Learn how to ask for the price of things you might want to buy
Now Playing: Lesson Audio
Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.
Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.
| Now, we have some useful survival phrases for your funny days of unchecked shopping around Greek stores. You should remember that Συγγνώμη (Signómi) or "Excuse me" is almost always the first thing to say when you're talking to a shop clerk. After saying Συγγνώμη (Singnómi), you should say: |
| Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?) - "How much does this cost?" |
| Πόσο (Póso) means "How much" and we follow it with κοστίζει (kostízi), which is the verb for "to cost." When using αυτό (aftó), note that, if the object is feminine, you should always use the neutral noun αυτό (aftó). |
| Let's break down these words by syllable and hear them one more time: |
| Po-so, πόσο (póso) |
| Ko-sti-zi, κοστίζει (kostízi) |
| Af-to, αυτό (aftó) |
| However, dear listeners, you know perfectly well how the Greek language can be varied and wide-ranging, so you won't be surprised to hear that there are some more interesting ways to ask, "How much is this?" |
| The Greeks love markets, and most villages have local markets once a week. There are of course also big markets in the larger cities where the people go to find their bargains. |
| Let's imagine that you are by a stand of clothes in a local market and you want to buy a shirt. After saying Συγγνώμη (Signomi) to get the stand-keeper's attention, you can say Πόσο κάνει το πουκάμισο; (Póso káni to pukámiso?) - "How much is this shirt?" |
| Πόσο κάνει το πουκάμισο; (Póso káni to pukámiso?) |
| As you can see, we use κάνει (káni), which means "do," in place of κοστίζει (kostízi). We follow this with το πουκάμισο (to pukámiso), which is a singular noun and means "the shirt." |
| Let's break down these words by syllable and hear them one more time,: Po-so ka-ni to pu-ka-mi-so? |
| Πόσο κάνει το πουκάμισο; (Póso káni to pukámiso?) |
| Πόσο κάνει το πουκάμισο; (Póso káni to pukámiso?) |
| Okay, to close out today's lesson, we'd like for you to practice what you've just learned. I'll provide you with the English equivalent of the phrase and you're responsible for shouting it out loud. You'll have a few seconds before I give you the answer, so Καλή τύχη (kalí týchi), which means "good luck!" in Greek. |
| "How much does this cost?" - Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?) |
| Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?) |
| Πόσο κοστίζει αυτό; (Póso kostízi aftó?) |
| "How much is this shirt?" - Πόσο κάνει το πουκάμισο; (Póso káni to pukámiso?) |
| Πόσο κάνει το πουκάμισο; (Póso káni to pukámiso?) |
| Πόσο κάνει το πουκάμισο; (Póso káni to pukámiso?) |
| All right, that's going to do it for today! |
| Remember to stop by GreekPod101.com and pick up the accompanying PDF. If you stop by, be sure to leave us a comment. Αντίο! (Antío!) |
Comments
Hide