Learn how to ask "How do you say this?"
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| For today, we're going to need a word, as we're going to cover "How do you say [something] in Greek?" So let's get started right away! |
| The Greeks are famous for their olive oil, so let's assume that you want to buy some but have no idea what to call it in Greek! What do you do now? Of course, you ask with Survival Phrases! |
| In Greek, "How do you say olive oil in Greek?" is Πώς λέτε olive oil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte olive oil sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέτε olive oil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte olive oil sta eliniká?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable. Pos le-te olive oil sta e-li-ni-ka? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Πώς λέτε olive oil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte olive oil sta eliniká?) |
| The first word, πώς (pós), means "how." This is followed by λέτε (léte), which is the present formal (plural) form of the verb λέω (léo) - "to say." In English, we could literally translate this as "you say:" le-te and λέτε (léte). |
| Next, we have the word you say in your own language, so in this case "olive oil," and, finally, you have στα ελληνικά (sta eliniká) - "in Greek." |
| Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time, sta e-li-ni-ka. |
| στα ελληνικά (sta eliniká) |
| So, all together, we have Πώς λέτε olive oil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte olive oil sta eliniká?) Literally, this means "How do you say olive oil in Greek?" |
| Not to leave you hanging, "olive oil" in Greek is ελαιόλαδο (eleólado). |
| You can also use this expression without using any English. To accomplish this, you can use the expression "(lit.) How is this called in Greek?" |
| In Greek, "this" is αυτό (aftó). |
| αυτό (aftó) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: af-to. |
| Now let's hear it once again, αυτό (aftó) |
| So, in Greek "(lit.) How is this called in Greek?" is Πώς λέγεται αυτό στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete aftó sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέγεται αυτό στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete aftó sta eliniká?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Pos le-ye-te af-to sta e-li-ni-ka? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Πώς λέγεται αυτό στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete aftó sta eliniká?) |
| The structure is similar to the previous sentence except that in place of "olive oil," we have the demonstrative pronoun αυτό (aftó) - "this" and the verb has changed to λέγεται (léyete), which is the singular third person present form of the verb λέγομαι (légome) - "to be called." |
| All together, we have Πώς λέγεται αυτό στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete afto sta eliniká?) |
| This is a phrase you can use while pointing at something. |
| Simply substitute the word αυτό (aftó) with εκείνο (ekíno) - "that" to ask "(lit.) How is that called in Greek?:" ekíno. |
| You will have Πώς λέγεται εκείνο στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete ekíno sta eliniká?) - "(lit.) How is that called in Greek?" |
| Let's break it down and hear it one more time, Pos le-ye-te e-ki-no sta e-li-ni-ka? |
| Πώς λέγεται εκείνο στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete ekíno sta eliniká?) |
| But wait, it's your Greek friend's birthday and you want to wish him/her a happy birthday but you don't know how to say it. Let's try and ask Πώς μεταφράζεις το happy birthday στα ελληνικά; (Pós metafrázis to happy birthday sta eliniká?) - "How do you translate 'happy birthday' in Greek?" |
| Πώς μεταφράζεις το happy birthday στα ελληνικά; (Pós metafrázis to happy birthday sta eliniká?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Pos me-ta-fra-zis to happy birthday sta e-li-ni-ka. |
| Now let's hear it again, Πώς μεταφράζεις το happy birthday στα ελληνικά; (Pós metafrázis to happy birthday sta eliniká?) |
| The first word is πώς (pós) and it means "how." Then, you have μεταφράζεις (metafrázis), which is the present form of the second person singular of the verb μεταφράζω (metafrázo) - "to translate." |
| Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time, me-ta-fra-zis. |
| μεταφράζεις (metafrázis) |
| Finally, you have the word or expression you wish someone to translate followed by στα ελληνικά (sta eliniká). |
| So, all together, we have Πώς μεταφράζεις το happy birthday στα ελληνικά; (Pós metafrázis to happy birthday sta eliniká?) |
| 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 do you say olive oil in Greek?" - Πώς λέτε olive oil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte olive oil sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέτε olive oil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte olive oil sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέτε olive oil στα ελληνικά; (Pós léte olive oil sta eliniká?) |
| "How is this called in Greek?" - Πώς λέγεται αυτό στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete aftó sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέγεται αυτό στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete aftó sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέγεται αυτό στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete aftó sta eliniká?) |
| "(lit.) How is that called in Greek?" - Πώς λέγεται εκείνο στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete ekíno sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέγεται εκείνο στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete ekíno sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς λέγεται εκείνο στα ελληνικά; (Pós léyete ekíno sta eliniká?) |
| "How do you translate 'happy birthday' in Greek?" - Πώς μεταφράζεις το happy birthday στα ελληνικά; (Pós metafrázis to happy birthday sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς μεταφράζεις το happy birthday στα ελληνικά; (Pós metafrázis to happy birthday sta eliniká?) |
| Πώς μεταφράζεις το happy birthday στα ελληνικά; (Pós metafrázis to happy birthday sta eliniká?) |
| 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!) |
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