Learn how to introduce yourself
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| Welcome to GreekPod101.com’s “Ελληνικά σε 3 λεπτά”. The fastest, easiest, and most fun way to learn Greek. |
| Γεια, λέγομαι Χρυσή. Χαίρω πολύ. Hi, I'm Chrissi. Pleased to meet you. |
| In this series, we’re going to learn basic Greek expressions. It’s super easy and it only takes three minutes! |
| In this lesson, you’re going to learn how to introduce yourself in Greek. There are only two sentences you need to do it, but first it is important to clarify that in Greek there is a difference between formal and informal language. |
| Let’s first see how Greek people introduce themselves in an *informal* situation. |
| Γεια, λέγομαι Χρυσή. Χαίρω πολύ. Hi, I'm Chrissi. Pleased to meet you. |
| [slowly] Γεια, λέγομαι Χρυσή. Χαίρω πολύ. |
| Start by saying: Γεια, λέγομαι... then, say your name). Γεια, λέγομαι Χρυσή. Finally, say Χαίρω πολύ. |
| Γεια, λέγομαι Χρυσή. Χαίρω πολύ. |
| And now let’s see the same sentence in formal speech, |
| Χαίρετε, λέγομαι Χρυσή Παπαδοπούλου. Χαίρω πολύ για τη γνωριμία. Hello, my name is Chrissi Papadopoulou. Pleased to make your acquaintance. |
| [slowly] Χαίρετε, λέγομαι Χρυσή Παπαδοπούλου. Χαίρω πολύ για τη γνωριμία. |
| So, what has changed from the previous introduction? |
| Let’s take a look at close look at these together. |
| Γεια has been substituted with the formal greeting χαίρετε, Greek for "rejoice" |
| λέγομαι Χρυσή has not been changed; λέγομαι stands in both cases for "my name is" however during a formal self introduction we also say our last name, so I said Χρυσή Παπαδοπούλου. Here, you would say your full name. |
| Finally, there is one more change to the ending: we added the words για τη γνωριμία to the phrase χαίρω πολύ; in informal cases, we can just say χαίρω πολύ (literally, “I am happy or pleased” but in informal cases it’s good to add για τη γνωριμία which is Greek for “the acquaintance” or in this case “your acquaintance”. |
| One more time: The informal way to introduce yourself in Greek is Γεια, λέγομαι Χρυσή. Χαίρω πολύ. |
| The formal way to introduce yourself is |
| Χαίρετε, λέγομαι Χρυσή Παπαδοπούλου. |
| Now it’s time for Chrissi’s Insights. |
| Greek people usually shake hands when they meet someone; sometimes extremely vigorously! So accompany your introduction with your best firm handshake and if you’re not sure if you have to use the formal or the informal greeting, the informal greeting (χαίρω πολύ) is not considered rude; it’s acceptable and used widely even in formal situations. |
| Do you know how we say “thank you” in Greek? You’ll learn how to say this and many other words in the next lesson. Θα τα ξαναπούμε στο επόμενο μάθημα! See you then! |
25 Comments
HideLet's introduce yourself in Greek!
Hi Alexander,
Thank you for contacting us.
Absolutely! In the media player, there is a speed button. You can use it to slow down the speed if you feel the lesson is too fast for you. Alternatively, if the lesson audio doesn't help because the voice actor or video host didn't pronounce something cleasrly enough, try copying and pasting that Greek text into Google translate. In the source text area, it will recognize it's Greek and there will be an audio icon appearing where clicking on it once will play the audio at normal speed and clicking on it the second time it will make it sound slower. I can say the pronunciation is quite accurate, it doesn't sound too robot-like, so it should be good to use as a study resource.
If you are aiming for perfect Greek pronunciation, though, for whatever reason, you can also consider our Premium Plus subscription where you can exchange audio messages with a tutor who can definitely help you nail the most difficult sounds.
I hope this is helpful,
All the best,
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Γεια ,
I am trying too learn the pronunciation too the words, is there a slower way for some of us less fortunate in accents?
Efaristo
Γεια σου Ντάνιελ!
Είμαι η Στεφανία, χαίρω πολύ επίσης.
In Greek, we make a distinction between formal and informal speech so greetings adjust to that. Γεια σου is informal and personal (Hello to you) while Γεια σας is formal and personal (Hello to you, sir or ma'am) or it expresses the plural (Hello to you, guys). Γεια is just generic, like "Hi".
Of course, in English too there many ways to greet: Hello, hi, hey, howdy, well hello, yo... cheerio would be like γεια χαρά so as you can see Greek is not an exception.
I hope this helps!
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Γεια, λέγομαι Ντάνιελ. Χαίρω πολύ.
I have a question. Why there are many ways to say hello? Like Γεια, Γεια σου, Γεια χαρά, Γεια σας, why there are many ways to say hello, and when to say these word? I just being curious.
P.S. I love learning Greek! Keep it up with your hard working! We appreciate your works!❤️️❤️️❤️️
Γεια σου Ethan,
Ευχαριστώ for taking the time to leave us your positive message! 😇❤️️
Forgetting is something totally natural and it happens to everyone. The best advice I can give is to have yourself exposed to Greek on a continuous basis. This way grammar structures, vocabulary, idioms, will not fade from your memory. The best is if you befriend some Greek people and chat with them on a regular basis. Parallelly, following Greek news or social media posts in Greek are also great ways to keep your level up high.
We hope to see you frequently around! Good luck with your Greek studies! 😇
Γεια χαρά,
Λέβεντε
Team GreekPod101.com
Γεια λέγομαι Ethan! Χαίρε πολύ.
I am loving learning Greek and expanding my knowledge about the culture and history. I might study abroad in college. Anyway, I’m afraid of losing my skill to speak the language when I get older. Do you recommend any methods so Greek will stick with you and it’ll be a third language for me?
(I am italian and I speak English and some Spanish) I really want to know Greek and master it. It is a place my family is from and I would love to move there one day.
Grazie mille
-Ethan
Γεια σου Τράβις!
Χαιρετισμούς στο Τέξας!
We would just write it as Κουκ. We would never ever translate a name (μάγειρας). We write names in Greek as close as possible to the way they sound originally.
So your name is Τράβις Κουκ 😄
Γεια χαρά,
Στεφανία
Team GreekPod101.com
Καλιμέρα από τνη Τέξας!
Silly question, but I have one of those English surnames that is traditionally derived from an occupation. (Cook) When spelling it out in Greek would I use Κοοκ, Κουκ, or just the anglicized Cook? Or is it even possible that I should use the actual word for cook (μάγειρας)?
Hi clare bale,
Thank you for contacting us!
Did you mean these buttons:
http://screencast.com/t/aswQBb8X
These appear on lessons that have a vocabulary list. For example, if you go to the lesson notes, you can see the vocabulary section as a big white and blue table:
http://screencast.com/t/QeizqAekD
This particular video series focuses on phrases and sentences and not on individual words that can be used as vocabulary and therefore added to the Word Bank or Flashcards. This doesn't happen to all video series though. There are some that do come with vocabulary that can be added to your collection.
Tip: While watching this series, if you spot a word that you would like to add, try looking it up on the site's dictionary. If you find it there, you can then add it to your Word Bank:
https://www.greekpod101.com/greek-dictionary/
I hope this helps!
Stefania
Team GreekPod101.com
Hi There.
I am loving Greek 101. Thank you! I'm just looking at the learn greek in 3 minutes and I can't see the resource button where I can add to word bank and flash cards.It comes up when loading but disapperas as soon as the video starts to load. Any suggestions.
Efaristo!
clare