Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω
“Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω” (den boró na aníkso) — I can't open it in Greek. Phrase, level A2, topic — phrases that save you. Greek has no infinitive: after boró comes na plus a personal form. In a live sentence: “Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω την πόρτα” — I can't open the door. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Δ, ε, ν, μ, π, ο, ρ, ν, α, α, ν, ο.
In short
| Written in Greek | Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω |
| Read in Latin letters | den boró na aníkso |
| Translation | I can't open it |
| Part of speech | phrase |
| Level | A2 |
- Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξωden boró na aníksoI can't open it
Why it looks that way
Greek has no infinitive: after boró comes na plus a personal form
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω την πόρταden boró na aníkso tin pórtaI can't open the door
Nearby words: phrases that save you
“I don't understand”, “say that again”, “slower, please”, “help”. They are learned first for a reason: they bring back a conversation that has already gone wrong.
- Δεν καταλαβαίνωden katalavénoI don't understandnegation is a separate word, den, placed before the verb — no prefixes here. Remove den and you get I understand
- Επαναλάβετε, παρακαλώepanalávete, parakalóplease repeatthe polite plural imperative of 'repeat'. In conversation people more often say Páli, parakaló — again, please
- αργάargáslowlyboth 'slowly' and 'late': argá to vrádi — late in the evening. The classic request: pio argá, parakaló — more slowly, please
- Βοήθεια!voíthiahelp!shouted as a noun — help! — not as a verb. The β reads v: vo-EE-thia
- ΧάθηκαkháthikaI'm lostfrom chánome, to get lost, about a person. About a thing you say it differently: ékhasa to klidí — I lost the key
- Περιμένετε λίγοperiménete lígowait a minuteliterally 'wait a little'. To your own people: perímene lígo
- Χρειάζομαι γιατρόkhriázome yatróI need a doctorkhriázome means to need; the accusative follows straight away, with no preposition
- Προσοχή!prosokhí!cautionprinted on signs and announced in the metro. Literally 'attention'
- επικίνδυνοepikíndinodangerfrom kíndynos, danger. On signs it stands in the neuter
- Καλέστε την αστυνομίαkaléste tin astinomíacall the policethe police number is 100. Astinomía is from ásty, city, and nómos, law
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “phrases that save you”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “I can't open it” in Greek?
Greek has no infinitive: after boró comes na plus a personal form
- How do you say “I need a doctor” in Greek?
khriázome means to need; the accusative follows straight away, with no preposition
- How do you say “slowly” in Greek?
both 'slowly' and 'late': argá to vrádi — late in the evening. The classic request: pio argá, parakaló — more slowly, please
- How do you say “call the police” in Greek?
the police number is 100. Astinomía is from ásty, city, and nómos, law
- How do you say “wait a minute” in Greek?
literally 'wait a little'. To your own people: perímene lígo
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “I can't open it” in Greek?
«Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω», read “den boró na aníkso”. In a live sentence: “Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω την πόρτα” — I can't open the door. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Phrase, level A2, from the set “phrases that save you”; written with the characters Δ, ε, ν, μ, π, ο, ρ, ν, α, α, ν, ο.
How is “Δεν μπορώ να ανοίξω” written in Latin letters?
den boró na aníkso. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
Greek has no infinitive: after boró comes na plus a personal form. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.