Learn how to ask "Where are you from?"
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| In today's lesson, we'll cover a phrase you will be able to use in all those moments in which you are introducing yourself or even your friends and talking about your own country and the place you come from. |
| First, let's review how to introduce ourselves. In Greek, "My name is Michael" is Με λένε Μιχάλη. (Me léne Miháli.) |
| Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time: Me le-ne Mi-ha-li. |
| Με λένε Μιχάλη. (Me léne Miháli.) |
| Here we have Με (Me), which means "Me" and λένε (léne), which means "they call." To recap, we have Με λένε… (Me léne…), which literally means "They call me…," but is translated in English as "My name is…." |
| Now let's go and cover how to say where you're from! In Greek, "I'm American" is Είμαι Αμερικάνος. (Íme Amerikános.) |
| Είμαι Αμερικάνος. (Íme Amerikános.) |
| The first word, είμαι (íme), means "I am." Next, we have Αμερικάνος (Amerikános), which in English is "American." To recap here, we have just two words: a verb, είμαι (íme), and a proper noun, Αμερικάνος (Amerikános). |
| All together, we have Είμαι Αμερικάνος. (Íme Amerikános,), meaning "I am American." |
| In Greek, "I'm Spanish" is Είμαι Ισπανός. (Íme Ispanós.) |
| Let's hear it once again, Είμαι Ισπανός. (Íme Ispanós.) |
| As you can see, the verb doesn't change. You always have είμαι (ime),"I am." Then, the only thing that changes is the nationality. Therefore, you have Ισπανός (Ispanós) in place of Αμερικάνος (Amerikános). |
| This phrase is the way you answer the question, Από πού είσαι; (Apó pú íse?) In English, this means "Where are you from?" |
| Let's break it down by syllable and hear it one more time,: A-po pu i-se? |
| Από πού είσαι; (Apó pú íse?) |
| The first word, από (apó), means "from:" a-po. Then you have πού (pú), which in English is "where." To recap here, we have από πού (apó pú), which literally means "from where." Now, let's look at the next word, είσαι (íse), which means "you are." |
| All together, we have Από πού είσαι; (Apó pú íse?) This literally means "From where are you?" We translate it as "Where are you from?" |
| Be careful because, in many cases, the proper noun for nationality can change according to the gender. Therefore, if the person who speaks is a girl, "I'm American" will be Είμαι Αμερικάνα. (Íme Amerikána.) and Είμαι Ισπανίδα, (Íme Ispanída.) |
| If you are introducing a friend to someone, the verb changes. Therefore, "He's American" in Greek is Είναι Αμερικάνος. (Íne Amerikános.) The proper noun doesn't change, but the verb does. You have είναι (íne), which means "is" in place of είμαι (íme), "I am." |
| All together, we have Είναι Αμερικάνος. (Íne Amerikános.) |
| "She's American" would be Είναι Αμερικάνα. (Íne Amerikána.) |
| 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. |
| "My name is Michael" - Με λένε Μιχάλη. (Me léne Miháli.) |
| Με λένε Μιχάλη. (Me léne Miháli.) |
| Με λένε Μιχάλη. (Me léne Miháli.) |
| "I'm American" - Είμαι Αμερικάνος. (Íme Amerikános.) / Είμαι Αμερικάνα. (Íme Amerikána.) |
| Είμαι Αμερικάνος. (Íme Amerikános.) / Είμαι Αμερικάνα. (Íme Amerikána.) |
| Είμαι Αμερικάνος. (Íme Amerikános.) / Είμαι Αμερικάνα. (Íme Amerikána.) |
| "I'm Spanish" - Είμαι Ισπανός. (Íme Ispanós.) / Είμαι Ισπανίδα, (Íme Ispanída.) |
| Είμαι Ισπανός. (Íme Ispanós.) / Είμαι Ισπανίδα, (Íme Ispanída.) |
| Είμαι Ισπανός. (Íme Ispanós.) / Είμαι Ισπανίδα, (Íme Ispanída.) |
| "Where are you from?" - Από πού είσαι; (Apó pú íse?) |
| Από πού είσαι; (Apó pú íse?) |
| Από πού είσαι; (Apó pú íse?) |
| "He/She's American" - Είναι Αμερικάνος. (Íne Amerikános.) / Είναι Αμερικάνα. (Íne Amerikána.) |
| Είναι Αμερικάνος. (Íne Amerikános.) / Είναι Αμερικάνα. (Íne Amerikána.) |
| Είναι Αμερικάνος. (Íne Amerikános.) / Είναι Αμερικάνα. (Íne Amerikána.) |
| 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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