You can know your verb endings, remember which nouns are masculine and feminine, and order perfectly well in a restaurant. And then a Greek friend says «Έλα τώρα!» and suddenly none of what you learned in your textbook seems particularly helpful.
This is one of the most interesting stages of learning Greek: when you begin to understand not just what the words mean, but what Greeks actually mean when they use them.
Everyday Greek is full of small expressions that do a surprising amount of work. Their meaning changes with context, tone of voice and even facial expression. They are also exactly the kind of phrases that can make your Greek sound much more natural.
Here are seven worth knowing.
1. Έλα!
You probably learned έλα as the imperative of έρχομαι: “come.”
And yes, it does mean that.
Έλα εδώ.
Come here.
But spend enough time around Greek speakers and you will hear έλα everywhere.
Έλα! can express surprise or disbelief, a little like Really? or No way!
Έλα τώρα! can mean Oh, come on!
And then there’s the Greek telephone classic:
Έλα, τι κάνεις;
Hey, how are you?
Nobody is asking the person on the other end of the phone to come anywhere.
This is a perfect example of why translating word for word only gets you so far.
2. Μια χαρά
Literally translating μια χαρά won’t help you very much. In everyday conversation, however, it is incredibly useful.
It can mean fine, great, perfectly good, absolutely okay, depending on the situation.
Πώς είσαι;
Μια χαρά!
How are you? Great!
Or:
Είναι καλό αυτό το τραπέζι;
Μια χαρά είναι.
Is this table okay? It’s perfectly fine.
It’s simple, natural and you’ll hear it all the time.
3. Άντε
Άντε is one of those Greek words for which you’ll struggle to find one English translation.
It can encourage someone:
Άντε, μπορείς!
Come on, you can do it!
It can tell someone it’s time to get moving:
Άντε, πάμε!
Come on, let’s go!
And Άντε, τα λέμε! can simply be a casual way of wrapping up a conversation: Alright, see you!
But tone matters enormously here. Said differently, άντε can sound impatient or irritated. This is one to listen to in real conversations before experimenting too freely!
4. Καλά…
You know καλά means well or fine. But that little word can communicate much more than that.
Imagine a friend tells you something you find difficult to believe.
Καλά…
With the right tone, you’ve just said something closer to Yeah, right…
Then there is:
Καλά, εντάξει.
Alright, okay.
And:
Καλά, δεν το πιστεύω!
I can’t believe it!
The dictionary meaning hasn’t changed. The speaker’s tone and the situation have done most of the work.
5. Λοιπόν
If you’ve spent time with Greeks, you’ve almost certainly heard λοιπόν even if you haven’t noticed it.
It helps us organise conversation.
Λοιπόν, τι κάνουμε;
So, what are we doing?
Λοιπόν, άκου…
Right, listen…
You might use it when you’re about to begin a story, change the subject, reach a decision or get everyone’s attention.
There isn’t always a reason to translate it. Sometimes it’s simply one of those little words that keeps a conversation moving.
6. Σιγά!
The basic meaning of σιγά is connected to doing something slowly, quietly or gently.
Μίλα σιγά.
Speak quietly.
But then Greek does what Greek does.
Someone boasts about something that doesn’t impress you very much?
Σιγά!
Depending on the tone, it can be something like Big deal!
You’ll also hear:
Σιγά σιγά.
Literally slowly, slowly, but naturally: little by little or gradually.
And that one is particularly useful when you’re learning Greek. Σιγά σιγά!
7. Πού να σου λέω…
Someone asks what happened at work. You have a story. A long one.
Πού να σου λέω…
A literal translation sounds rather strange. In a real conversation, it is closer to:
Where do I even begin?
Don’t even ask…
It’s a long story.
It immediately tells the other person that there is quite a bit coming next, usually something complicated, surprising or exhausting.
Very Greek. Very useful.