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Lesson Transcript

Γεια, λέγομαι Χρυσή. Hi everybody! I’m Chrissi.
Welcome to GreekPod101.com’s “ελληνικά σε 3 λεπτά”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Greek.
In the last lesson, we learned how to be grateful to people by saying ευχαριστώ. In this lesson we’ll learn some of the most common greetings used in Greece.
Είστε έτοιμοι; Are you ready? Ξεκινάμε, so let’s start!
The most used informal greeting is:
Γεια!
[slowly] Γεια.
Γεια means “hi,” “hello,” or "goodbye." We use it when we meet but also when we leave. We should only use this greeting with friends or relatives.
If you want to be more formal, you need to pay attention to the time of day. The most common phrase is: Καλημέρα!
[slowly] Καλημέρα.
Literally, Καλημέρα means "good day"; however, we may also interpret it as "good morning" or "good afternoon." As a rule of thumb we can use καλημέρα only during the daytime—from morning until early afternoon.
During the late afternoon and evening we say:
Καλησπέρα!
[slowly] Καλησπέρα.
Εσπέρα or ‘σπέρα is ancient Greek for “the part of the day after sunset” so καλησπέρα means good afternoon or good evening.
Καλημέρα and καλησπέρα are used when we meet someone, but when we leave, we don’t say them again.
In this formal situation Greek people use:
Αντίο
[slowly] Αντίο.
Αντίο means “good-bye.” If you are leaving after 8:00-9:00 PM, you can say “Καληνύχτα” which literally means good-night.
Καληνύχτα
[slowly] Καληνύχτα.
Finally, it is very common in Greek to use the informal “Hi” we introduced in the beginning of this lesson as a parting greeting as well.
Γεια!
[slowly] Γεια.
Now you can greet people in many different ways in Greek!
Let’s review them all again.
When greeting in an informal situation, we say:
Γεια!
When greeting in a formal situation, we say:
Καλημέρα or καλησπέρα!
When leaving, in a formal situation:
Αντίο!
When leaving, in an informal situation:
Γεια!
It’s easy, isn’t it?
Now it’s time for Chrissi’s Insights.
In formal situations, Greek people commonly greet each other by shaking hands. On the other hand, if we meet someone we are very friendly with, we kiss each other on both cheeks. Don’t be afraid to do it with your Greek friends—it’s normal!
During the next lesson we’ll learn the meaning of the phrase μιλάτε αγγλικά; Do you already know it? We'll be waiting to talk about it with you in our next Ελληνικά σε 3 λεπτά lesson.
Γεια!

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