Vocabulary

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Lesson Transcript

INTRODUCTION
John: Expressions with Unusual Literal Translations
John: Hi, everyone, and welcome back to GreekPod101.com. I'm John.
Chrissi: And I'm Chrissi!
John: This is Must-Know Greek Slang Words and Phrases, Season 1, Lesson 2. In this lesson, you'll learn expressions with unusual literal translations.
John: By mastering how to use these expressions, you will impress your Greek friends.
SLANG EXPRESSIONS
John: The expressions you'll be learning in this lesson are:
Chrissi: κόβω κίνηση (kóvo kínisi)
Chrissi: βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα (vréhi kareklopódara)
Chrissi: μια τρύπα στο νερό (mia trípa sto neró)
Chrissi: μαθαίνω νεράκι (mathéno neráki)
John: Chrissi, what's our first expression?
Chrissi: κόβω κίνηση (kóvo kínisi)
John: literally meaning "to cut motion." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "to observe people and their interactions."
Chrissi: [SLOW] κόβω κίνηση [NORMAL] κόβω κίνηση
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Chrissi: κόβω κίνηση
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you’re people-watching as a casual activity when sitting in a place relaxing, waiting, or just doing nothing.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Ο σκύλος μου κάθεται στο μπαλκόνι κάθε πρωί και κόβει κίνηση. [SLOW] Ο σκύλος μου κάθεται στο μπαλκόνι κάθε πρωί και κόβει κίνηση.
John: "My dog sits in the balcony every morning observing people."
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Ο σκύλος μου κάθεται στο μπαλκόνι κάθε πρωί και κόβει κίνηση.
John: Okay, what's the next expression?
Chrissi: βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα (vréhi kareklopódara)
John: This literally means "it's raining chair legs." But when it's used as a slang expression, it means "it's raining cats and dogs."
Chrissi: [SLOW] βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα [NORMAL] βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Chrissi: βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when it's raining heavily.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Πού πας; Έξω βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα! [SLOW] Πού πας; Έξω βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα!
John: "Where are you going? It's raining cats and dogs outside!"
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Πού πας; Έξω βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα!
John: Okay, what's our next expression?
Chrissi: μια τρύπα στο νερό (mia trípa sto neró)
John: literally meaning "a hole in the water." As a slang expression, it means "nothing (was achieved)."
Chrissi: [SLOW] μια τρύπα στο νερό [NORMAL] μια τρύπα στο νερό
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Chrissi: μια τρύπα στο νερό
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you want to say that nothing was achieved after an effort that was made.
John: Let's hear an example sentence.
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Τόση προσπάθεια και τι κάναμε; Μια τρύπα στο νερό. [SLOW] Τόση προσπάθεια και τι κάναμε; Μια τρύπα στο νερό.
John: "All this effort and what did we achieve? Nothing."
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Τόση προσπάθεια και τι κάναμε; Μια τρύπα στο νερό.
John: Okay, what's the last expression?
Chrissi: μαθαίνω νεράκι (mathéno neráki)
John: Which literally means "to learn water.” This comes from the idea that just like water flows easily, so does someone's speech when they’ve learned something by heart. So as a slang expression, it means "to learn by heart."
Chrissi: [SLOW] μαθαίνω νεράκι [NORMAL] μαθαίνω νεράκι
John: Listeners, please repeat.
Chrissi: μαθαίνω νεράκι
[pause - 5 sec.]
John: Use this slang expression when you learn something by heart and can recite it with absolutely no problem at all. This can be a poem, a speech, or even a lesson for school.
John: Now let's hear an example sentence.
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Ο γιος μας το ποίημα για τη γιορτή το έχει μάθει νεράκι. [SLOW] Ο γιος μας το ποίημα για τη γιορτή το έχει μάθει νεράκι.
John: "Our son has learned the poem by heart for the school event."
Chrissi: [NORMAL] Ο γιος μας το ποίημα για τη γιορτή το έχει μάθει νεράκι.
QUIZ
John: Okay listeners, are you ready to be quizzed on the expressions you just learned? I’ll describe four situations, and you’ll choose the right expression to use in your reply. Are you ready?
John: A stormy afternoon.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Chrissi: βρέχει καρεκλοπόδαρα
John: "It's raining cats and dogs"
John: A man is sitting at a café watching people as he waits for his order to come.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Chrissi: κόβω κίνηση
John: "to observe people and their interactions"
John: An actress memorizes her lines.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Chrissi: μαθαίνω νεράκι
John: "to learn by heart"
John: A group of students tries to convince their teacher about something with no success.
[pause - 5 sec.]
Chrissi: μια τρύπα στο νερό
John: "nothing (was achieved)"

Outro

John: There you have it; you've mastered four Greek Slang Expressions! We have more vocab lists available at GreekPod101.com so be sure to check them out. Thanks, everyone, and we’ll see you next time!
Chrissi: Γεια χαρά!

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