A1
Lesson 1 · Χαιρετισμοί — Greetings
Two neighbours meet in the morning, ask how the other is, and swap names.
각 문장을 소리 내어 읽어보세요. 문장, 발음, 의미 순으로 진행됩니다.
Καλημέρα!
Kaliméra!
Good morning!
Καλημέρα! Τι κάνεις;
Kaliméra! Ti kánis?
Good morning! How are you?
Καλά είμαι, ευχαριστώ. Εσύ;
Kalá íme, efharistó. Esí?
I am well, thank you. And you?
Κι εγώ καλά. Πώς σε λένε;
Ki egó kalá. Pos se léne?
I am well too. What is your name?
Με λένε Άννα. Εσένα;
Me léne Ánna. Eséna?
My name is Anna. And you?
Με λένε Νίκο. Χαίρω πολύ!
Me léne Níko. Héro polí!
My name is Nikos. Nice to meet you!
Χαίρω πολύ!
Héro polí!
Nice to meet you!
Καλή σου μέρα, Άννα!
Kalí sou méra, Ánna!
Have a nice day, Anna!
Αντίο! Τα λέμε!
Adío! Ta léme!
Goodbye! See you!
문법 노트
The Greek question mark
A question ends with ; — it looks like a semicolon but does the job of ?. So Τι κάνεις; is a question, not two sentences.
Με λένε… — saying your name
Literally they call me…. Με λένε Άννα = My name is Anna. To ask: Πώς σε λένε; to a friend, Πώς σας λένε; to a stranger.
γεια σου and γεια σας
γεια σου to one person you know; γεια σας to several people, or to one person you address politely. Both mean hello and goodbye.
είμαι — to be
(εγώ) είμαι = I am, (εσύ) είσαι = you are, (αυτός/αυτή) είναι = he/she is. The pronoun is usually dropped: Καλά είμαι.
문화에 대한 세 가지
A greeting for every new stretch of time
Greeks do not only wish you a good day. On the first of the month you will hear Καλό μήνα! (good month), on Monday Καλή εβδομάδα! (good week), and at the start of summer Καλό καλοκαίρι! Each new stretch of time deserves its own good wish.
Name days matter more than birthdays
Most Greek names belong to a saint, and that saint's day is your γιορτή — your name day. Friends ring to say Χρόνια πολλά! (many years), and traditionally it is the person celebrating who treats everyone, not the other way round.
Γεια σου is a wish for your health
The everyday hello comes from υγεία, the word for health — so every greeting is literally health to you. It is also what you say when someone sneezes, and what you raise your glass with: Γεια μας! (to our health).