LingoflyWhat's up? in Greek
A talk about feelings in Greek. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Τι (ti) έχεις (ékhis); Δεν (den) μιλάς (milás) καθόλου (kathólu) σήμερα (símera).» — What's the matter? You're so quiet today; «Τίποτα (típota). Απλώς (aplós) μου λείπει το σπίτι μου (mu lípi to spíti mu).» — Nothing. I just miss home. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a talk about feelings. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- katalavéno. póso keró íse edó?I understand. How long have you been here?
- min anisikhís. o prótos khrónos íne o dískolosDon't worry. The first year is simply hard.
- ékhis díkio. elpízo na sinithísoYou're right. I hope I'll get used to it.
Lines one by one
| Greek | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Τι (ti) έχεις (ékhis); Δεν (den) μιλάς (milás) καθόλου (kathólu) σήμερα (símera). | ti ékhis? den milás kathólu símera | What's the matter? You're so quiet today. |
| Τίποτα (típota). Απλώς (aplós) μου λείπει το σπίτι μου (mu lípi to spíti mu). | típota. aplós mu lípi to spíti mu | Nothing. I just miss home. |
| Καταλαβαίνω (katalavéno). Πόσο (póso) καιρό (keró) είσαι (íse) εδώ (edó); | katalavéno. póso keró íse edó? | I understand. How long have you been here? |
| Τρεις (tris) μήνες (mínes). Στην (stin) αρχή (arkhí) χαιρόμουν, τώρα (tóra) ανησυχώ (anisikhó). | tris mínes. stin arkhí kherómun, tóra anisikhó | Three months. At first I was happy, now I'm anxious. |
| Μην ανησυχείς (min anisikhís). Ο πρώτος (prótos) χρόνος (khrónos) είναι (íne) ο δύσκολος (dískolos). | min anisikhís. o prótos khrónos íne o dískolos | Don't worry. The first year is simply hard. |
| Έχεις δίκιο (ékhis díkio). Ελπίζω (elpízo) να (na) συνηθίσω. | ékhis díkio. elpízo na sinithíso | You're right. I hope I'll get used to it. |
| Θα (tha) συνηθίσεις. Και (ke) εγώ (egó) έκλαιγα τον (ton) πρώτο (próto) μήνα (mína). | tha sinithísis. ke egó éklega ton próto mína | You will. I cried too, my first month. |
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?
“Τι (ti) έχεις (ékhis); Δεν (den) μιλάς (milás) καθόλου (kathólu) σήμερα (símera).” (ti ékhis? den milás kathólu símera) — What's the matter? You're so quiet today. 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.