This is a guide to common Greek phrasal verbs, slang words, alternative word meanings, and expressions, that are, most probably, not mentioned in guides for learning Greek.
Focusing on everyday slang, it is intended to help whomever is willing to learn modern Greek in-depth, and one ought to be somehow familiar with this language before attempting to learn the words and expressions described here.
In case you are new to Greek, this guide will be rather confusing, and may even discourage you from learning such an anomalous language. After all, whoever has ever made serious attempts to learn Greek for whatever reason, is very much aware of the difficulties of thinking like a native speaker of this language and use its' words properly, but one will definitely not expect expressions like the ones to be described in this publishment. Greek is a notoriously tough language to learn, and sometimes tougher than one can even imagine.
Even if Greece was a country of 100 million residents and a very prosperous economy, few would bother learning its' language without intending to move there, and the main reasons are its' uniqueness and difficulty -with expressional patterns that have nothing in common with the ones of other European languages. Thus, it doesn't come as an aberration that one will find extremely few people who learn Greek as a foreign language.
Yet the difficulty in learning it and finding people to practise speaking ought not be discouraging for a language learner; difficulties should be seen rather as a challenge, and engaging in exploring a language's peculiarities can serve as an introduction to a whole new way of thinking and perceiving words and their meanings.
This guide is under constant update. I shall renew and add expressions to it whenever I can, and
you may comment for to have a seemingly meaningless Greek expresion explained.
The phrases and expressions are ordered alphabetically. The general structure of each entry is
[Greek expression] -> (Type of translation) [English translation]
{explanation
.
.
(if needed,) example of a sentence containing the expression (approximate English translation of the sentence)
[further explanations and comments on the given example]
.
.
alternative forms}
The type of translation is either literal (lit.), or approximate (apr.).
Be very careful when using these expressions; you will likely use them improperly if you are not familiar with them. I suggest that you avoid using slang, at least until you get accustomed to it and this language -as any language-learner ought to do even in an advanced level.
This publishment is not written by a professional language-teacher, but by a mere native speaker of Greek, aware of the difficulties in learning to understand and use its' slang. Sorry if I omitted alternative uses of any expression.
This publishment, as all posts on this blog, is copyright-protected. You may distribute it exclusively for non-commercial use, and only as long as you refer to this blogspot.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Γράφω -> (lit.) I write
In this case we are not concerned with the word itself, but the alternative uses of it. "Γράφω" in Greek -in all of its' forms (γράφω, γράφεις, γράφει κτλ)- is also used meaning "I am careless".
This word provides the base for a variety of expressions, such as "σε γράφω στα παλιά μου τα παπούτσια" which is translated as "I am writing you on my old shoes" (meaning that I don't care about you or that I pretend that you are not even here), the "intellectual" "σε γράφω στα παλαιότερα των υποδημάτων μου" (I am writing you down on the oldest of my footwear), or the considerably more offensive "σε γράφω στα αρχίδια μου" (I'm writing you on my balls).
1. Τους ζήτησα βοήθεια αλλά με έγραψαν (I asked for help and they wrote me [I was overlooked])
2. Έκανε ό,τι μπορούσε για να μου τραβήξει τη προσοχή αλλά την έγραψα τελείως (She did whatever she could to get my attention but I wrote her completely [behaved as if she wasn't there])
3. Οι πολιτικοί μας έχουν γραμμένους. (Politicians have us written [they don't take us into account])
---
Δεν είναι βιολί αυτό! -> (lit.) This is not a violin!
An expression used for bad habits, or things that happen frequently without being supposed to.
1. Κάθε μέρα εκτυπώνει σελίδες μέχρι να τελειώσουν τα μελάνια. Δεν είναι βιολί αυτό! (He prints pages daily [as many as he can] 'till we run out of ink. This is not a violin [this can't go on for long]!)
An alternative form is "δεν είναι βιόλα αυτή".
2. Δεν είναι βιόλα αυτή -εμείς να τους παρακαλάμε και αυτοί να μας γράφουν*.
I failed to find out how this expression came into existence, and though relatively frequently used in speech, one will find very few examples on the internet.
*(see the alternative use of the word "γράφω")
---
Έγινε -> (lit.) It became
An alternative to "εντάξει" or "OK".
---
Εδώ -> (lit.) Here
OK, this one of the most basic words of every language, and its' main meaning in Greek is its' literal translation, but... there is also an alternative use of it.
"Εδώ" [+ verb] can be used as a reply or addition to a clause concerning a negative aspect of something, to emphasize that one couldn't expect something better. The tense of the verb depends on what one is about to say.
-Ο τύπος δεν ξέρει τίποτα από ιστορία! (That guy knows nothing in history!)
-Εδώ δεν ήξερε τη πρωτεύουσα της Ιταλίας... (He didn't even know which is Italy's capital city...)
[may sound irrelevant, but one can't expect someone to be good at history when not knowing so basic things, can one?]
-Εδώ υποχρηματοδοτείται το κράτος πρόνοιας, η έρευνα δεν θα υποχρηματοδοτούνταν; (Since even the welfare-state is underfunded, would that not be the case with research?)
An alternative use appears in the sentence below:
-Εδώ έμαθες Κινέζικα, τα Αγγλικά σε δυσκολεύουν;! (You managed to learn Chinese and have a tough time learning English?!)
---
Θες γιατί/επειδή [+clause] -> (lit.) You want because
Used in discussions and arguments to mention two or more possible causes of something.
1. Δεν ξέρω για ποιο λόγο απέτυχε η πολιτική τους. Όμως, θες γιατί ήταν εκτός τόπου και χρόνου, θες γιατί δεν ήταν σε θέση να την εφαρμόσουν σωστά, απέτυχε παταγωδώς.
(I don't know why was their policy proved a failure. But, either because it was utterly inappropriate, or because they were unable to apply it properly, it failed woefully.)
Note that this slang phrase is NOT the same with "είτε....είτε" (either....or).
---
Κομμάτια να γίνει -> (lit.) May it break in pieces
An expression about agreeing to do something unwillingly. It could be translated as "so be it", "never mind", or simply "ok then".
1. Θέλει να πάμε θέατρο, που εγώ το μισώ. Κομμάτια να γίνει... Δεν μου το ζητάει και* συνέχεια. (She wants to take me to the theater, which I hate. So be it. She doesn't frequently ask me to, anyway.)
A related expression is the more informal "δεν γαμιέται" (may it go fuck itself).
*Notice the use of "και" here? It would be grammatically proper not to use it, but in this case it is an expressional pattern indicating that something does or does not happen in a frequent or excessive degree. I may add a seperate section for the alternative uses of "και". Such expressional patterns make Greek a language almost impossible to properly use in its' everyday form, unless learned during childhood.)
---
Λες και [+clause] -> (lit.) You say and
Meaning "as if" or "like"
1. Μου έστειλαν και e-mail ενημέρωσης, λες και δεν το ήξερα ήδη! (They even sent me an e-mail to inform me, as if I wasn't aware of it already!)
2. Έλα μωρέ, λες και είναι κάτι σοβαρό. (Come on dude, [stop behaving] like it's something serious)
---
Μου τη σπας -> (lit.) You break her to me
An expression you may use to show you are annoyed or disturbed by someone. Often used when something goes well and somebody says or does something that ruins it.
1. Με διακόπτει συνέχεια όταν μιλάω και μου τη σπάει. (He constantly interrupts me when I'm talking and he breaks her to me).
2.
-Είσαι ο γιος που πάντοτε ονειρευόμουν! (You are the son I always wanted to have!)
-Έχεις τον Ασημάκη (You have Asimakis)
-Μη μου τη σπας τώρα (Don't break her to me now)
(from an episode of a Greek tv series ["η οικογένεια βλάπτει"])
---
Να πούμε -> (lit. ) To say
One of the most retarded and annoying expressions to use, but unfortunately widely used by low-class and ill-educated people. It serves no particular purpose, and it is typically used to make a sentence seem longer. The only legitimate and meaningful use I can think of is to betone that something is not told in earnest or literally.
1. Είχαμε πάρτυ εχθες και έπρεπε να καθαρίσω εγώ, να πούμε (We had a party yesterday and I had to clean [the mess] up +[purposeless use])
2. Όταν είδα το φίδι πήρα τον μπαλτά και του έριξα δυο-τρεις μπαλτιές, να πούμε, και το σκότωσα. (When I encountered the snake I grabbed the cleaver and stabbed it with a couple of [non-existent word for cleaver-stabs] +[expression to betone the inexistence of the word] and killed it)
---
Ξέρω 'γω -> (lit.) Know I
Typically to give an example. Avoid using it in formal writing.
-Να πάμε σε κάποιον υπεύθυνο, ξέρω 'γω, στον διευθυντή, να του πούμε πώς έχουν τα πράγματα
(We should go find someone, the manager for instance, and inform him of the situation.)
---
Παίζει (και) να [+verb] => (lit.) Plays (and) to
An informal way to claim that there is a possibility for something to happen or to have happened.
1. Παίζει να μην γίνει μάθημα στη σχολή σήμερα. [claiming that there is a probability of no lesson taking place today]
2. Ήπιε τόσο πολύ που παίζει και να μη θυμάται τίποτα απ'όσα έγιναν. (He drank so much that he may not remember a thing of what happened.)
---
Πάνω που [+verb] => (lit.) Up where
Meaning "just when" or "the moment when" to describe events, typically followed by a plot twist.
1. Πάνω που πήγα να χαρώ που, επιτέλους, θα έπαιρνα προαγωγή, μου ανακοίνωσαν πως στο εξής προϊστάμενος θα ήταν ο καινούριος. (As I got cheered up thinking that I would, eventually, be promoted, they informed me that from then on our chief would be the new guy)
[Note the expression "πήγα να" described in another entry.]
---
Παρ'το απόφαση! -> (apr.) Decide it!
An expression similar to "accept it" and "get over it".
Που να (μην) -> (lit.) Where to (no)
Typically expresses regret for something that happened, or should have happened and did not. It is followed by the continuous past tense (παρατατικός) of the verb to be used.
-Ζήτησες βοήθεια από αυτόν τον άσχετο;! (Did you ask that dummy to help you?!)
-Ναι, που να μην του ζητούσα! (Yeah, +[wishing he never did]!)
Another use of it is for plain curse.
-Που να σε πατήσει τραίνο ρε αλήτη! (I wish you'll get hit by a train, you punk-ass!)
It can also be used to replace "imagine if" (and the tone changes along with the meaning):
-Μ'αρέσει που σου ζήτησα να βάλεις [το] air condition όταν έρθεις... Πού να μη στο ζητούσα!
(And I asked you to turn on the air condition when coming home... Imagine if I hadn't asked!)
[complaining about not having the air condition turned on]
Emphasizing on "μην", it would be most likely sound as "πούνα μήστο" instead of a plain "που να μη στο" as it would have been in the first case (plain wish). The latter would sound as a clause of wish/desire. Greek is not as tonal as Chinese, but tones still play a considerable role in meaning (i.e. pérno ≠ pernó)
---
Πού 'σαι;! -> (lit.) Where are you?!
A common informal greeting of men -if they are familiar with each other, of course. Instead of answering "εδώ", you may proceed to asking what's new with the equally informal phrase "τι λέει;" (lit. "what does it say?").
---
Σιγά μην [+verb] -> (lit.) Slowly not
Expresses doubt, or emphasizes that something is impossible. Sometimes accompanie
1. Σιγά μην περάσεις στο πανεπιστήμιο! [doubting that one will make it to the university]
2. Τι διακοπές μου λες; Σιγά μην μας δώσουν άδεια! (What holidays are you talking about? +[doubting that will even be given a leave])
---
Σιγά τον/την/το [+noun/adjective] -> (lit.) Slowly
Expresses doubt as the previous one, but used with nouns and adjectives (i.e. characteristics)
1. Αυτή τώρα θεωρείται όμορφη; Σιγά τη γκόμενα! (Is she considered to be beautiful! +[disagreeing with/doubting that she is a hot chic])
2. Έλα μωρέ, για αυτό κάνεις έτσι; Σιγά το πρόβλημα. (Come on dude, is that all that bothers you? +[expressing doubt on that it is serious, or even a problem])
---
Του θανατά -> (lit.) Of the death
An expression for "die-hard".
1. Είναι κομμουνίσταρος* του θανατά! (He is a die-hard communist!)
*the proper form of the word is "κομμουνιστής", but in everyday speech one may use grammatically incorrect superlatives like this
---
Χώνομαι σε [+noun] -> (lit.) Snuggle in
Typically means intervene or getting involved.
1. Χώνεται στις συζητήσεις μας χωρίς να του έχουμε μιλήσει. (He butts in our conversations without being spoken to by us).
Another use is for shameless flirt.
2. Ρε αθεόφοβε*, χώθηκες στη Μαριάννα στο παρτυ;! (Did you really flirt with Marianna during the party?!)
*αθεόφοβος -> deriving from α + θεός (=god) + φόβος(=fear). Literally, someone who isn't afraid even of god.
---
Ψήσου να [+verb] -> (lit.) Roast yourself to
An informal way to tell somebody to consider doing something.
1. Ψήσου να έρθεις μαζί μας [στο] σινεμά (Consider coming along with us to the cinema)
The same verb can be used regarding persuasion, being persuaded, or changing your mind.
2. Ήθελα να δω ταινία αλλά ψήθηκα να βγω με τα παιδιά (I wanted to watch a movie but changed my mind and wanna hang out with my friends)
["Τα παιδιά" literally means "the children", but can be used for your friends or colleagues.]
---
[verb] + μία -> (lit.) one
An informal way to ask for something.
1. Δώσε μου μια το κομπιουτεράκι* (Give me the calculator)
2. Πας μια αυτά τα φυλλάδια στο γραφείο; (Could you take these papers to the office?)
*κομπιουτεράκι -> (lit.) little computer, meaning a calculator
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©George Malandrakis
All rights reserved
Focusing on everyday slang, it is intended to help whomever is willing to learn modern Greek in-depth, and one ought to be somehow familiar with this language before attempting to learn the words and expressions described here.
In case you are new to Greek, this guide will be rather confusing, and may even discourage you from learning such an anomalous language. After all, whoever has ever made serious attempts to learn Greek for whatever reason, is very much aware of the difficulties of thinking like a native speaker of this language and use its' words properly, but one will definitely not expect expressions like the ones to be described in this publishment. Greek is a notoriously tough language to learn, and sometimes tougher than one can even imagine.
Even if Greece was a country of 100 million residents and a very prosperous economy, few would bother learning its' language without intending to move there, and the main reasons are its' uniqueness and difficulty -with expressional patterns that have nothing in common with the ones of other European languages. Thus, it doesn't come as an aberration that one will find extremely few people who learn Greek as a foreign language.
Yet the difficulty in learning it and finding people to practise speaking ought not be discouraging for a language learner; difficulties should be seen rather as a challenge, and engaging in exploring a language's peculiarities can serve as an introduction to a whole new way of thinking and perceiving words and their meanings.
Greek is a very peculiar language, indeed.
you may comment for to have a seemingly meaningless Greek expresion explained.
The phrases and expressions are ordered alphabetically. The general structure of each entry is
[Greek expression] -> (Type of translation) [English translation]
{explanation
.
.
(if needed,) example of a sentence containing the expression (approximate English translation of the sentence)
[further explanations and comments on the given example]
.
.
alternative forms}
The type of translation is either literal (lit.), or approximate (apr.).
Be very careful when using these expressions; you will likely use them improperly if you are not familiar with them. I suggest that you avoid using slang, at least until you get accustomed to it and this language -as any language-learner ought to do even in an advanced level.
This publishment is not written by a professional language-teacher, but by a mere native speaker of Greek, aware of the difficulties in learning to understand and use its' slang. Sorry if I omitted alternative uses of any expression.
This publishment, as all posts on this blog, is copyright-protected. You may distribute it exclusively for non-commercial use, and only as long as you refer to this blogspot.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Γράφω -> (lit.) I write
In this case we are not concerned with the word itself, but the alternative uses of it. "Γράφω" in Greek -in all of its' forms (γράφω, γράφεις, γράφει κτλ)- is also used meaning "I am careless".
This word provides the base for a variety of expressions, such as "σε γράφω στα παλιά μου τα παπούτσια" which is translated as "I am writing you on my old shoes" (meaning that I don't care about you or that I pretend that you are not even here), the "intellectual" "σε γράφω στα παλαιότερα των υποδημάτων μου" (I am writing you down on the oldest of my footwear), or the considerably more offensive "σε γράφω στα αρχίδια μου" (I'm writing you on my balls).
1. Τους ζήτησα βοήθεια αλλά με έγραψαν (I asked for help and they wrote me [I was overlooked])
2. Έκανε ό,τι μπορούσε για να μου τραβήξει τη προσοχή αλλά την έγραψα τελείως (She did whatever she could to get my attention but I wrote her completely [behaved as if she wasn't there])
3. Οι πολιτικοί μας έχουν γραμμένους. (Politicians have us written [they don't take us into account])
---
Δεν είναι βιολί αυτό! -> (lit.) This is not a violin!
An expression used for bad habits, or things that happen frequently without being supposed to.
1. Κάθε μέρα εκτυπώνει σελίδες μέχρι να τελειώσουν τα μελάνια. Δεν είναι βιολί αυτό! (He prints pages daily [as many as he can] 'till we run out of ink. This is not a violin [this can't go on for long]!)
An alternative form is "δεν είναι βιόλα αυτή".
2. Δεν είναι βιόλα αυτή -εμείς να τους παρακαλάμε και αυτοί να μας γράφουν*.
I failed to find out how this expression came into existence, and though relatively frequently used in speech, one will find very few examples on the internet.
*(see the alternative use of the word "γράφω")
---
Έγινε -> (lit.) It became
An alternative to "εντάξει" or "OK".
---
Εδώ -> (lit.) Here
OK, this one of the most basic words of every language, and its' main meaning in Greek is its' literal translation, but... there is also an alternative use of it.
"Εδώ" [+ verb] can be used as a reply or addition to a clause concerning a negative aspect of something, to emphasize that one couldn't expect something better. The tense of the verb depends on what one is about to say.
-Ο τύπος δεν ξέρει τίποτα από ιστορία! (That guy knows nothing in history!)
-Εδώ δεν ήξερε τη πρωτεύουσα της Ιταλίας... (He didn't even know which is Italy's capital city...)
[may sound irrelevant, but one can't expect someone to be good at history when not knowing so basic things, can one?]
-Εδώ υποχρηματοδοτείται το κράτος πρόνοιας, η έρευνα δεν θα υποχρηματοδοτούνταν; (Since even the welfare-state is underfunded, would that not be the case with research?)
An alternative use appears in the sentence below:
-Εδώ έμαθες Κινέζικα, τα Αγγλικά σε δυσκολεύουν;! (You managed to learn Chinese and have a tough time learning English?!)
---
Θες γιατί/επειδή [+clause] -> (lit.) You want because
Used in discussions and arguments to mention two or more possible causes of something.
1. Δεν ξέρω για ποιο λόγο απέτυχε η πολιτική τους. Όμως, θες γιατί ήταν εκτός τόπου και χρόνου, θες γιατί δεν ήταν σε θέση να την εφαρμόσουν σωστά, απέτυχε παταγωδώς.
(I don't know why was their policy proved a failure. But, either because it was utterly inappropriate, or because they were unable to apply it properly, it failed woefully.)
Note that this slang phrase is NOT the same with "είτε....είτε" (either....or).
---
Κομμάτια να γίνει -> (lit.) May it break in pieces
An expression about agreeing to do something unwillingly. It could be translated as "so be it", "never mind", or simply "ok then".
1. Θέλει να πάμε θέατρο, που εγώ το μισώ. Κομμάτια να γίνει... Δεν μου το ζητάει και* συνέχεια. (She wants to take me to the theater, which I hate. So be it. She doesn't frequently ask me to, anyway.)
A related expression is the more informal "δεν γαμιέται" (may it go fuck itself).
*Notice the use of "και" here? It would be grammatically proper not to use it, but in this case it is an expressional pattern indicating that something does or does not happen in a frequent or excessive degree. I may add a seperate section for the alternative uses of "και". Such expressional patterns make Greek a language almost impossible to properly use in its' everyday form, unless learned during childhood.)
---
Λες και [+clause] -> (lit.) You say and
Meaning "as if" or "like"
1. Μου έστειλαν και e-mail ενημέρωσης, λες και δεν το ήξερα ήδη! (They even sent me an e-mail to inform me, as if I wasn't aware of it already!)
2. Έλα μωρέ, λες και είναι κάτι σοβαρό. (Come on dude, [stop behaving] like it's something serious)
---
Μου τη σπας -> (lit.) You break her to me
An expression you may use to show you are annoyed or disturbed by someone. Often used when something goes well and somebody says or does something that ruins it.
1. Με διακόπτει συνέχεια όταν μιλάω και μου τη σπάει. (He constantly interrupts me when I'm talking and he breaks her to me).
2.
-Είσαι ο γιος που πάντοτε ονειρευόμουν! (You are the son I always wanted to have!)
-Έχεις τον Ασημάκη (You have Asimakis)
-Μη μου τη σπας τώρα (Don't break her to me now)
(from an episode of a Greek tv series ["η οικογένεια βλάπτει"])
---
Να πούμε -> (lit. ) To say
One of the most retarded and annoying expressions to use, but unfortunately widely used by low-class and ill-educated people. It serves no particular purpose, and it is typically used to make a sentence seem longer. The only legitimate and meaningful use I can think of is to betone that something is not told in earnest or literally.
1. Είχαμε πάρτυ εχθες και έπρεπε να καθαρίσω εγώ, να πούμε (We had a party yesterday and I had to clean [the mess] up +[purposeless use])
2. Όταν είδα το φίδι πήρα τον μπαλτά και του έριξα δυο-τρεις μπαλτιές, να πούμε, και το σκότωσα. (When I encountered the snake I grabbed the cleaver and stabbed it with a couple of [non-existent word for cleaver-stabs] +[expression to betone the inexistence of the word] and killed it)
---
Ξέρω 'γω -> (lit.) Know I
Typically to give an example. Avoid using it in formal writing.
-Να πάμε σε κάποιον υπεύθυνο, ξέρω 'γω, στον διευθυντή, να του πούμε πώς έχουν τα πράγματα
(We should go find someone, the manager for instance, and inform him of the situation.)
---
Παίζει (και) να [+verb] => (lit.) Plays (and) to
An informal way to claim that there is a possibility for something to happen or to have happened.
1. Παίζει να μην γίνει μάθημα στη σχολή σήμερα. [claiming that there is a probability of no lesson taking place today]
2. Ήπιε τόσο πολύ που παίζει και να μη θυμάται τίποτα απ'όσα έγιναν. (He drank so much that he may not remember a thing of what happened.)
---
Πάνω που [+verb] => (lit.) Up where
Meaning "just when" or "the moment when" to describe events, typically followed by a plot twist.
1. Πάνω που πήγα να χαρώ που, επιτέλους, θα έπαιρνα προαγωγή, μου ανακοίνωσαν πως στο εξής προϊστάμενος θα ήταν ο καινούριος. (As I got cheered up thinking that I would, eventually, be promoted, they informed me that from then on our chief would be the new guy)
[Note the expression "πήγα να" described in another entry.]
---
Παρ'το απόφαση! -> (apr.) Decide it!
An expression similar to "accept it" and "get over it".
1. Δεν πρόκειται να σου πάρω όλες αυτές τις σοκολάτες, πάρ'το απόφαση! (I am not going to buy all these chocolate-bars for you, get over it!)
2. Ήρθε ο καιρός να πάρουμε απόφαση ότι δεν πρόκειται να επιτύχουμε με τέτοιες μεθόδους. (It's time for us to accept that we are not going to succeed using such methods.)
---
Πήγα να => (lit.) I went to
A common way to say "I was about to".
1. Ετοιμάστηκα και πήγα να ξεκινήσω αλλά ειδοποιήθηκα για την απεργία. (I got ready and was about to get going but got notified for the strike.)
---
Πήγα να => (lit.) I went to
A common way to say "I was about to".
1. Ετοιμάστηκα και πήγα να ξεκινήσω αλλά ειδοποιήθηκα για την απεργία. (I got ready and was about to get going but got notified for the strike.)
---
Πήγε από => (lit) She/he went from
An expression meaning "(s)he died due to".
1. Έχω και εγώ συγγενή που πήγε από εγκεφαλικό. (I have a relative who died due to a stroke too)
2. Παραλίγο να πάω από καρδιακό. (I almost died of a heart attack)
---
Πήγε από => (lit) She/he went from
An expression meaning "(s)he died due to".
1. Έχω και εγώ συγγενή που πήγε από εγκεφαλικό. (I have a relative who died due to a stroke too)
2. Παραλίγο να πάω από καρδιακό. (I almost died of a heart attack)
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Που να (μην) -> (lit.) Where to (no)
Typically expresses regret for something that happened, or should have happened and did not. It is followed by the continuous past tense (παρατατικός) of the verb to be used.
-Ζήτησες βοήθεια από αυτόν τον άσχετο;! (Did you ask that dummy to help you?!)
-Ναι, που να μην του ζητούσα! (Yeah, +[wishing he never did]!)
Another use of it is for plain curse.
-Που να σε πατήσει τραίνο ρε αλήτη! (I wish you'll get hit by a train, you punk-ass!)
It can also be used to replace "imagine if" (and the tone changes along with the meaning):
-Μ'αρέσει που σου ζήτησα να βάλεις [το] air condition όταν έρθεις... Πού να μη στο ζητούσα!
(And I asked you to turn on the air condition when coming home... Imagine if I hadn't asked!)
[complaining about not having the air condition turned on]
Emphasizing on "μην", it would be most likely sound as "πούνα μήστο" instead of a plain "που να μη στο" as it would have been in the first case (plain wish). The latter would sound as a clause of wish/desire. Greek is not as tonal as Chinese, but tones still play a considerable role in meaning (i.e. pérno ≠ pernó)
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Πού 'σαι;! -> (lit.) Where are you?!
A common informal greeting of men -if they are familiar with each other, of course. Instead of answering "εδώ", you may proceed to asking what's new with the equally informal phrase "τι λέει;" (lit. "what does it say?").
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Σιγά μην [+verb] -> (lit.) Slowly not
Expresses doubt, or emphasizes that something is impossible. Sometimes accompanie
1. Σιγά μην περάσεις στο πανεπιστήμιο! [doubting that one will make it to the university]
2. Τι διακοπές μου λες; Σιγά μην μας δώσουν άδεια! (What holidays are you talking about? +[doubting that will even be given a leave])
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Σιγά τον/την/το [+noun/adjective] -> (lit.) Slowly
Expresses doubt as the previous one, but used with nouns and adjectives (i.e. characteristics)
1. Αυτή τώρα θεωρείται όμορφη; Σιγά τη γκόμενα! (Is she considered to be beautiful! +[disagreeing with/doubting that she is a hot chic])
2. Έλα μωρέ, για αυτό κάνεις έτσι; Σιγά το πρόβλημα. (Come on dude, is that all that bothers you? +[expressing doubt on that it is serious, or even a problem])
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Του θανατά -> (lit.) Of the death
An expression for "die-hard".
1. Είναι κομμουνίσταρος* του θανατά! (He is a die-hard communist!)
*the proper form of the word is "κομμουνιστής", but in everyday speech one may use grammatically incorrect superlatives like this
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Χώνομαι σε [+noun] -> (lit.) Snuggle in
Typically means intervene or getting involved.
1. Χώνεται στις συζητήσεις μας χωρίς να του έχουμε μιλήσει. (He butts in our conversations without being spoken to by us).
Another use is for shameless flirt.
2. Ρε αθεόφοβε*, χώθηκες στη Μαριάννα στο παρτυ;! (Did you really flirt with Marianna during the party?!)
*αθεόφοβος -> deriving from α + θεός (=god) + φόβος(=fear). Literally, someone who isn't afraid even of god.
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Ψήσου να [+verb] -> (lit.) Roast yourself to
An informal way to tell somebody to consider doing something.
1. Ψήσου να έρθεις μαζί μας [στο] σινεμά (Consider coming along with us to the cinema)
The same verb can be used regarding persuasion, being persuaded, or changing your mind.
2. Ήθελα να δω ταινία αλλά ψήθηκα να βγω με τα παιδιά (I wanted to watch a movie but changed my mind and wanna hang out with my friends)
["Τα παιδιά" literally means "the children", but can be used for your friends or colleagues.]
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[verb] + μία -> (lit.) one
An informal way to ask for something.
1. Δώσε μου μια το κομπιουτεράκι* (Give me the calculator)
2. Πας μια αυτά τα φυλλάδια στο γραφείο; (Could you take these papers to the office?)
*κομπιουτεράκι -> (lit.) little computer, meaning a calculator
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©George Malandrakis
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Υπενθυμίζω ότι μπορείτε να ποστάρετε στα σχόλια τυχόν φράσεις που δεν καταλαβαίνετε, και σας τις εξηγώ.
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