one can still form the dative of μπαγλαμας (a stringed instrument smaller than the μπουζουκι), even though it belongs to a new declension. So if you know some Attic or Koine Greek and pronounce it as Modern Greek, though you will sound archaic, you will probably be understood.
Following are the uppercase and lowercase versions of each letter, followed by its name in English (Latin) and Greek. (You can also see how the transliteration works)
Vowel Sounds
VOWELS
Α/α alpha (άλφα)
as in pat
Ε/ε epsilon (έψιλον)
as in pet
Η/η eeta (ήτα)
as in pit
Ι/ι iota (ιώτα)
as in pit, though when followed by a vowel it can often be pronounced like y - example: its very name, it's either said as iota or yota.
Ο/ο omicron (όμικρον)
as in pot
Υ/υ eepsilon (ύψιλον)
as in pit
Ω/ω omega (ωμέγα)
as in pot
DIPHTHONGS
ΑΙ/αι aplha-iota
as in pet; If you want to pronounce AI as in British English "icon" use the ϊ; the same rule applies to all other dipthongs with the I letter.
ΕΙ/ει epsilon-iota
as in wheat
ΟΙ/οι omicron-iota
as in wheat
ΥΙ/υι eepsilon-iota
as in wheat
ΟΥ/ου omicron-eepsilon
as in pool
ΑΥ/αυ alpha-eepsilon
ΕΥ/ευ epsilon-eepsilon
For the last two diphthongs: when followed by a voiceless consonant or a vowel or nothing (end of the word), the upsilon is pronounced as f resulting to 'af' and 'ef'; though, when followed by a voiced consonant the f is voiced as well making it a v.. so we have 'av' and 'ev'. (example: 'aura' and 'tau' in Greek are pronounced as 'avra' and 'tav'; although "au" and "eu" are increasingly pronounced among the younger generation, 45 years and under.)
Consonants and such Clusters
CONSONANTS
Β/β veeta (βήτα)
V/v
Γ/γ gamma (γάμμα)
a voiced version of chi, as w in woman, but stronger. Before epsilon (γε) and iota (γι), as in yet and yiddish. Also see consonant clusters.
Δ/δ thelta (δέλτα)
as in those / Spanish soft d as in "nido" / Norse Ð/ð
Ζ/ζ zeeta (ζήτα)
as in zone
Θ/θ theeta (θήτα)
th as in thorn / Norse Þ/þ
Κ/κ kappa (κάππα)
as in kinetic
Λ/λ lamtha (λάμδα)
L/l
Μ/μ mee (μι)
M/m
Ν/ν nee (νι)
N/n
Ξ/ξ ksee (ξι)
X/x as in ax
Π/π pee (πι)
P/p as in ape
Ρ/ρ rho (ρο)
Spanish/Scottish R/r
Σ/σ/ς sigma (σίγμα)
S/s as in some. Before voiced consonants it gets voiced to z
Τ/τ taf (ταυ)
T/t
Φ/φ fee (φι)
F/f
Χ/χ chi (χι)
Scottish ch [loch] / like an H/h but with the tongue touching the palate
Ψ/ψ psi (ψι)
as in lips
SPECIAL CONSONANT CLUSTERS:
Γκ/γκ gamma-kappa
as in gong
γγ gamma-gamma
as in gong
γχ gamma-chi
n+chi / like ngh in Buckingham: Μπάκιγχαμ
Μπ/μπ mee-pee
as in bumble / B/b. At the beginning of the word is read just as b. Inside the word is pronounced like mb
Ντ/ντ nee-taf
as in dander / D/d. At the beginning of the word is read just as d. Inside the word is pronounced like nd
All the above 5 diphthongs can be nasalized more or less depending to the speaker.
Any other consonant combination is pronounced like their English counterparts.
Just remember which is the proper letter in English!
Notes on Sounds, Accents etc.
The accent (similar in usage as in Spanish), if written, is placed on the vowel of the tonic syllable, or onto the second vowel if there's a diphthong. If there's an accent at the first vowel of a diphthong, or a diaeresis on the second, then it isn't an actual diphthong and the two vowels are pronunced separately. The former occasion is the most common, but since words written in capital letters never get accents, the diaeresis is the only way to note the broken diphthong at all-caps phrases - English such example: naïve. (diairesis = two dots on top of iota or upsilon, Ϊ/ϊ - Ϋ/ϋ)
All vowels have the same short length. So yes, there are 2 ways to write 'e', 6 to write 'i' and 2 letters to write 'o'!
Diphthongs 'γγ' and 'γχ' are never found at the start of a word. Vowel diphthong 'υι' is very rare, virtually only in a couple words.
Greek language lacks a 'sh' sound. Consequently there are only simple unaspirated s, z, ts, j, x 's (no shame, pleasure, luxurious, chin etc.). Also, "ς" is the form of Sigma used only when it is the last letter of a word. Graphically it looks like English s.
The capital letters are more or less the same with the ones of the English alphabet. Although the small letters seem entirely different (and some of them are indeed) at people's handwriting they can be extremely close to English.
Note also that greek punctuation differs a little: The greek question mark (ερωτηματικό) is just like the latin semi-colon ; . While the greek semi-colon (άνω τελεία) is like the full stop "flying" just above the line •.
Greek people know they have a difficult language (for foreigners) and don't expect any tourist to know more than a couple words. And even while they think its easy phonetically, they understand the problems foreigners have pronouncing it. You can say gamma as a hard 'g', chi as 'h', and rho as an unrolled English 'r', you can also say "au" or "eu" instead of "av" and "ev" and you'll be totally understood. People in no way expect you to be proficient in any aspect of Greek, so by studying a bit before visiting you can really impress people and win their hearts! Of course, it will require serious effort and dedication to learn to speak Greek fluently, as Greek grammar is admittedly more complex than it is in most other languages (much more demanding than German, for example, which is a language with relatively complex grammar). But still, you can master relatively easily the fundaments of communication and get your meaning across! And even if you don't, don't despair! Almost all Greeks (but the oldest) can understand and speak English!
Phrase list
Problems
Leave me alone.
Αφήστε με ήσυχο (male)/ ήσυχη (female). (a-FIS-te me EE-si-kho / EE-si-khee)
Don't touch me!
Μην με αγγίζεις! (meen meh ang-GEEH-zees)
I'll call the police.
Θα καλέσω την αστυνομία. (Tha kah-LEH-soh teen ah-stih-noh-MIH-ah)
Police!
Αστυνομία! (ah-stih-noh-MIH-ah)
Stop! Thief!
Σταματήστε τον κλέφτη! (Stah-mah-TIH-steh ton KLEH-ftee!)
I need your help.
Χρειάζομαι την βοήθειά σας. (hreeh-AH-zoh-meh teen voh-EEH-thih-AH sas)
It's an emergency.
Είναι επείγον. (EEH-neh eh-PEEH-ghon)
I'm lost.
Έχω χαθεί. (EH-hoh hah-THEEH)
I lost my bag.
Έχασα την τσάντα μου. (EH-hah-sah teen TSAHN-dah mooh)
I lost my wallet.
Έχασα το πορτοφόλι μου. (EH-hah-sah toh por-toh-FOH-leeh mooh)
λιγότερος/πιο λίγος/λιγότερη/πιο λίγη/λιγότερο/πιο λίγο (lee-GHO-teh-rohs / lee-GHO-teh-ree / lee-GHO-teh-roh)
more
περισσότερος/πιο πολύς/περισσότερη/πιο πολλή/περισσότερο/πιο πολύ (peh-ree-SSOH-teh-rohs / peh-ree-SSOH-teh-ree / peh-ree-SSOH-teh-ro)
Time
now
τώρα (TOH-rah)
later
αργότερα (ar-GHOH-teh-rah)
before
πριν (preen)
morning
πρωί (proh-EE)
afternoon
απόγευμα (a-POH-yev-ma)
evening
βράδυ (VRAH-thee)
night
νύχτα (NEE-htah)
Clock time
one o'clock AM
μία η ώρα το πρωί(...)
two o'clock AM
δύο η ώρα το πρωί(...)
noon
το μεσημέρι (toh mess-ee-MEHR-ee)
one o'clock PM
μία η ώρα το απόγευμα(...)
two o'clock PM
δύο η ώρα το απόγευμα(...)
midnight
τα μεσάνυχτα (tah meh-SAH-neekh-tah)
noon
μεσημέρι (12.00 : δώδεκα το μεσημέρι, δώδεκα το βράδυ/τα μεσάνυχτα)
Duration
_____ minute(s)
_____ λεπτό/λεπτά (lep-TOH/TAH)
_____ hour(s)
_____ ώρα/ώρες (OH-rah/res)
_____ day(s)
_____ μέρα/μέρες (MEH-rah/res)
_____ week(s)
_____ εβδομάδα/δες (ev-dhoh-MAH-dhah/dhes)
_____ month(s)
_____ μήνας/μήνες (MEEN / MEE-nes)
_____ year(s)
_____ έτος/χρόνος/χρονιά/έτη/χρόνοι/χρονιές
Days
today
σήμερα (SEE-meh-ra)
yesterday
χτες (khtes)
tomorrow
αύριο (AHV-ree-oh)
this week
αυτή την εβδομάδα (...)
last week
την προηγούμενη εβδομάδα (...)
next week
την επόμενη εβδομάδα (...)
Sunday
Κυριακή (kee-ree-ah-KEE)
Monday
Δευτέρα (dhef-TEH-rah)
Tuesday
Τρίτη (TREE-tee)
Wednesday
Τετάρτη (teh-TAR-tee)
Thursday
Πέμπτη (PEM-tee)
Friday
Παρασκευή (pah-rah-skeh-VEE)
Saturday
Σάββατο (SAH-vah-toh)
Months
January
Ιανουάριος (Eea-NOOAH-reeos)
February
Φεβρουάριος (fe-VROOAH-reeos)
March
Μάρτιος (MAHR-teeos)
April
Απρίλιος (ah-PREE-leeos)
May
Μάϊος (MAH-yos)
June
Ιούνιος (ee-OOH-neeos)
July
Ιούλιος (ee-OOH-leeos)
August
Αύγουστος (AHV-ghoo-stos)
September
Σεπτέμβριος (sep-TEHM-vreeos)
October
Οκτώβριος (ok-TOH-vreeos)
November
Νοέμβριος (noh-EM-vreeos)
December
Δεκέμβριος (the-KHEM-vreeos)
Writing Time and Date
Date
The date in greek is written in the form of DD/MM/YY. For example Christmas Day of 2009 is written 25.12.09 or 25-12-09 or 25/12/09. Having said that, 9/11 in greek means the 9th day of November.
Time
Time is written and said either in twelve hour clock form in everyday speech or in twenty-four hour clock especially in timetables. AM is πμ (π(ρο) μ(μεσημβρίας)) and PM is μμ (μ(ετά) μ(εσημβρίας))
Measurement
Greeks prefer all-Greek words to mixed Greek-and-Latin words. "Meter", "liter", and "gram" being Greek, they don't use Latin prefixes like "milli" with them. Instead they use the following:
deci
δεκατο (dekato)
centi
εκατοστο (ekatosto)
milli
χιλιοστο (hiliοsto)
Μικρο (micro) and νανο (nano), being greek words, are used the same
The word λεπτο means both a euro cent and a minute of time. A second is δευτερολεπτο, δευτερο meaning second (the ordinal).
Colors
black
μαύρος/η/ο or μέλαν/μέλασα/μέλαν [archaic] (MAHV-ros/ri/roh or MEH-lan)
white
άσπρος or λευκός (AHS-prohs or leh-FKOS)
gray
γκρι or φαιός [archaic] (gree or feh-OHS)
red
κόκκινος/η/ο ("KOH-kih-noh")
red (blood)
ερυθρός/ά/ό [archaic] (eh-ree-thrOHs)
red (fire)
πυρρός (not used as an expression) (peer-ROHS)
blue
μπλε or κυανός/ή/ούν [archaic] (bleh or kyah-NOHS)
yellow
κίτρινος/η/ο (KIT-ree-noh)
green
πράσινο (PRAH-si-no)
orange
πορτοκαλής/ή/ί(por-toh-kah-LEE)
purple
μωβ or ιώδης/ης/ες/ [archaic] (mov or yOH-thes)
brown
καφέ (kah-FEH)
Transportation
Bus and Train
How much is a ticket to _____?
Πόσο κάνει ένα εισιτήριο για _____; (...)
One ticket to _____, please.
Ένα εισιτήριο για _____, παρακαλώ. (...)
Where does this train/bus go?
Που πάει αυτό το τραίνο/λεωφορείο; (...)
Where is the train/bus to _____?
Που είναι το τραίνο/λεωφορείο _____; (...)
Does this train/bus stop in _____?
Σταματάει το τραίνο στο _____; (...)
When does the train/bus for _____ leave?
Πότε φεύγει το τραίνο/λεωφορείο για _____; (...)
When will this train/bus arrive in _____?
Πότε θα φτάσει το τραίνο/λεωφορείο στο _____; (...)
Directions
How do I get to _____ ?
Πώς πηγαίνω στο/στην/στον(depending on gender) _____ ; (pos pi-GEH-no sto/stin/ston)