How to make small talk in Greek

Speaking Tips

25 May

Have you ever heard of the word λακωνικός [laconic]?

It’s a Greek word: It means brief and concise.

It is said that the Spartans didn’t lose time in lengthy explanations and their speech was famous for its terseness.

I’ll be laconic now by saying that: living + learning languages in two countries = I know firsthand the frustration of chatting when you learn the language, even more so if it’s just some simple small talk in a brief chat.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

As adults, we are used to converse with a complex vocabulary and syntax so trying to use all the typical words and phrases of small talk in another language is sometimes too hard, even intimidating.

Research shows that it takes 4 seconds for a silence to become awkward ; You know from your own experience as a native speaker of your language that between asking and replying there is only a short amount of wait time.

This time has been measured to just 4 seconds.

When you learn a language, especially during the beginner level, the wait time can be longer, yet you do want to be understood without getting overwhelmed or feeling embarrassed.

A language learner is not your typical speaker

There is a huge amount of work going on in your mind. You need to:

Understand the accent
Understand the meaning
Reply using the right words, in the right order
Use correct pronunciation, tone and pitch
Pay attention to body language, gestures and facial expressions

All in just these 4 seconds!

Of course, some of the things I mentioned above you do automatically, such as paying attention to the tone or pitch. You wouldn’t shout καλημέρα to your neighbour while making angry faces, obviously.

And because small talk might be small but it is a lot of work, I prepared a little cheat-sheet for you. Grab it below:

Here are some very common phrases you can use in small talk in Greek:

Questions:

Γεια σου. Τι κάνεις; Hello. How are you? (informal: see also this article on informal use)
Γεια σας. Τι κάνετε; Hello. How are you? (formal: see also this article on formal use)
Τι κάνουν τα παιδιά; How are the kids?
Πώς πάει η δουλειά; How is work going?
Τι νέα; / Τι νέα από τον Καναδά; Τι νέα από τη Θεσσαλονίκη; What news? / What news from Canada? What news from Thessaloniki?
Θα πάτε πουθενά το Σαββατοκύριακο; Are you going anywhere in the weekend?

Answers / Comments:

Καλά / Μια χαρά. Εσύ; Well (Good). Great. And you? (informal)
Καλά / Μια χαρά. Εσείς; Well (Good). Great. And you? (formal)
Καλά πάει η δουλειά. / Τα ίδια. / Δύσκολα, πολύ τρέξιμο. The work is fine. Same. Tough, really busy. [Note: For "very busy" in Greek we say "πολύ τρέξιμο" literally meaning "lots of running".]
Τα ίδια. Όλα καλά. Μια χαρά. Πολλή δουλειά. Same. All's good. Great. Lots of work. [Note: Πολλή δουλειά is equally used for "very busy" or "lots of work". It literally means "lots of work".]
Ναι, θα πάμε στο νησί/στο χωριό/στην Αθήνα. Όχι, εδώ θα κάτσουμε. Εσείς; Yes, we'll go to the island/to the village/to Athens. No we'll stay here. How about you?
Θα χαλάσει ο καιρός. The weather will turn cold. [Note: Θα χαλάσει means "it will go bad, spoil, break down" meaning it will turn colder, windier etc.]

What do you usually say during a small talk with a Greek? What’s a word you like using? Let me know in the comments!