As with English, there are many different ways to say hello and goodbye in Greek.
Hello
A polite/formal way to say hello is «γεια σας», pronounced below. (Tip: you can adjust the playback speed.)
Pronounciation Tips
«γεια» sort of sounds like the way a horse rider might say “yah!” to get the horse to move, but with a little less force. The Greek letter γ is sort of halfway between an English y and g; for this word in particular, it has more of a y sound.
«σας» sounds sort of like it’s halfway between the English words “sass” and “sauce”.
Meaning
The literal translation of the noun «υγεία» is “health”, so when you say «γεια σας», you are essentially saying “health to you”. This perhaps explains why the phrase «γεια σας» is also used as a glass-clinking celebratory expression, similar to how we might say “cheers” here in the US.
Goodbye
The Greek word for goodbye is «αντίο», but I haven’t seen or heard it much outside of Duolingo. Apparently, you would only use this if you do not know when you might see the person again. «γεια σας», which you just learned as “hello”, can also be used to bid someone farewell, or you can say «τα λέμε», which is more like “see you later”.
Key Takeaways
It’s great if you understood most of this lesson, but the most important takeaway is γεια σας. As long as you’ve got that down, you can keep going.