Greece

Hellenic Language

Some Modern Greek Slang

Ρε – "Hey, man!" or "Hey, dude!"

Phonetic: reh

Short, quick sound (almost like “ray” without the y)

Often unstressed and clipped

Ρε φίλε! → reh FEE-leh = “Dude!”

Τι κάνεις, ρε; → tee KAH-nees, reh? = “What are you doing, man?”

2. Φίλε / Φίλη – "buddy"

Phonetic:

Φίλε → FEE-leh

Φίλη → FEE-lee

Used exactly like “man,” “dude,” “buddy”.

3. Γαμάει / Γαμάτος – a vulgarism "badd-ass!" or "awesome!"

Vulgar based word but in common use.

Γαμάει → gah-MY-eh = “This is awesome”

Γαμάτος → gah-MAH-toss

Αυτό γαμάει → ahf-TOH gah-MY-eh (“This rocks”)

Γαμάτος τύπος → gah-MAH-toss TEE-pohss (“Awesome guy”)

4. Χαλαρά – "relax"

Phonetic: hah-lah-RAH

The H is a soft, breathy sound (Greek χ)

Stress strongly on the last syllable

Χαλαρά! → “Relax / No worries”

Πάμε χαλαρά → PAH-meh hah-lah-RAH = "let's relax"

5. Σιγά – "easy" or "slow down"

Phonetic: see-GAH

Tone-dependent:

Calm: “easy”

Sarcastic: “yeah right”

Annoyed: “slow down”

Examples:

Σιγά ρε → see-GAH reh = "slow down, man" or "take it easy, dude"

Σιγά το πράγμα → see-GAH toh PRAHG-mah = "so what?" (to dismiss an exaggeration)

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Basic Greek words and phrases

NO - ochee

YES - neh

HELLO - Yahsass (to a group or formal, respectful greeting to an individual ) or; Yassou (to children or close friends)

PLEASE - para-kaLO

THANK YOU - efkhateeSTO / efkhareesto (I've heard it said both ways)

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND - THEN kataloveeno

I DO NOT UNDERSTAND, I ONLY SPEAK ENGLISH - THEN kataloveeno me-loh Mo-nen Angleeka

I AM SORRY - leePOOmeh

MY NAME IS - OonoMAzomeh

I DID NOT ORDER THIS - then toh parEENgeela ahf-TOH

HOW MUCH IS THE ENTRANCE FEE - poso kanee ee EEsodhos

GOOD - KaLO

BAD - KaKO

HOW ARE YOU? - POHSS EESS-theh? (FORMAL GREETING)

HOW ARE YOU? - Ti Kha-nees? (INFORMAL GREETING "what's going?" or "what's happening?")

GOOD MORNING - Kalimera

GOOD AFTERNOON - Kalispera

GOOD EVENING - Kalinikta

Count to Fifty in Greek

One – EH-na
Two – THEE-oh
Three – TREE-uh
Four – TEH-sa-ruh
Five – PEN-deh
Six – EK-see
Seven – EF-tah
Eight – OK-toe
Nine – eh-NAY-uh
Ten – THEK-uh

Eleven – EHN-thekka
Twelve – THO-thekka
Thirteen – thekka-tria
Fourteen – thekka-TES-a-ruh
Fifteen – thekka-penday
Sixteen – thekka-EKsee
Seventeen – thekka-eftah
Eighteen – thekka-OKtoe
Nineteen – thekka-enyah

Twenty – EE-ko-see

Twenty-one – EE-ko-see EH-na
Twenty-two – EE-ko-see THEE-oh
Twenty-three – EE-ko-see TREE-uh
Twenty-four – EE-ko-see TEH-sa-ruh
Twenty-five – EE-ko-see PEN-deh
Twenty-six – EE-ko-see EK-see
Twenty-seven – EE-ko-see EF-tah
Twenty-eight – EE-ko-see OK-toe
Twenty-nine – EE-ko-see eh-NYAH

Thirty – TREE-ahn-tah

Thirty-one – TREE-ahn-tah EH-na
Thirty-two – TREE-ahn-tah THEE-oh
Thirty-three – TREE-ahn-tah TREE-uh
Thirty-four – TREE-ahn-tah TEH-sa-ruh
Thirty-five – TREE-ahn-tah PEN-deh
Thirty-six – TREE-ahn-tah EK-see
Thirty-seven – TREE-ahn-tah EF-tah
Thirty-eight – TREE-ahn-tah OK-toe
Thirty-nine – TREE-ahn-tah eh-NYAH

Forty – SA-rah-da

Forty-one – SA-rah-da EH-na
Forty-two – SA-rah-da THEE-oh
Forty-three – SA-rah-da TREE-uh
Forty-four – SA-rah-da TEH-sa-ruh
Forty-five – SA-rah-da PEN-deh
Forty-six – SA-rah-da EK-see
Forty-seven – SA-rah-da EF-tah
Forty-eight – SA-rah-da OK-toe
Forty-nine – SA-rah-da eh-NYAH

Fifty – PEE-neh-da

Sixty – EK-SEE-neh-da

Seventy – EH-vdo-MEE-da

Eighty – OK-doh-NEE-da

Ninety – EH-neh-NEE-da

One hundred – eh-KAH-toh

Five hundred – pehn-DAH-koh-syah

One thousand – HEEL-yah

Five thousand – PEHN-teh HEEL-yah-des

Ten thousand – DEH-kah HEEL-yah-des

Numbers in conversational Greek:

Greeks would most naturally say €1,500 like this:

Χίλια πεντακόσια ευρώ

Phonetic: HEEL-yah pehn-DAH-koh-syah EV-roh

This is not normal "Street Greek" example: “δεκαπέντε εκατοντάδες” (fifteen hundreds) — sounds unnatural in Greek, an overly formal construction only used in legal/banking contexts.

"Please" and "you're welcome"

Saying "please" - the Greek word "παρακαλώ" (parakalo ="pah-rah-kah-LOH") is a versatile term with several uses in everyday language. It is derived from the verb "παρακαλώ" which literally means "to ask" or "to request".

Here are the primary meanings:

Please: When used to make a polite request, "parakalo" functions like the English "please." For example, "Μπορείτε να με βοηθήσετε, παρακαλώ;" means "Can you help me, please?" ("boh-REE-teh nah meh voh-ee-THEE-seh-teh, pah-rah-kah-LOH")

You're welcome: When responding to thanks, "parakalo" is used like "you're welcome." For instance, if someone says "ευχαριστώ" (thank you = "ef-hah-ree-STOH" though when spoken quickly on the street it will sound like "ef-kah-tee-stoh"), the reply might be "παρακαλώ" (you’re welcome).

Excuse me or Pardon: It can be used to get someone’s attention or to politely interrupt, similar to saying "excuse me."

I beg your pardon: In formal or polite contexts, "parakalo" can be used to express a request for clarification or to repeat something.

"Parakalo" is used as a word to express a polite verbal form for requests, gratitude, or attentiveness.

How the modern Greek language increases child's intelligence

July 2019: Story at Optimisticmommy

Vienna: where Greek first appeared in print - Neo Kosmos

November 15, 2017: Nice primer on Greek history vis-a-vis Vienna and the impact of relations via the Ottoman Empire, and afterward:

"After the Treaty of Passarowitz was signed in 1717, the borders stabilised and there was a push to reopen commerce and to begin the reconstruction of a vast area devastated by decades of war. Aside from fixing the boundaries between the two empires, a key provision was the right of Ottoman and Austrian subjects to engage in commerce in each other's realms. The Austrians lacked knowledge of the Ottoman Empire, and the Turks disdained commerce, so as a practical matter the opportunity fell on Ottoman minorities, Orthodox Greeks and Serbs, as well as Jews and Armenians."

What is Greeklish?

Greeklish, a blending of words from Greek and English. Also called Grenglish, Latinoellinika, ASCII Greek. Greeklish can be the Greek language written out using a Latin alphabet.

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