How to Talk About Your Nationality

Dialogue

Want to Understand & Master the Greek Dialogue 100%?

Get a breakdown of the dialogue and translations instantly with the Premium line-by-line Audio. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Already a Member?

Vocabulary (Review)

Learn New Words FAST with this Lesson’s Vocab Review List

Get this lesson’s key vocab, their translations and pronunciations. Sign up for your Free Lifetime Account Now and get 7 Days of Premium Access including this feature.

Already a Member?

Lesson Notes

Unlock In-Depth Explanations & Exclusive Takeaways with Printable Lesson Notes

Unlock Lesson Notes and Transcripts for every single lesson. Sign Up for a Free Lifetime Account and Get 7 Days of Premium Access.

Already a Member?

Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Greek by GreekPod101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your nationality in Greek.

For example, "I'm American" is

Είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Íme Amerikanída.)

Two passengers, Panagiotis Papakonstantinou and Martha Asimakis , are seated next to each other as passengers on a plane to Greece.

Before you hear their conversation, let’s preview some of its key components.

Αμερικανίδα (Amerikanída)

"American woman"

Αμερικανίδα

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Martha’s response.

Είστε Αμερικανίδα; (Íste Amerikanída?)

Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.)

Once more with the English translation.

Είστε Αμερικανίδα; (Íste Amerikanída?)

"Are you American?"

Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.)

"Yes, I'm American."

Let’s take a closer look at the conversation.

Do you remember how Panagiotis asks,

"Are you American?"

Είστε Αμερικανίδα; (Íste Amerikanída?)

First is είστε (íste), "you are." Είστε . Είστε.

Note: είστε (íste) is a shortened form of εσείς είστε (esís íste), "you are."

In Greek, εσείς (esís), "you," is usually omitted, as it’s understood from context.

Είστε is from the verb είμαι (íme), the dictionary form of the verb "to be.” Είμαι.

Next is Αμερικανίδα (Amerikanída), an "American" woman. Αμερικανίδα . Αμερικανίδα.

In Greek, all nouns have grammatical gender and case, and are either singular or plural.

As Panagiotis Papakonstantinou is addressing Ms. Asimakis, Αμερικανίδα (Amerikanída) is feminine and singular.

Let’s take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Martha Asimakis says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.)

This starts with the expression, ναι (ne), meaning "yes." Ναι . Ναι.

It answers Mr. Papakonstantinou yes-or-no question, "Are you American?" Είστε Αμερικανίδα; (Íste Amerikanída?)

Next is είμαι (íme). "I am." Είμαι . Είμαι

Note: here είμαι (íme) is a shortened form of εγώ είμαι (egó íme), "I am." In Greek, εγώ (egó), "I," is usually omitted, as it’s understood from context.

Είμαι (íme) is the dictionary form of the verb "to be.” Είμαι.

After this is Αμερικανίδα (Amerikanída), an "American" woman. Αμερικανίδα . Αμερικανίδα.

Together, Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.) "Yes, I'm American."

Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.)

The pattern is

Είμαι NATIONALITY. (Íme {NATIONALITY}.)

"I'm NATIONALITY."

Είμαι NATIONALITY. (Íme {NATIONALITY}.)

To use this pattern, simply replace the NATIONALITY placeholder with your nationality.

Note: This pattern requires a proper noun, and its gender will depend on the gender of the speaker.

Imagine you’re Panagiotis Papakonstantinou, and you're Greek. The word for a "Greek" man is Έλληνας (Élinas). Έλληνας . Έλληνας.

Say

"I'm Greek."

Ready?

Είμαι Έλληνας. (Íme Élinas.)

"I'm Greek."

Είμαι Έλληνας. (Íme Élinas.)

In the conversation, the response to the yes-no question was "yes."

In case the answer was "no," the corresponding Greek response would be όχι (óhi), meaning, "no." Όχι . Όχι.

For example, if Martha Asimakis was asked

Είστε Ελληνίδα; (Íste Elinída?)

"Are you Greek?"

She could have answered

Όχι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Óhi, íme Amerikanída.)

"No, I'm American."

Remember this pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Again, the key pattern is

Είμαι NATIONALITY. (Íme {NATIONALITY}.)

"I'm NATIONALITY."

Είμαι NATIONALITY. (Íme {NATIONALITY}.)

Let's look at some examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers.

Είμαι Έλληνας. (Íme Élinas.)

“I’m Greek.”

Είμαι Έλληνας. (Íme Élinas.)

Είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Íme Amerikanída.)

“I’m American.”

Είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Íme Amerikanída.)

Είμαι Αυστραλέζα. (Íme Afstraléza.)

“I’m Australian.”

Είμαι Αυστραλέζα. (Íme Afstraléza.)

Είμαι Άγγλος. (Íme Ánglos.)

“I’m English.”

Είμαι Άγγλος. (Íme Ánglos.)

Δεν είμαι Γιαπωνέζα. Είμαι Κινέζα. (Den íme Yaponéza. Íme Kinéza.)

“I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese.”

Δεν είμαι Γιαπωνέζα. Είμαι Κινέζα. (Den íme Yaponéza. Íme Kinéza.)

Did you notice how the last speaker uses a different pattern?

Δεν είμαι Γιαπωνέζα. Είμαι Κινέζα. (Den íme Yaponéza. Íme Kinéza.)

"I'm not Japanese, I'm Chinese."

First is δεν (den), "not." Δεν . Δεν.

Next is είμαι (íme). "[I] am." Είμαι.

Together, it's δεν είμαι (den íme), literally "Not [I] am," but it translates as "I'm not." Δεν είμαι.

Next is Γιαπωνέζα (Yaponéza), a "Japanese" woman. Γιαπωνέζα . Γιαπωνέζα.

All together, Δεν είμαι Γιαπωνέζα. "I'm not Japanese." Δεν είμαι Γιαπωνέζα.

Jing Liu then states her actual nationality. Είμαι Κινέζα (Íme Kinéza). "I'm Chinese." Είμαι Κινέζα.

First, είμαι (íme). "[I] am." Είμαι.

Next is Κινέζα (Kinéza), a "Chinese" woman. Κινέζα . Κινέζα.

Together, Είμαι Κινέζα (Íme Kinéza). "I'm Chinese." Είμαι Κινέζα.

All together, Δεν είμαι Γιαπωνέζα. Είμαι Κινέζα. (Den íme Yaponéza. Íme Kinéza.)

"I'm not Japanese. I'm Chinese."

Δεν είμαι Γιαπωνέζα. Είμαι Κινέζα. (Den íme Yaponéza. Íme Kinéza.)

The pattern is:

Δεν είμαι NATIONALITYproper noun. Είμαι ACTUAL NATIONALITYproper noun. (Den íme NATIONALITY. Íme ACTUAL NATIONALITY.)

I'm not NATIONALITY. I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

This can be shortened to

Όχι, είμαι Κινέζα. (Óhi, íme Kinéza.) "No, I'm Chinese." Όχι, είμαι Κινέζα.

This pattern is:

Όχι, είμαι ACTUAL NATIONALITYproper noun. (Óhi, íme ACTUAL NATIONALITY.)

No, I'm ACTUAL NATIONALITY.

Remember this shortened pattern. You’ll need it for the practice section.

Let’s review the key vocabulary.

In Greek, nouns of nationality can change based on gender. In these cases, we provide the masculine word for the nationality followed by the feminine one.

"American"

Αμερικανός (Amerikanós) . Αμερικανός.

Αμερικανίδα (Amerikanída) . Αμερικανίδα.

"Greek"

Έλληνας (Élinas) . Έλληνας.

Ελληνίδα (Elinída). Ελληνίδα.

"Australian"

Αυστραλέζος (Afstralézos) . Αυστραλέζος.

Αυστραλέζα (Afstraléza) . Αυστραλέζα.

"English"

Άγγλος (Ánglos) . Άγγλος.

Αγγλίδα (Anglída) . Αγγλίδα.

Note in Greek this word in a strict sense means "English," but it's widely used to mean "British."

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "yes?"

ναι (ne)

And the word for an "American" woman?

Αμερικανίδα (Amerikanída)

Do you remember how Ms. Asimakis says,

"Yes, I'm American."

Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.)

Do you remember how Panagiotis Papakonstantinou asks,

"Are you American?"

Είστε Αμερικανίδα; (Íste Amerikanída?)

Do you remember the word for an English man?

Άγγλος (Ánglos)

And the word for an Australian woman?

Αυστραλέζα (Afstraléza)

Do you remember the word for an American woman?

Αμερικανίδα (Amerikanída)

And how to say "no?"

όχι (óhi)

Do you remember how to say, “No, I am Chinese”?

Όχι, είμαι Κινέζα. (Óhi, íme Kinéza.)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Jenny Asimakis , and you’re American.

Respond to the question.

Ready?

Είστε Αμερικανίδα; (Íste Amerikanída?)

Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.)

Listen again and repeat.

Ναι, είμαι Αμερικανίδα. (Ne, íme Amerikanída.)

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Mia Martin , a student from Australia. “Australian” woman is “Αυστραλέζα” in Greek.

Pay attention to the nationality in the question.

Ready?

Είστε Αγγλίδα; (Íste Anglída?)

Όχι, είμαι Αυστραλέζα. (Óhi, íme Afstraléza.)

Listen again and repeat.

Όχι, είμαι Αυστραλέζα. (Óhi, íme Afstraléza.)

Let’s try one more.

Imagine you're Jack Jones , a student from England.

Ready?

Είστε Άγγλος; (Íste Ánglos?)

Ναι, είμαι Άγγλος. (Ne, íme Ánglos.)

Listen again and repeat.

Ναι, είμαι Άγγλος. (Ne, íme Ánglos.)

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your nationality in Greek. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Martha Asimakis says,

"I’m Martha."

Είμαι η Μάρθα. (Íme i Mártha.)

And do you remember how Martha says

"I’m Martha. Nice to meet you."

Είμαι η Μάρθα. Χαίρω πολύ. (Íme i Mártha. Héro polí.)

And how to say "from?"

από (apó).

Do you remember how Martha says,

"I am from Florida."

Είμαι από τη Φλόριντα. (Íme apó ti Flórinda.)

Do you remember how to say

"where from?"

Από πού; (Apó pú?)

And do you remember how Panagiotis Papakonstantinou asks,

"Where are you from?"

Από πού είστε; (Apó pú íste?)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , from London, and you're English.

Do you remember how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Greek?

Τζακ Τζόουνς (Jack Jóuns)

Respond to Panagiotis Papakonstantinou 's self-introduction and follow-up question…

Ready?

Γεια! Είμαι ο Παναγιώτης. Χαίρω πολύ. (Ya! Íme o Panayótis. Héro polí.)

Είμαι ο Τζακ. Χαίρω πολύ! (Íme o Jack. Héro polí!)

Listen again, and repeat.

Είμαι ο Τζακ. Χαίρω πολύ! (Íme o Jack. Héro polí!)

Do you remember how to say "London" in Greek?

Λονδίνο (Londíno)

Now respond that you’re from London.

Panagiotis Papakonstantinou : Από πού είστε; (Apó pú íste?)

Είμαι από το Λονδίνο. (Íme apó to Londíno.)

Listen again and repeat.

Είμαι από το Λονδίνο. (Íme apó to Londíno.)

And do you remember how to say "English" in Greek?

Άγγλος (Ánglos)

Now respond that you’re English.

Είστε Άγγλος; (Íste Ánglos?)

Ναι, είμαι Άγγλος. (Ne, íme Ánglos.)

Listen again and repeat.

Ναι, είμαι Άγγλος. (Ne, íme Ánglos.)

Well done! This is the end of the lesson.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

What's next?

Show us what you can do.

When you're ready, take your assessment.

You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results.

Now you know how to talk about your nationality in Greek. That's all there is to it.

Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson!

Comments

Hide