general question learning greek

[scare_face_666_13410]

Hello,

I have been following the Greek alphabet videos for absolute beginner i have reached half away until 'ro' and 'hee'.

My question, until so far how am i supposed to combine the alphabet and make words, its confusing for me.
for example how do i write the word BALL in Greek with the alphabets i have learnt do i just change the alphabet or its a total different word for BALL in Greek if yes does this mean after learning the words i can write in greek alphabets

for example the word:
yahoo - υαηοο
jimmy - ξιμμυ
have i written the following translations correct

Thanks,
Jimmy W

[stefaniach]

Hi Jimmy,

Thank you for leaving a comment.

I see that what you are trying to do is take an English word and transliterate it, so that when the word is written in Greek letters, it sounds the same as in English. This is not what you are supposed to be doing.

Start by practising using Greek words you find, see or hear. The examples we give in the videos are a good source. Start by choosing one word, see it and then try to write it. Don't fall on the trap of typing on a computer. Use paper and pencil. If for example you see a word in capital letters, try to re-write it with lowercase letters. The opposite works too of course.

At this stage obviously you don't know many Greek words yet, but allow yourself some time, finish the whole series first, because there are still some things you need to know apart from letters (like accents) and move on to Absolute Beginner series. At that point, you can start practising more in Greek writing because there will be plenty of Greek words to study, learn and use.

For your information also, Yahoo remains Yahoo in Greek, and Jimmy is written Τζίμι. Ball in Greek is μπάλα.

Let me know if you are having any more issues. I'm here to put you in the right track!

Regards,

Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com

[EdMav]

Please translate this Greek word εξοντωμένη into English for me. I looked online using google translator, Greekpod101, and my pocket dictionary, but could not find one entry. Here are two examples of the word used in a Greek sentence in case the meaning changes based on how it’s used.

1) Εδώ πρόκειται για αλλαγές που αν δεν γίνουν απλώς η οικονομία θα καταρρεύσει εξοντωμένη από τις άλλες οικονομίες οι ηγέτες των οποίων δεν έχουν δογματικές αντιρρήσεις.

2) Αισθάνομαι εξοντωμένη κι εγώ.

Regards,
Edward

[stefaniach]

Hello Edward,

Thank you for contacting us.

Εξοντωμένη is a female gender, passive voice participle of the verb εξοντώνω which means "to destroy", "to exterminate" or "to exhaust" (figuratively.)
When you come across participles like that (ending in -μένος, -μένη, -μένο), try to look for the root and search in dictionaries the verb with that root. It will probably show results, because in general, passive participles (unless nominalised, i.e. used as nouns) don't show up as regular entries in dictionaries. They might show up as extra information within a verb entry.

In both sentences εξοντωμένη means "exhausted."

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you still have any questions.

Kind regards,

Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com

[EdMav]

Γειά σας Στεφανία,

Ευχαριστώ πολύ!

Εδουάρδος

[stefaniach]

Γεια σου Εδουάρδε,

παρακαλώ!

Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com