Useful Greek Phrases – Lesson 2

Gia sou or hello! Let’s move on with basic Greek phrases

Gia sou or hello again! Let’s move to number two of our lessons on absolutely essential words and phrases that will help you ‘navigate’ more easily Athens and Greece in general. In our first lesson, we learned how to greet someone by using the words “Yia sas”. After you greet someone, it would of course be polite to ask how they are doing, which you do by asking “ti kanete?”.

If someone asks YOU ‘ti kaneis’? you can respond by saying ‘kala ime’, which basically means “I’m doing well”. If you want to exchange names, you ask the other person ‘pos se lene’. If you want to give your name, you say ‘me lene’ and then your name. ‘Den xero’ is another greek phrase that might come in handy during your stay in Athens as it means ‘I don’t know’. Another useful phrase is ‘signomi’ which can mean either “I’m sorry” or “excuse me”. Be sure that Greeks will appreciate immensely your effort to speak their language and will do their best to help you.