How to Ask for a Word in Greek

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Vocabulary (Review)

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Greek by GreekPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to ask how to say something in Greek.

For example, "What's “book” in Greek?" is

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

Jenny Asimakis is at a cafe doing a language exchange with her classmate, Lia Andreadaki .

It’s the Greek portion of the exchange, and she points at a book and asks what it's called in Greek.

Before you hear the conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

ελληνικά (eliniká)

"Greek"

ελληνικά

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Jenny 's comment.

Ready?

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

Βιβλίο. (Vivlío.)

Once more with the English translation.

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

"How do you say 'book' in Greek?"

Βιβλίο. (Vivlío.)

"'Book'."

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Jenny says,

"How do you say 'book' in Greek?"

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

First is πώς (pós), "how." Πώς . Πώς.

Next is λέμε (léme), "[we] say." Λέμε . Λέμε.

Note: λέμε (léme) is a shortened form of εμείς λέμε (emís léme), "we say." In Greek, εμείς, "we," is usually omitted, as it can be understood from context.

Λέμε is from the verb λέω (léo), the dictionary form of the verb "to say" in this context. Λέω.

After this is the English word, "book."

Last is the phrase, στα ελληνικά (sta eliniká), meaning "in Greek." Στα ελληνικά.

First is, στα, "in." Στα . Στα.

After this is, ελληνικά, "Greek," as in "the Greek language." Ελληνικά . Ελληνικά.

Note, when the context is clear, you may omit στα ελληνικά (sta eliniká).

All together, Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?) translates as, "How do we say 'book' in Greek?" and in more natural English, "How do you say 'book' in Greek?"

Note the rising intonation of the sentence to mark that it's a question.

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Lia tells Jenny the Greek word for "book"?

Βιβλίο (vivlío), "book." Βιβλίο .

Βιβλίο. (Vivlío.)

The pattern is

Πώς λέμε (Pós léme) ENGLISH WORD στα ελληνικά; (sta eliniká?)

"How do you say ENGLISH WORD in Greek?"

Πώς λέμε ENGLISH WORD στα ελληνικά;

To use this pattern, simply replace the ENGLISH WORD placeholder with the word you want to know.

Imagine you want to know the Greek word for "pen."

Say

"How do you say 'pen' in Greek?"

Ready?

Πώς λέμε pen στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pen sta eliniká?)

"How do you say 'pen' in Greek?"

Πώς λέμε pen στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pen sta eliniká?)

Again, the pattern is

Πώς λέμε (Pós léme) ENGLISH WORD στα ελληνικά; (sta eliniká?)

"How do you say ENGLISH WORD in Greek?"

Πώς λέμε ENGLISH WORD στα ελληνικά;

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

“How do you say 'book' in Greek?”

Βιβλίο. (Vivlío.)

"Book."

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

Πώς λέμε pen στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pen sta eliniká?)

“How do you say 'pen' in Greek?”

Στιλό. (Stiló.)

"Pen."

Πώς λέμε pen στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pen sta eliniká?)

Πώς λέμε bag; (Pós léme bag?)

“How do you say 'bag'?”

Τσάντα. (Tsánda.)

"Bag."

Πώς λέμε bag; (Pós léme bag?)

Πώς λέμε pencil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pencil sta eliniká?)

“How do you say 'pencil' in Greek?”

Μολύβι. (Molívi.)

"Pencil."

Πώς λέμε pencil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pencil sta eliniká?)

Πώς το λένε αυτό; (Pós to léne aftó?)

“What do you call this?”

Βιβλίο. (Vivlío.)

"Book."

Πώς το λένε αυτό; (Pós to léne aftó?)

Did you notice a different sentence pattern?

Πώς το λένε αυτό; (Pós to léne aftó?)

"What do you call this?"

First is πώς (pós), "how." Πώς.

After this is το (to), "it." Το.

Note: το (to) is a shortened form of αυτό (aftó), meaning "it."

Next is λένε (léne), "[they] tell." Λένε . Λένε.

Last is αυτό (aftó), "this." Αυτό . Αυτό.

All together, Πώς το λένε αυτό; (Pós to léne aftó?), literally means "How it [they] say this?"

but translates as "What do you call this?"

Note: This pattern is usually used when pointing at something.

Let’s review the new words.

στιλό (stiló)

"pen"

στιλό

τσάντα (tsánda)

"bag"

τσάντα

μολύβι (molívi)

"pencil"

μολύβι

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "Greek?"

ελληνικά (eliniká)

And how to say "in Greek?"

στα ελληνικά (sta eliniká)

Do you remember how to say "how?"

πώς (pós)

And how Jenny Asimakis asks,

"How do you say 'book' in Greek?"

Πώς λέμε book στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme book sta eliniká?)

Do you remember how Lia says,

"'Book'."

Βιβλίο. (Vivlío.)

Do you remember how to say "this?"

αυτό (aftó)

And how to say

"What do you call this?"

Πώς το λένε αυτό; (Pós to léne aftó?)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Martha Asimakis , and you’re having a language-exchange lunch with Valia Vamvaka .

Ask "How do you say 'pen' in Greek?"

Ready?

Πώς λέμε pen στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pen sta eliniká?)

Στιλό. (Stiló.)

Listen again and repeat.

Πώς λέμε pen στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pen sta eliniká?)

Now you want to know the word for bag. Omit "in Greek."

Ready?

Πώς λέμε bag; (Pós léme bag?)

Τσάντα. (Tsánda.)

Listen again and repeat.

Πώς λέμε bag; (Pós léme bag?)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Alex Asimakis , and you’re studying with your classmate. You point at a pencil and ask "What do you call this?"

Ready?

Πώς το λένε αυτό; (Pós to léne aftó?)

Μολύβι. (Molívi.)

Listen again and repeat.

Πώς το λένε αυτό; (Pós to léne aftó?)

In this lesson, you learned how to ask how to say something in Greek. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of asking for clarification. Let’s review.

Do you remember the informal way to say,

"Excuse me."

Συγγνώμη. (Signómi.)

And how to say "repeat?"

επαναλάβεις (epanalávis)

Do you remember how Jenny asks,

"Excuse me, can you repeat [that]?"

Remember she uses informal Greek.

Συγγνώμη, μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις αυτό; (Signómi, borís na to epanalávis aftó?)

Do you remember how to say, "more slowly?"

πιο αργά (pio argá)

And how to say,

"Can you speak more slowly?"

Μπορείς να μιλάς πιο αργά; (Borís na milás pio argá?)

Imagine You're Jack Jones , and you're meeting your fellow student Lia Andreadaki for the first time. She introduces herself, but you can't catch her name.

Respond to her introduction, and ask her to repeat it one more time.

Ready?

Χαίρω πολύ. Είμαι η Λία. (Héro polí. Íme i Lia.)

Συγγνώμη, μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις αυτό; (Signómi, borís na to epanalávis aftó?)

Listen again, and repeat.

Συγγνώμη, μπορείς να το επαναλάβεις αυτό; (Signómi, borís na to epanalávis aftó?)

On a different occasion you're doing a language exchange. In the Greek portion of it you want to know how to say pencil in Greek.

Ask Lia Andreadaki what’s "pencil" in Greek.

Πώς λέμε pencil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pencil sta eliniká?)

Μολύβι. (Molívi.)

Listen again, and repeat.

Πώς λέμε pencil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léme pencil sta eliniká?)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Ask for Clarification unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

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