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When Shakespeare famously wrote ‘It all sounds Greek come me’, that pretty much summed up just how the Greek language has sounded to foreign ears because always. Unintelligible together it may seem come you, Greek is notoriously well-off in expressions and meanings, so that’s one reason you desire to tackle with it; but an ext importantly, if she planning a visit to Greece, finding out some basic Greek can be simply the point to make her travel endure a whole less complicated. However if you believed this method sweating over that dry English-Greek dictionary, think again, since we’re below to introduce you to the Greek words and phrases you actually need to know, be it since of useful, or just plain awesome they are.

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#1 Yia Sou

Possibly the most important Greek phrase, and one of the most common Greek greetings, ‘yia sou’  is one informal method of speak ‘hello’. What her Greek phrasebook more than likely won’t tell girlfriend though, is the ‘yia’ is a shortening for ‘iyia’ , which method ‘health’ in Greek – i.e. You greet people by literally wishing them an excellent health (isn’t the the sweetest?). The slightly more polite version is ‘yia sas’ , i beg your pardon you most likely want come use with strangers, larger people, etc.

#2 Yia Mas

As you can probably guess, ‘yia mas’  is also a great for great health, however this time our own. Uneven ‘yia sou’, ‘yia mas’ no a greeting, however the standard toast we Greeks make before sipping under that glass the alcohol in our hand. So if she planning on exploring the world-famous Athens nightlife, this is a expression you’ll most likely hear a lot. If someone raises a glass come you speak ‘yia mas’, return the toast just by repeating the yourself. Pretty easy, right?

#3 Kalimera

‘Kalimera’  is an additional super basic/useful/beautiful word, precise translating right into ‘good day’. Technically, you’re claimed to usage it until 12:00, after which that preferable to say ‘kalispera’ – i.e. ‘good afternoon’. Both words space pretty straightforward to pronounce, for this reason if you want to impress your Athens tour overview or the Greek restaurant owner you simply met, casually cram a ‘kalimera’ or ‘kalispera’ in the conversation will probably obtain you a warm pat ~ above the back (or, in the last case, also a drink or small dish ~ above the house).

#4 Malaka

Speaking of straightforward Greek, ‘malaka’ is technically the Greek identical for the J word, or the A native – you obtain the suggest – which is why most tourists, listening Greeks use this indigenous literally all.the.time., think they’re forever quarrelling. However, ‘malaka’ is equally often used together ‘dude’ or ‘mate’, while occasionally it is just uttered a general exclamation of surprise or amazement at what you simply heard. For the time being us don’t recommend you to use this word yourself lest you obtain the paper definition wrong but, still, it have the right to come in really handy discovering what ‘malaka’ means, specifically if you’re roughly youths.

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#5 Ela

As you’ve more than likely figured through now, we love those Greek words v multiple meanings, and ‘ela’ is just one of them too. Its basic definition is ‘come‘ or ‘come on’, however Greeks also use the 99% of the time to informally answer the phone when they know whose calling. Obviously castle don’t intend the caller to come over, for this reason why they came to use ‘ela’ together a means of acknowledging who they’re talking to will remain yet another mystery of the fascinating Greek culture.