Learn how to tell the time
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| INTRODUCTION |
| Iro: I’m Iro. |
| Judith: Judith here. Absolute Beginner Season 1 Lesson 13 You’re on Greek Time. |
| Iro: Hello Everyone. I’m Iro and welcome to GreekPod101.com. |
| Judith: With us, you’ll learn to speak Greek with fun and effective lessons. |
| Iro: We also provide you with cultural insights. |
| Judith: And tips you won’t find in a textbook. In this lesson, you will learn how to tell the time in Greek. |
| Iro: This conversation takes place at a hotel in Athens. |
| Judith: The conversation is between Ellie and Petros. |
| Iro: The speakers are a couple. Therefore, they will be speaking informal Greek. |
| Judith: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| DIALOGUES |
| Έλλη: Είναι δέκα παρά πέντε. Φεύγω. Πάω στην Ακρόπολη. |
| Πέτρος: Πάμε για καφέ; Και πηγαίνεις στην Ακρόπολη στις έντεκα ή στις δώδεκα. |
| Έλλη: Στις δώδεκα κάνει πολλή ζέστη. |
| Πέτρος: Καλά... Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη. Έχουμε ραντεβού στις έντεκα και μισή. |
| Έλλη: Πάμε για φαγητό στις δύο-δυόμισι; |
| Πέτρος: Είναι λίγο νωρίς. Πάμε στις τρεις; |
| Έλλη: Πολύ αργά... Καλά. Το βράδυ έχουμε τη συναυλία στο Ηρώδειο. |
| Πέτρος: Ωχ, τι ώρα; |
| Έλλη: Στις εννιά, αλλά πρέπει να είμαστε εκεί στις οκτώ και τέταρτο, οκτώ και είκοσι... |
| Πέτρος: Έχει ποδόσφαιρο στις εννιά και μισή. Μήπως... |
| Έλλη: Πέτρο!!! |
| Πέτρος: Καλά, καλά... |
| English Host: Let’s hear the conversation one time slowly. |
| Έλλη: Είναι δέκα παρά πέντε. Φεύγω. Πάω στην Ακρόπολη. |
| Πέτρος: Πάμε για καφέ; Και πηγαίνεις στην Ακρόπολη στις έντεκα ή στις δώδεκα. |
| Έλλη: Στις δώδεκα κάνει πολλή ζέστη. |
| Πέτρος: Καλά... Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη. Έχουμε ραντεβού στις έντεκα και μισή. |
| Έλλη: Πάμε για φαγητό στις δύο-δυόμισι; |
| Πέτρος: Είναι λίγο νωρίς. Πάμε στις τρεις; |
| Έλλη: Πολύ αργά... Καλά. Το βράδυ έχουμε τη συναυλία στο Ηρώδειο. |
| Πέτρος: Ωχ, τι ώρα; |
| Έλλη: Στις εννιά, αλλά πρέπει να είμαστε εκεί στις οκτώ και τέταρτο, οκτώ και είκοσι... |
| Πέτρος: Έχει ποδόσφαιρο στις εννιά και μισή. Μήπως... |
| Έλλη: Πέτρο!!! |
| Πέτρος: Καλά, καλά... |
| English Host: Now let’s hear it with the English translation. |
| Έλλη: Είναι δέκα παρά πέντε. Φεύγω. Πάω στην Ακρόπολη. |
| Judith: It's five to ten. I'm leaving. I'm going to the Acropolis. |
| Πέτρος: Πάμε για καφέ; Και πηγαίνεις στην Ακρόπολη στις έντεκα ή στις δώδεκα. |
| Judith: Shall we go for coffee? And you go to the Acropolis at eleven or twelve. |
| Έλλη: Στις δώδεκα κάνει πολλή ζέστη. |
| Judith: At twelve it's very hot. |
| Πέτρος: Καλά... Τότε πάω για καφέ και μετά στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη. Έχουμε ραντεβού στις έντεκα και μισή. |
| Judith: Well... Then I'm going for coffee and then to my friend Vasilis's. We have a meeting at eleven-thirty. |
| Έλλη: Πάμε για φαγητό στις δύο-δυόμισι; |
| Judith: Shall we go for food at two, two-thirty? |
| Πέτρος: Είναι λίγο νωρίς. Πάμε στις τρεις; |
| Judith: That's a little early. Shall we go at three? |
| Έλλη: Πολύ αργά... Καλά. Το βράδυ έχουμε τη συναυλία στο Ηρώδειο. |
| Judith: Too late... Well. In the evening, we have the concert at the Odeon. |
| Πέτρος: Ωχ, τι ώρα; |
| Judith: Oh, what time? |
| Έλλη: Στις εννιά, αλλά πρέπει να είμαστε εκεί στις οκτώ και τέταρτο, οκτώ και είκοσι... |
| Judith: At nine, but we have to be there at a quarter past eight, eight-twenty... |
| Πέτρος: Έχει ποδόσφαιρο στις εννιά και μισή. Μήπως... |
| Judith: There's soccer at nine-thirty. Maybe... |
| Έλλη: Πέτρο!!! |
| Judith: Peter!!! |
| Πέτρος: Καλά, καλά... |
| Judith: Fine, fine... |
| POST CONVERSATION BANTER |
| Judith: Okay. What can we say about the time in Greece? |
| Iro: Greece, like the United States, uses the 12-hour clock and not the 24-hour one. |
| Judith: What about mealtimes? |
| Iro: Mealtimes in Greece depend on whether or not you work, study, are retired or work in the public or private sector. Greeks usually skip breakfast. Instead, they just have a coffee and have a snack later at work. |
| Judith: What time would you say are you having lunch? |
| Iro: Lunchtime is generally from 2:00 to 4:00. |
| Judith: It’s not like in Spain where people just take a nap afterward? |
| Iro: Well, not all of them, but a lot of Greeks love to take a siesta after 3 o’clock when they get back home after they finish work. |
| Judith: Are there particular times that I should be aware of? |
| Iro: Yes. You know, there is noise pollution that is a serious problem, especially in big cities. Therefore, citizens must keep their homes quiet by law during certain times of the day and night. |
| Judith: Like what times? |
| Iro: For example, at night, after 11:00 pm, you should be somehow quiet. You can’t have loud music in your apartment or walk with your heels or screaming or moving furniture, et cetera. People have the right to call the police if you don’t stop. |
| Judith: Okay, I see. That’s pretty similar to Germany actually. Is it the same on Sundays? I mean, are there more restrictions on Sundays? |
| Iro: Actually they don’t have to, because somehow, most of the people are quieter on Sundays. |
| VOCAB LIST |
| Judith: Let’s take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. The first word we shall see is... |
| Iro: παρά |
| Judith: Minus. |
| Iro: παρά |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: φεύγω |
| Judith: To leave. |
| Iro: φεύγω |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: τότε |
| Judith: Then. |
| Iro: τότε |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: φίλος |
| Judith: Friend. |
| Iro: φίλος |
| Judith: This word is masculine. Next. |
| Iro: ραντεβού |
| Judith: “Appointment” or “rendezvous”. |
| Iro: ραντεβού |
| Judith: This word is neuter. Next. |
| Iro: λίγο |
| Judith: A little. |
| Iro: λίγο |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: νωρίς |
| Judith: Early. |
| Iro: νωρίς |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: αργά |
| Judith: Late. |
| Iro: αργά |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: συναυλία |
| Judith: “Concert”, “show”. |
| Iro: συναυλία |
| Judith: This word is feminine. Next. |
| Iro: πρέπει |
| Judith: “It is necessary”, “must” |
| Iro: πρέπει |
| Judith: This word is never conjugated. If you say “I must” it’s still πρέπει. Next. |
| Iro: εκεί |
| Judith: There. |
| Iro: εκεί |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: τέταρτο |
| Judith: Quarter. |
| Iro: τέταρτο |
| Judith: Next. |
| Iro: ποδόσφαιρο |
| Judith: Soccer. |
| Iro: ποδόσφαιρο |
| Judith: This word is neuter. Next. |
| Iro: μισή |
| Judith: Half. |
| Iro: μισή |
| KEY VOCAB AND PHRASES |
| Judith: Okay. Let’s take a closer look at the usage for some of the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Iro: The first word we’ll look at is "πάω". This is another way to say "πηγαίνω", “to go”. |
| Judith: The meaning of the two verbs is the same and they’re used in many of the same situations. The main advantage of "πάω" is that it’s shorter. So it comes up more often in colloquial talk. |
| Iro: The name "Πέτρος" change to simply, "Πέτρο" when you’re addressing him. Similarly, the names Νίκος, Γιώργος, Σπύρος and even Βασίλης also lose their final “S”. Petros's friend’s full name is Βασίλης even though he’s addressed as Βασίλη. |
| Judith: "στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη" means “to my friend Vassilis” the construction is a bit different than in English. A word by word translation of the Greek "στο φίλο μου το Βασίλη" is “to the friend my, the Vassilis”, “to my friend Vassilis”. |
| Iro: "Ηρώδειο" is what Athenians call the Odeum of Herodes Atticus. It’s an ancient marble theater near the Acropolis and it is still being used for musical performances. |
| GRAMMAR POINT |
| Judith: The focus of this lesson is telling time. If you aren’t completely comfortable with the Greek numbers yet, you have another opportunity to practice them now. Knowing the numbers is essential for today’s topic which is telling time. |
| Iro: To indicate the full hour, just say "στις," as in "στις πέντε". |
| Judith: At 5 o’clock. |
| Iro: You may want to add the word "ακριβώς". |
| Judith: Exactly. |
| Iro: To mean “at 5’oclock sharp”. "Στις πέντε ακριβώς". |
| Judith: If it is some minutes after the full hour simply use "και," as in "στις πέντε και δέκα", “at 5:10.” |
| Iro: However, if it’s approaching the next hour already, use "παρά" minus as in "στις έξι παρά δέκα". |
| Judith: “At 10 to 6:00” that is 5:50. Additionally, you should the words ‘τέταρτο’ and ‘μισή’. |
| Iro: Στις πέντε και τέταρτο |
| Judith: “At quarter past five” that is 5:15. |
| Iro: Στις έξι παρά τέταρτο |
| Judith: “At quarter to six” 5:45. So και τέταρτο is “quarter past” and παρά τέταρτο is “quarter to”. |
| Iro: Στις πέντε και μισή |
| Judith: “At half past five” 5:30. |
| Iro: Know that in colloquial speech, people often say, "στις πεντέμισι" instead. Leaving out the "και" and combining "πέντε" and "μισή." Similarly, 12:30 is δωδεκάμισι, 1:30 is μιάμιση, 2:30 is δυόμισι and so on. |
| Judith: That just about does it for today. |
| Iro: Looking for a word definition? Find exactly what you’re looking for with the Instant Word Finder. Search the word dictionary in the top right corner of our site to find the word you’re looking for. You can search in English or Greek. |
| Judith: We will also display related audio lessons in our archive. Add the word directly to your word bank. |
| Iro: Enjoy yourself with My Word Bank Flashcards. |
| Judith: Go to GreekPod101.com and try it now. |
Outro |
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| Judith: We hope you enjoyed this lesson. See you next week! |
| Iro: Γεια σας! |
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