LingoflyAt the restaurant in Greek
Ordering dinner for two in Greek. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Καλησπέρα (kalispéra). Τραπέζι για δύο (trapézi ya dío);» — Good evening. A table for two?; «Ναι (ne), έξω (ékso) αν (an) γίνεται (yínete). Μπορώ (boró) να (na) δω (do) τον (ton) κατάλογο (katálogo);» — Yes, if possible, outside. May we see the menu? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: ordering dinner for two. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
Lines one by one
| Greek | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Καλησπέρα (kalispéra). Τραπέζι για δύο (trapézi ya dío); | kalispéra. trapézi ya dío? | Good evening. A table for two? |
| Ναι (ne), έξω (ékso) αν (an) γίνεται (yínete). Μπορώ (boró) να (na) δω (do) τον (ton) κατάλογο (katálogo); | ne, ékso an yínete. boró na do ton katálogo? | Yes, if possible, outside. May we see the menu? |
| Ορίστε. Σήμερα (símera) έχουμε (ékhume) φρέσκο (frésko) ψάρι (psári). | oríste. símera ékhume frésko psári | Here. Today we have fresh fish. |
| Είναι (íne) καυτερό; Δεν (den) τρώω (tróo) πολύ (polí) πικάντικα. | íne kafteró? den tróo polí pikándika | Is it spicy? I don't eat very spicy food. |
| Καθόλου (kathólu). Μόνο (móno) λάδι (ládi), αλάτι (aláti) και (ke) λεμόνι (lemóni). | kathólu. móno ládi, aláti ke lemóni | Not at all. Just oil, salt and lemon. |
| Τότε (tóte) δύο (dío) μερίδες, παρακαλώ (parakaló). Και (ke) ένα (éna) μπουκάλι (bukáli) νερό (neró). | tóte dío merídes, parakaló. ke éna bukáli neró | Then two portions, please. And a bottle of water. |
| Αμέσως (amésos). Το γλυκό (to glikó) είναι (íne) από (apó) το (to) μαγαζί (magazí), χωρίς (khorís) χρέωση. | amésos. to glikó íne apó to magazí, khorís khréosi | Right away. Dessert is on the house. |
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). Τραπέζι για δύο (trapézi ya dío);” (kalispéra. trapézi ya dío?) — Good evening. A table for two? 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.