Learn how to ask the speaking party to say something again
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| There will be many times when the Greek around you or coming at you is fast and furious and you may not catch some parts or even any of it. In occasions like this, asking the speaker to say it again can make the difference between understanding a crucial piece of information and spending the rest of the day trying to figure out what they just said. The following phrase will not only give you a better sense of the language, but it will also help you tune your ear as well! |
| In Greek, "Can you repeat that?" is Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Boríte na to epanalávete?) |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Boríte na to epanalávete?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable, Bo-ri-te na to e-pa-na-la-ve-te? |
| Now let's hear it once again, Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Boríte na to epanalávete?) |
| The first word, Μπορείτε (Boríte), means "can you," followed by να το (na to), which literally means "to it." This is followed by επαναλάβετε (epanalávete), which in English is "repeat;" e-pa-na-la-ve-te. |
| επαναλάβετε (epanalávete) |
| To recap, we have Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Boríte na to epanalávete?). Literally, this means "Can you repeat?" |
| Let's look at the next expression, which is more polite. The phrase Σας παρακαλώ (Sas parakaló), a repetition from previous lessons, means "please." Sas pa-ra-ka-lo. |
| Σας παρακαλώ (Sas parakaló) |
| Σας παρακαλώ (Sas parakaló) |
| All together, we have Σας παρακαλώ, μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Sas parakaló, boríte na to epanalávete?). Literally, this means "Can you repeat that please?" This is a formal way to ask someone to repeat something you didn't catch. |
| At times, even repeating the words isn't enough to understand the speaker. This is often due to how fast the person is speaking. For instances such as this, you can use the phrase "more slowly." In Greek, "more slowly" is πιο αργά (pio argá). |
| πιο αργά (pio argá) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: pio ar-ga. |
| Now let's hear it once again, πιο αργά (pio argá) |
| The first word, πιο (pio), means "more." |
| Let's break down this word and hear it one more time, πιο (pio). |
| πιο (pio) |
| Αργά (Argá), which in English means "slowly," comes next. |
| To recap, we have πιο αργά (pio argá), literally this means "slowly, please." |
| We can use the phrases we have seen together. |
| "Please speak more slowly" - Παρακαλώ μίλα πιο αργά. (Parakaló míla pio argá). |
| Παρακαλώ μίλα πιο αργά. (Parakaló míla pio argá). |
| Here we have παρακαλώ (parakaló) , which means "please" in English. The verb μίλα (míla), which means "speak" follows next. Let's break it down: mi-la. |
| Following this, we just add "more slowly"- πιο αργά (pio argá). |
| Please note that this phrase is an informal way to ask someone to speak more slowly. |
| Let's repeat that one more time, Παρακαλώ μίλα πιο αργά. (Parakaló míla pio argá). |
| Παρακαλώ μίλα πιο αργά. (Parakaló míla pio argá). |
| Another more formal option though is "Can you repeat that again?" which in Greek is Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli?). |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli?) |
| Let's break it down by syllable: Bo-ri-te na to e-pa-na-la-ve-te pa-li? |
| Now let's hear it one more time, Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι ; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli?) |
| Here, we have added the word πάλι (páli) at the end, which means "again." Let's break it down by syllable pa-li. This is perfect if you need a second or a third repetition, which is, by the way, totally fine to ask. |
| To recap, we have Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli?), meaning "Can you repeat that again?" |
| We can use this together with "slowly, please." |
| "Can you repeat that again slowly, please?" This is… |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι πιο αργά; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli pio argá?) |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι πιο αργά; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli pio argá?) |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι πιο αργά; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli pio argá?) |
| 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. |
| "Can you repeat that please?" - Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Boríte na to epanalávete?) |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Boríte na to epanalávete?) |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; (Boríte na to epanalávete?) |
| "Slowly, please." - πιο αργά (pio argá) |
| πιο αργά (pio argá) |
| πιο αργά (pio argá) |
| "Can you repeat that slowly, please?" - Παρακαλώ μίλα πιο αργά. (Parakaló míla pio argá). |
| Παρακαλώ μίλα πιο αργά. (Parakaló míla pio argá). |
| Παρακαλώ μίλα πιο αργά. (Parakaló míla pio argá). |
| "Can you repeat that again?" - Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli?) |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli?) |
| Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε πάλι; (Boríte na to epanalávete páli?) |
| 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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