Learn about exchanging foreign currency
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| Exchanging money in Greece is quite convenient. One can exchange money at airports or banks or withdraw money from an ATM. Rates applied when withdrawing money from an ATM are likely to be quite good. However, when using an ATM, it is advisable to make one large withdrawal as both the local bank and your home bank may charge fees. So, first things first, let's find a location that will exchange money. |
| First, let's review some previous phrases and patterns we've already covered. |
| In Greek, "Is there an ATM near here?" is Υπάρχει ATM εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi ATM edó kondá?) |
| Υπάρχει ATM εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi ATM edó kondá?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: I-par-hi A-T-M e-do ko-nda? |
| Now, let's hear it once again, Υπάρχει ATM εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi ATM edó kondá?) |
| Now, to ask for a bank, we can just replace the word for ATM with the word for bank and the phrase works just fine. "Is there a bank near here?" is Υπάρχει τράπεζα εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi trápeza edó kondá?) |
| Υπάρχει τράπεζα εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi trápeza edó kondá?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: I-par-hi tra-pe-za e-do ko-nda? |
| Υπάρχει τράπεζα εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi trápeza edó kondá?) |
| The only thing that changes is the thing you are looking for. |
| For times when there is neither a bank nor an ATM, you can ask "Where can I exchange currency?" In Greek, this is Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω χρήματα; (Pú boró na andaláxo hrímata?) |
| Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω χρήματα; (Pú boró na andaláxo hrímata?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Pu bo-ro na an-da-la-xo hri-ma-ta? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω χρήματα; (Pú boró na andaláxo hrímata?) |
| The first word ,πού (pú), means "where." Then, we have μπορώ (boró), which in English is "can I." Next, you have να ανταλλάξω (na andaláxo), "to exchange." |
| To recap here, we have Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω; (Pú boró na andaláxo?). Literally, this means "Where can I exchange?" |
| Let's look at the last word χρήματα (hrímata). Let's break this word down: hri-ma-ta. This literally means "money." |
| All together, we have Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω χρήματα; (Pú boró na andaláxo hrímata?) Literally, this means "Where can I exchange money?" |
| Exchanging currency is pretty straightforward. (You need to fill out some forms and then present the amount you want exchanged.) One extremely useful phrase is "Smaller denominations please." It's usually beneficial to have smaller amounts of currency on you for paying for the bus fare, taxi fare, and so on. |
| In Greek, "Smaller denominations please" is Μικρότερα χαρτονομίσματα, παρακαλώ. (Mikrótera hartonomísmata, parakaló.) |
| Μικρότερα χαρτονομίσματα, παρακαλώ. (Mikrótera hartonomísmata, parakaló.) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Mi-kro-te-ra har-to-no-mi-sma-ta, pa-ra-ka-lo. |
| Now let's hear it once again, Μικρότερα χαρτονομίσματα, παρακαλώ. (Mikrótera hartonomísmata, parakaló.) |
| The first word, μικρότερα (mikrótera), means "smaller:" mi-kro-te-ra. Next, we have χαρτονομίσματα (hartonomísmata), which means "paper money:" har-to-no-mi-sma-ta. |
| Finally, you have παρακαλώ (parakaló), "please." |
| All together, we have Μικρότερα χαρτονομίσματα παρακαλώ. (Mikrótera hartonomísmata, parakaló.). In English, this means "Smaller banknotes please." |
| Finally, you can also use the phrase "Break this please" to indicate you would like smaller amounts of the currency. In Greek, "Break this please" is Μπορείτε να μου τα χαλάσετε; (Boríte na mu ta halásete?) |
| Μπορείτε να μου τα χαλάσετε; (Boríte na mu ta halásete?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: bo-ri-te na mu ta ha-la-se-te? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Μπορείτε να μου τα χαλάσετε; (Boríte na mu ta halásete?) |
| The first word, μπορείτε (boríte), means "can you" and is formal. Next, we have να μου τα χαλάσετε (na mu ta halásete), which in English literally translates as "to break them down for me." Να (Na) in this case means "to," μου (mu) means "for me," τα (ta) is "them," and χαλάσετε (halásete) means "break." |
| All together, we have Μπορείτε να μου τα χαλάσετε; (Boríte na mu ta halásete?) Literally, this means "Can you break them down for me?" |
| 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. |
| "Is there an ATM near here?" - Υπάρχει ATM εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi ATM edó kondá?) |
| Υπάρχει ATM εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi ATM edó kondá?) |
| Υπάρχει ATM εδώ κοντά; (Ipárhi ATM edó kondá?) |
| "Where can I exchange currency?"- Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω χρήματα; (Pú boró na andaláxo hrímata?) |
| Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω χρήματα; (Pú boró na andaláxo hrímata?) |
| Πού μπορώ να ανταλλάξω χρήματα; (Pú boró na andaláxo hrímata?) |
| "Smaller denominations please" - Μικρότερα χαρτονομίσματα, παρακαλώ. (Mikrótera hartonomísmata, parakaló.) |
| Μικρότερα χαρτονομίσματα, παρακαλώ. (Mikrótera hartonomísmata, parakaló.) |
| Μικρότερα χαρτονομίσματα, παρακαλώ. (Mikrótera hartonomísmata, parakaló.) |
| "Break this please" - Μπορείτε να μου τα χαλάσετε; (Boríte na mu ta halásete?) |
| Μπορείτε να μου τα χαλάσετε; (Boríte na mu ta halásete?) |
| Μπορείτε να μου τα χαλάσετε; (Boríte na mu ta halásete?) |
| 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
HideΥπάρχει ένα αυτόματο εδώ κοντά;
This is a very useful phrase when you want to travel abroad!
Γεια σου Ιάκωβε,
Okay, now I get it! Thanks!
Stefania
Team Greekpod101.com
I was referring to the end of the lesson support the Greeks by visiting our country more than once!
Γεια σου Ιάκωβε,
Thank you for your message and solidarity.
In the beginning, you mention "yes I do" which I'm not sure where it refers to. As for graffiti, Athens sure has a lot! And thank you for your lesson suggestion.
Kind regards,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
5. Cos I love your grafitti. Seems like intelligent debate on the walls of the cities. Maybe a lesson topic? or too sensitive?
It sent before editing. Maybe delete.
Yes, I do. For many reasons. 1. Greece stood up to what I consider to be the neonazis under the guise of the German controlled EU. 2. Greece, in my view, flies the flag for deomcracy, unmasking Brussels. 3. Yanis. 4. Cos I feel a certain solidarity with sophisticated yet criminal economic systems leading to impossible, ever increasing debt, due to my own loss of home, and neg equityduring that mortgage crisis ye
Hi Katalina,
Because this is the momentary subjunctive (να χαλάσω as opposed to να χαλάω, the continuous subjunctive form), so it uses the aorist tense stem (χαλασ-) to express that you want to do that action just once and not continuously. This grammar theory is not for absolute beginners, so if it incomprehensible at the moment, just don't worry about it. It's something to be learned later on.
Kind regards,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Hi!
I've got a question. Why we say ,,Πού μπορώ να χαλάσω χρήματα;" with ,,S", while the infinitive is ,,χαλάω", without ,,S"?
Please let me know it 😄