Lingoflyστη μέση
- στη μέσηsti mésiin the middle
“στη μέση” (sti mési) — in the middle in Greek. Adverb, level A1, topic — asking the way. With a continuation it is sti mési tu drómu, in the middle of the road; without one it is simply in the middle. In a live sentence: “Το τραπέζι στέκεται στη μέση” (to trapézi stékete sti mési) — The table stands in the middle. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters σ, τ, η, μ, έ, σ, η.
In short
| Written in Greek | στη μέση (sti mési) |
| Read in Latin letters | sti mési |
| Translation | in the middle |
| Part of speech | adverb |
| Level | A1 |
Why it looks that way
with a continuation it is sti mési tu drómu, in the middle of the road; without one it is simply in the middle
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.
Nearby words: asking the way
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
- Πού είναι;pu íne?where is?literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning
- δεξιάdeksiárightan adverb in Greek, not a noun: deksiá covers both 'to the right' and 'on the right', with no second word needed
- αριστεράaristeráleftthe partner of deksiá and it behaves the same: one word for 'to the left' and 'on the left'
- ευθείαefthíastraight aheadev before the th reads ef. Literally along the straight; on the street you will most often hear pighénete efthía — go straight
- κοντάkondáclosethe inner nt is nd: kon-DA. Close to something demands se: kondá sto metró
- μακριάmakriáfarfrom makrýs, long — the same root as 'macro-'. The partner of kondá
- εδώedóhereboth 'here' and 'to here': direction gets no separate word. The partner of ekí, there
- εκείekítherethe final ei reads ee: e-KEE. Like edó it works for both place and direction
- πώς πάωpos páohow do I get there?literally 'how do I walk': Greeks ask the way in the present tense. What follows is se with an article
- καταφθάνωkatafthánoget tothe reinforced brother of ftáno: not just to arrive but to make it after a journey. The fth spells ft
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “asking the way”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “in the middle” in Greek?
with a continuation it is sti mési tu drómu, in the middle of the road; without one it is simply in the middle
- How do you say “here” in Greek?
both 'here' and 'to here': direction gets no separate word. The partner of ekí, there
- How do you say “left” in Greek?
the partner of deksiá and it behaves the same: one word for 'to the left' and 'on the left'
- How do you say “get to” in Greek?
the reinforced brother of ftáno: not just to arrive but to make it after a journey. The fth spells ft
- How do you say “far” in Greek?
from makrýs, long — the same root as 'macro-'. The partner of kondá
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 “in the middle” in Greek?
«στη μέση» (sti mési), read “sti mési”. In a live sentence: “Το τραπέζι στέκεται στη μέση” (to trapézi stékete sti mési) — The table stands in the middle. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Adverb, level A1, from the set “asking the way”; written with the characters σ, τ, η, μ, έ, σ, η.
How is “στη μέση” (sti mési) written in Latin letters?
sti mési. 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?
With a continuation it is sti mési tu drómu, in the middle of the road; without one it is simply in the middle. 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 this 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.