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Archive for 'Vocabulary'

To make, to fix, to repair: a must know verb Posted by on Jan 15, 2014

A couple of days ago while I was having a lesson of conversational Greek, I realized that the verb φτιάχνω is one of the most common verbs. It can be used to mean to make, to fix, to repair, to prepare, to make one’s bed,to make up or to make one’s hair, and the list…

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As cold as ice: standard expressions and idioms Posted by on Dec 18, 2013

There are seven days until Christmas and in Athens the temperature is nine degrees Celcius., i.e. it’s freezing cold. The weather has been people’s favorite topic of conversation in the last days. There are many standard phrases about cold that most learners are familiar with: 1. Κάνει κρύο (kani krio)= it’s cold. 2. Κρυώνω (kriono)=…

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Slang words for stingy or penniless in Greek Posted by on Dec 4, 2013

The Greeks enjoy having long conversations. Their favorite topics are politics, football, food and hobbies. For the last few years, a new topic has been added: money. Some of the new words that are introduced in our daily conversations are “bailout”, “public debt” and “debt restructuring”. Fortunately, this is not an economy blog, so…

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“What’s going on?”:uses of the verb ginomai Posted by on Nov 26, 2013

One of the most common verbs that causes problems to Greek learners is γίνομαι (ginomai). It  means “to become”. If you haven’t come across it yet, you are very likely to hear it as soon as you go to Greece, and if you have already been there, you have definitely heard people using it regularly…

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Expressions with the verb kleino Posted by on Nov 13, 2013

Most Greek learners are already familiar with the verb κλείνω (kleino). Below there are some examples of the meanings and the uses of κλείνω. 1. To close (transitive, i.e. followed by an object) H gata eklise ta matia tis alla den koimate. The cat has closed her eyes but she’s not  sleeping.   2.  To…

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Yes or No? How to Give Positive and Negative Answers in Greek Posted by on Oct 16, 2013

The most common Greek words which can be used to give positive or negative answers are «ναι» (“nai”, yes) and «όχι» (“ohi”, “no”).  In oral speech, we use many expressions, polite and formal, or more conversational. Below, there are some examples of the use of these exressions. Positive Answers Ναι (nai) :yes Ex: «Σου αρέσει…

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The 100 Most Common Words in Greek Posted by on Oct 8, 2013

The 100 Most Common Words in Greek For those looking to learn a language quickly, Tim Ferris (of the 4 Hour Work Week) recommends you learn vocabulary based on frequency. For example, the 100 most frequently used words in English writing make up about 25% of all English writing. That’s a huge return on investment…

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