A1
Lesson 7 · Η ώρα και τα ραντεβού — Time and plans
Asking the time, then arranging to meet for coffee at the weekend.
Read each line aloud: the sentence, how it sounds, then what it means.
Τι ώρα είναι, παρακαλώ;
Ti óra íne, parakaló?
What time is it, please?
Είναι τρεις και τέταρτο.
Íne tris ke tétarto.
It is a quarter past three.
Ευχαριστώ. Είσαι ελεύθερη αύριο;
Efharistó. Íse eléftheri ávrio?
Thank you. Are you free tomorrow?
Αύριο είναι Σάββατο… ναι, είμαι ελεύθερη.
Ávrio íne Sávato… ne, íme eléftheri.
Tomorrow is Saturday… yes, I am free.
Πάμε για καφέ στις έντεκα;
Páme yia kafé stis éndeka?
Shall we go for a coffee at eleven?
Ωραία! Πού;
Oréa! Pou?
Lovely! Where?
Στην πλατεία, μπροστά από το βιβλιοπωλείο.
Stin platía, brostá apó to vivliopolío.
In the square, in front of the bookshop.
Εντάξει. Τα λέμε αύριο!
Endáxi. Ta léme ávrio!
All right. See you tomorrow!
Τα λέμε! Καληνύχτα!
Ta léme! Kaliníhta!
See you! Good night!
Grammar notes
Τι ώρα είναι; — telling the time
Είναι τρεις. (It is three.) Then …και τέταρτο (quarter past), …και μισή (half past), …παρά τέταρτο (quarter to). One o'clock is feminine: Είναι μία.
The days of the week
Δευτέρα, Τρίτη, Τετάρτη, Πέμπτη, Παρασκευή, Σάββατο, Κυριακή. On Monday is τη Δευτέρα; on Saturday is το Σάββατο.
Πάμε…; — shall we go…?
The easiest way to suggest anything: Πάμε για καφέ; Πάμε σινεμά; Πάμε μια βόλτα; (Shall we go for a walk?)
χθες, σήμερα, αύριο
yesterday, today, tomorrow. Useful with them: το Σαββατοκύριακο (at the weekend), κάθε μέρα (every day).
Three things about the culture
The evening βόλτα
As the heat drops, whole towns come out for the βόλτα — a slow walk along the seafront or around the square, dressed up, with no destination. It is where you meet people without arranging to, which is why plans are so often left loose.
Fifteen minutes late is on time
For a coffee or a dinner with friends, arriving a quarter of an hour after the agreed time is normal and nobody apologises. Ferries, buses, doctors and job interviews are a different matter entirely — those run to the minute.
In August the country moves to the sea
Around the fifteenth of August — ο Δεκαπενταύγουστος — Athens empties, businesses shut for a fortnight and everyone returns to their family village or island. Try to arrange anything official that week and you will be told to call back in September.
Now lock in the words
This lesson has its own flashcard folder — every new word and grammar point from the conversation.
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