Παρακαλώ (Please)

Remember how to thank someone in Greek?

Thank you & You’re welcome

Ευχαριστώ is the verb meaning ‘I thank’, and it’s used like we would say ‘thank you’ in English.

One possible response to ευχαριστώ is παρακαλώ, which we might translate as ‘you’re welcome’.

Note that, like ευχαριστώ, παρακαλώ ends with an –ω.

This is a strong hint that it is a verb in the first person, like ‘I thank’.

Παρακαλώ literally means ‘I plead’. It’s used just like we would use ‘please’ in English. So, you can use to mean something like ‘please (it was nothing)’ or ‘I’m pleased (to help)’ in response to ευχαριστώ.

But παρακαλώ is extremely versatile.

Please

You can also use it to ask for something, like ‘a beer, please’. And, you can use it to prompt someone else, e.g. ‘please, go ahead’.

Take a look at the scene on page 8 of the Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1 workbook.

Can you find the word παρακαλώ? Who is using it, and what does it mean in this situation?

Because of its versatility, παρακαλώ is extremely useful when ordering food and drinks:

A: Τι θέλετε, παρακαλώ; (What do you want, please?)

B: Παρακαλώ μία μπίρα, ένα ούζο, και έναν καφέ, . (Please (bring me) a beer, an ouzo, and a coffee.)

…

B: Ευχαριστώ! (Thank you!)

A: Παρακαλώ! (My pleasure!)

A/an

Note that, in Greek, just as the definite article (the) changes dependent on gender, the indefinite article (a/an) does, too. So we have μία μπίρα (feminine) and ένα ούζο.

The word for ‘coffee’ in Greek is καφές. Since it ends with a –ς, you can probably guess it’s masculine.

When ordering a coffee, we typically say έναν καφέ, παρακαλώ. There are two important points to note here:

1. The masculine indefinite article is ένα(ν). When it appears before a vowel, or one of the consonants π, μπ, τ, ντ, κ, γγ, or γκ, you can use έναν instead of ένα.
2. We drop the –ς on the noun καφές because it is the object of the sentence. You are asking the server (subject) to bring you a coffee (object).

Don’t worry about the details of these rules. For now, it’s enough to simply memorise the phrase έναν καφέ, παρακαλώ.

Ordering drinks

You can use παρακαλώ at the beginning or the end of your request: παρακαλώ, έναν καφέ, means the same thing as έναν καφέ, παρακαλώ.

If you want to order multiple things, as in the example above, use και (‘and’). Remember that αι makes an ‘e’ sound, so και (ke, ‘and’) rhymes with both ναι (ne, ‘yes’) and σε (se, ‘you’).

Now, complete the exercises on page 28 of Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1+1. Don’t hesitate to use a dictionary to look up any unfamiliar foods, but try to guess their gender first based on the endings of each word (remembering that καφέ is short for καφές!)

Once you feel familiar with this sentence pattern, try exercise E on page 9 of the Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1 workbook.

At this stage, it’s perfectly fine to remember παρακαλώ means both ‘you’re welcome’ and ‘please’. But if you’d like a slightly more advanced overview of ‘thank you’ and ‘you’re welcome’ in Modern Greek, check out this short video from Greekified:

Eating at Greek restaurants is a great way to immerse yourself in the language and culture. You may even discover some new foods, like:

• σουβλάκι
• τυρόπιτα
• σπανακόπιτα
• τζατζίκι
• ούζο

If you don’t recognize these foods and drinks, perform an image search by clicking the links above.

Note that both τυρόπιτα (cheese pie) and σπανακόπιτα (spinach pie) end with –πιτα.

Πίτα is the Greek word for bread, cake, or pie, and is where the English word ‘pita‘ used for flat breads comes from. In Modern Greek, πίτα refers to flat breads, of the kind a gyros might be wrapped in, and ψωμί refers to a loaf of bread.

Once you feel comfortable with the above list of foods and drinks, try to find them – among others – on page 6 of Λοιπόν, τι λες; (Well, what do you say?).