LingoflyAt the pharmacy in Greek
A pharmacy, medicine without a prescription in Greek. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Καλησπέρα (kalispéra). Πώς (pos) μπορώ (boró) να (na) βοηθήσω (voithíso);» — Good evening. How can I help?; «Με (me) πονάει (ponái) πολύ (polí) ο λαιμός (o lemós) και (ke) έχω (ékho) βήχα (víkha).» — My throat hurts a lot, and I have a cough. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a pharmacy, medicine without a prescription. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- lígo, apó khthes. ékhete káti khorís sindayí?A little, since yesterday. Is there anything without a prescription?
- aftá ta khápia: éna káthe októ óres, metá to fayitóThese tablets here: one every eight hours, after food.
Lines one by one
| Greek | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Καλησπέρα (kalispéra). Πώς (pos) μπορώ (boró) να (na) βοηθήσω (voithíso); | kalispéra. pos boró na voithíso? | Good evening. How can I help? |
| Με (me) πονάει (ponái) πολύ (polí) ο λαιμός (o lemós) και (ke) έχω (ékho) βήχα (víkha). | me ponái polí o lemós ke ékho víkha | My throat hurts a lot, and I have a cough. |
| Έχετε (ékhete) πυρετό (piretó); | ékhete piretó? | Do you have a temperature? |
| Λίγο (lígo), από (apó) χθες (khthes). Έχετε (ékhete) κάτι (káti) χωρίς συνταγή (khorís sindayí); | lígo, apó khthes. ékhete káti khorís sindayí? | A little, since yesterday. Is there anything without a prescription? |
| Αυτά (aftá) τα (ta) χάπια: ένα (éna) κάθε (káthe) οκτώ (októ) ώρες (óres), μετά το φαγητό (metá to fayitó). | aftá ta khápia: éna káthe októ óres, metá to fayitó | These tablets here: one every eight hours, after food. |
| Και (ke) αν (an) δεν (den) γίνω καλά (kalá); | ke an den yíno kalá? | And if it doesn't get better? |
| Τότε (tóte) κλείστε ραντεβού (randevú) με (me) γιατρό (yatró). | tóte klíste randevú me yatró | Then make an appointment with a doctor. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Greek in this situation?
“Καλησπέρα (kalispéra). Πώς (pos) μπορώ (boró) να (na) βοηθήσω (voithíso);” (kalispéra. pos boró na voithíso?) — Good evening. How can I help? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.