Where did you grow up? in Greek
A talk about childhood and native places in Greek. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Πού μεγάλωσες; Στην πόλη ή στο χωριό;» — Where did you grow up? In the city or in a village?; «Σε ένα μικρό χωριό. Η γενέτειρά μου έχει τριακόσιους κατοίκους.» — In a small village. My home village has three hundred residents. Every line can be played right on the page. The conversation is predictable: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a talk about childhood and native places. The conversation is short and predictable — which is exactly what makes it good for a first try: few lines, and almost all of them repeat from one exchange to the next.
- Πού μεγάλωσες; Στην πόλη ή στο χωριό;pu megáloses? stin póli i sto khorió?Where did you grow up? In the city or in a village?
- Σε ένα μικρό χωριό. Η γενέτειρά μου έχει τριακόσιους κατοίκους.se éna mikró khorió. i yenétirá mu ékhi triakósius katíkusIn a small village. My home village has three hundred residents.
- Και θυμάσαι εκείνη την εποχή;ke thimáse ekíni tin epokhí?And do you remember those times?
- Πολύ καλά. Όταν ήμουν μικρός, παίζαμε στο μονοπάτι ως το σκοτάδι.polí kalá. ótan ímun mikrós, pézame sto monopáti os to skotádiVery well. As a child we played on the path until dark.
- Πηγαίνεις ακόμα εκεί;piyénis akóma ekí?Do you still go there?
- Μία φορά τον χρόνο. Όλα άλλαξαν, αλλά η θέα είναι η ίδια.mía forá ton khróno. óla álaksan, alá i théa íne i ídiaOnce a year. Everything has changed, but the view is the same.
- Δείξε μου καμιά παλιά φωτογραφία κάποτε.díkse mu kamiá paliá fotografía kápoteShow me an old photograph one of these days.
Lines one by one
| Greek | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Πού μεγάλωσες; Στην πόλη ή στο χωριό; | pu megáloses? stin póli i sto khorió? | Where did you grow up? In the city or in a village? |
| Σε ένα μικρό χωριό. Η γενέτειρά μου έχει τριακόσιους κατοίκους. | se éna mikró khorió. i yenétirá mu ékhi triakósius katíkus | In a small village. My home village has three hundred residents. |
| Και θυμάσαι εκείνη την εποχή; | ke thimáse ekíni tin epokhí? | And do you remember those times? |
| Πολύ καλά. Όταν ήμουν μικρός, παίζαμε στο μονοπάτι ως το σκοτάδι. | polí kalá. ótan ímun mikrós, pézame sto monopáti os to skotádi | Very well. As a child we played on the path until dark. |
| Πηγαίνεις ακόμα εκεί; | piyénis akóma ekí? | Do you still go there? |
| Μία φορά τον χρόνο. Όλα άλλαξαν, αλλά η θέα είναι η ίδια. | mía forá ton khróno. óla álaksan, alá i théa íne i ídia | Once a year. Everything has changed, but the view is the same. |
| Δείξε μου καμιά παλιά φωτογραφία κάποτε. | díkse mu kamiá paliá fotografía kápote | Show me an old photograph one of these days. |
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 it gets in the way badly. It is one of the most reliably measured findings in the entire field.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?
“Πού μεγάλωσες; Στην πόλη ή στο χωριό;” (pu megáloses? stin póli i sto khorió?) — Where did you grow up? In the city or in a village?. 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.