Wishes with να and μακάρι
A wish in Greek is built with the same να as everything else — and this is perhaps its most frequent use in living speech. For example: “Να είσαι καλά, με βοήθησες πολύ” — Be well, you helped me a lot. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A wish in Greek is built with the same να (na) as everything else — and this is perhaps its most frequent use in living speech.
Να είσαι καλά (na íse kalá) — be well; it serves as an answer to everything: to thanks, to help, to kind words. Να περνάς καλά (na pernás kalá) — have a good time. Να τα εκατοστήσεις — may you reach a hundred, the birthday wish.
No separate imperative exists here, and none could: a command orders, a wish does not. The difference shows in a pair: Πρόσεχε (be careful — I order) and Να προσέχεις (take care — I wish).
μακάρι να (makári na) — "if only". With the ordinary form it is about the future and the possible: Μακάρι να έρθει (makári na érthi) — if only he comes. With the imperfect — about the impossible: Μακάρι να ήξερα (makári na íksera) — if only I knew. The line between them is the same one drawn by the three "ifs".
The same turn works in curses and in jokes: Να πάρει (na pári)! — the devil take it. And in invitations: Να περάσεις από το σπίτι — drop by some time.
In answer to a wish one says επίσης (the same to you) or και σε σένα (and to you). Staying silent to Να είσαι καλά is about as rude as ignoring a "thank you".
Table
| the case | the turn | in English |
|---|---|---|
| an answer to thanks | να είσαι καλά | be well |
| a wish | να περνάς καλά | have a good time |
| if only | μακάρι να έρθει | if only he comes |
| if only I knew | μακάρι να ήξερα | if only I knew |
| an answer to a wish | επίσης | the same to you |
By example
- Να είσαι καλά, με βοήθησες πολύna íse kalá, me voíthises políBe well, you helped me a lot
- Μακάρι να ήξερα τι να πωmakári na íksera ti na poIf only I knew what to say
- Να περνάς καλά στις διακοπέςna pernás kalá stis diakopésHave a good rest
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
How to wish someone a good time in Greek?
A wish in Greek is built with the same να as everything else — and this is perhaps its most frequent use in living speech.
Να προσέχεις vs πρόσεχε?
Να είσαι καλά — be well; it serves as an answer to everything: to thanks, to help, to kind words. Να περνάς καλά — have a good time. Να τα εκατοστήσεις — may you reach a hundred, the birthday wish.
Μακάρι να έρθει or μακάρι να ήξερα?
No separate imperative exists here, and none could: a command orders, a wish does not. The difference shows in a pair: Πρόσεχε (be careful — I order) and Να προσέχεις (take care — I wish).
What to answer to να είσαι καλά?
μακάρι να — "if only". With the ordinary form it is about the future and the possible: Μακάρι να έρθει — if only he comes. With the imperfect — about the impossible: Μακάρι να ήξερα — if only I knew. The line between them is the same one drawn by the three "ifs".
What να τα εκατοστήσεις means?
The same turn works in curses and in jokes: Να πάρει! — the devil take it. And in invitations: Να περάσεις από το σπίτι — drop by some time.
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Να είσαι καλά, με βοήθησες πολύ” (na íse kalá, me voíthises polí) — Be well, you helped me a lot. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.