The Surprising Truth About Learning Greek Nobody Tells You 🇬🇷

🧿In this video, I share the surprising truths about learning Greek that no one tells you! From mastering the Greek alphabet to speaking with locals, I'll guide you through the real challenges and successes of learning this beautiful language. Whether you're a beginner or looking to take your Greek to the next level, this video has practical tips and personal insights that will help you on your journey. Don't miss the conversation between me, a foreigner who learned Greek, and a local-it’ll inspire your own Greek language adventure!
🧿Download your FREE "Moving to Greece Checklist" here: mygreeklifesty...
Greek TV shows mentioned in the video: ΤΟ ΣΟΪ ΣΟΥ • * ΤΟ ΣΟΪ ΣΟΥ * - ΘΑΡΡΟ...
Μην αρχίζεις τη μουρμούρα • Μην αρχίζεις τη μουρμο...
Greek TV channel to check out other series: / @alphatv
LINKS FOR MY FAVOURITE GREEK BOOKS
Book #1 amzn.to/3zrPvzX
Book #2 amzn.to/3RRizr6
Book #3 rb.gy/jn1mi8
Book #4 amzn.to/3VLPoGW
Book #5 rb.gy/jblxtg
WHO AM I:
I'm Daniel, a British/Venezuelan composer who traded London for the sun-drenched shores of Greece back in 2010. Join me as I share the ins and outs of my life from beautiful Nafplio.
Whether you're planning your next holiday trip to Greece or dreaming of making it your new home, I'm here to guide you every step of the way. From exploring hidden gems to savoring local foods, I'm here to guide you on how to experience Greece like a true local.
🧿FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA:
/ danielcarrizalez
/ danielcarrizalezz
🧿WEBSITE:
mygreeklifesty...
Some of the links above are affiliate links, if you click and make a purchase, I may earn a commission, at no cost to you.
#greece #livingingreece #expat

[@MyGreekLifestyle]

🧿Download your FREE "Moving to Greece Checklist" here: mygreeklifestyle.com/checklist

[@ThemistoklisPireas]

If anybody wants to learn Greek in 2-3 months, find me. I use a way depends on the latest neuroscience studies. Your Greek needs improvement to get into the Greek philosophy

[@dimitribelissario7122]

Greek language is as an advance APL language.Not definitions but calculations

[@dimitribelissario7122]

Latin alphabet is a greek alphabet,which was called chalkidian

[@iggo45]

Spanish is a Greek spy, camouflaged in Latin outfit 😊 😅

[@valeriegoulet]

No greek is not latin

[@iggo45]

@valeriegoulet that's why I said "camouflaged"

[@Πανος_123]

Spanish and greek sound similar and they have quite a few common words (which sound practically the same). Grammar is kinda similar too, between greek and spanish. I'm greek and I speak spanish as well.

[@iggo45]

@Πανος_123 Nada nuevo aquí, o dicho de otra manera, "traes búhos a Atenas". Una vez, un Estadounidense (Americano), dio una receta de "pastel de espinacas", "espanakopitta". Y decía que está hecho con espinacas y masa de levadura. "FYLO." Insistió en pronunciar el género como "Failo"". Le hice la pregunta: ¿Cómo se escribe la palabra en inglés? FYLO, me respondió. Le pregunté: ¿Cuántas letras tiene? Respondió cuatro. Le pregunté de nuevo ¿Cómo lo lee? Él respondió "FAILO" !!!!! Le pedí que contara los sonidos. FFFF AAAA IIIIII LLLLLL OOOO. Le pregunté: ¿Cuántos sonidos hizo su boca? ¡Me respondió CINCO! ¡Eh! Le digo: Un español o un griego jamás haría eso. Sacar de su boca un sonido que no está escrito en una palabra.

[@Πανος_123]

@@iggo45 Es como es ! En griego y tambien en espanol si no lo escribes no lo lees ! No es lo mismo en ingles donde alguien pronuncia lo que no ha escrito y algunas veces las mismas letras no se pronuncian de la misma manera en otras palabras.

[@hiukas.]

Your Greek is very impressive for a non-native. Good job friend keep it up! You're right that Spanish helps with pronunciation. In some sentances you really sounded like a Greek.

[@dinoaivaliotis3827]

I’m a second generation Greek Canadian,and my children continue to speak Greek. Traveling to Greece has helped alot to practice the accent and expressions in the language we all love.

[@tr1b1tur]

ΜΠΡΑΒΟ!!!

[@wifiThief]

ωραιος ο ντινος.

[@christophjasinski4804]

The reason why my Greek is so good is Ouzo after each meal 😂

[@kourtourafi]

Not after; before. Ouzo and... meze (snacks for ouzo, like a little cheese, a few olives or even grilled octopus) are supposed to work up an appetite for the meal (either lunch or dinner) that follows...

[@generalnguyenngocloan1700]

Phonetically, Greek and Spanish “sound” similar, but they, are of, course different. I’ve heard of Greek tourists in Spain thinking they heard others around them speaking Greek, but when they approach them they ask themselves “why can’t I understand them”? 😂

[@basementcattiger6231]

Ефхарісто пара полі, о філі сас!🙂

[@jimskoutas1933]

Apo pú íse

[@TeutonicEmperor1198]

@@jimskoutas1933 Ουκρανία, υποθέτω!

[@Darkpumpkinspice]

I learned Greek watching Είσαι το ταίρι μου. I loved the show but there was no subtitles so I would listen and try to understand with what I saw. I would pause the video every time, I would hear something that sounded interesting and would try to type it into Google translate. I had NO IDEA how to write but it really helped me to figure out how to use some expressions! I still remember learning “Μάλιστα” that way and how to use it a bit ironically. Those things you don’t learn in books! Next step is to practice with the locals!

[@alanpotter8680]

(Greek here) I sometimes do that while learning Norwegian, in fact, I put the microphone next to the audio source and let google listen to the audio and type it for me. From then on I start to sort it out and eat it piece by piece, collect data on pronunciation and slang/phrases.

[@Darkpumpkinspice]

@@alanpotter8680 amazing! I am also learning Norwegian at the moment! Any shows you recommend?

[@yllejord]

Wow, that's dedication. Είσαι το ταίρι μου is one of the few Greek series that can be found with subtitles. I recommend it to my students, even though the many idioms are translated into English idioms, sometimes needlessly.

[@Darkpumpkinspice]

@@yllejord ohhhh I had not found it! What I found was without subtitles 😂 First time I saw the series, I understood maybe 30% ( with the context), then a year after, maybe 75% and now , maybe I won’t understand a word here or an expression there ! I love Greek!

[@yllejord]

@@Darkpumpkinspice that's very admirable and impressive. I'm currently learning Korean and I wish I had this kind of tenacity 😅 Great job!

[@marianmoses9604]

I’m from Texas where we have many Spanish speakers. My Greek father often mentioned to me how easy he found it to pick up on Spanish. He found it easier than English.

[@alanpotter8680]

Well, Spanish IS easier than English in many ways. English is ever-evolving language and new words can be invented daily and added to its vocabulary. Apart from that, there are very few grammatical rules in the English language that actually make sense. The rest is an outdated mix of rules from many (some archaic) languages.

[@TheBreathless24]

Your father was right. If your mother language is Greek, then Spanish comes relatevely easy to learn. Easier than English.

[@Эрл_Грей]

As a Greek learning Russian, I have to say that the expression "It's all Greek to me" is very very wrong. It should be replaced with "It's all Russian to me".

[@alanpotter8680]

I'm a first generation Greek, coming from а Bulgarian dad and а Greek Cypriot mother (with immediate Greek roots). Judging from my dad's Greek (and my dad is fantastic with languages), your Greek is not only extremely good, it also has that zing of a local speaker.

[@sofiesanjaya5468]

Greek language is the most amazing language. I feel lucky that I had the opportunity to learn this beautiful language ❤

[@adrionetarcudohori]

28 years ago when I came to Greece to learn the language I had to take a very hard decision. To stay with someone that spoke my language or to stay among Greeks. I took my best decision staying among Greeks. Ειμουν 15 χρονών αλλά ήδη ήξερα αγγλικά και γαλλικά. μετά έπιασα και λίγα ιταλικά. τώρα προσπαθώ να μάθω και λίγα ρωσικά. Keep it going. Wish you the best.

[@Al-uv3dn]

Similarly, I think it’s easier for a Greek to learn Spanish. I started learning Spanish using Duolingo a few years ago. Living in the US, I was learning Spanish using English. It was so difficult until I started translating Spanish to Greek. The conjugations, the tenses, the reflective verbs, all started making sense. Even expressions are similar, for example we both say “it makes cold” instead of “it is cold”, we both say “what hour it is” instead of “what time it is”.

[@alanpotter8680]

As a Greek, I also agree that it's easier to learn Spanish as a Greek. Not that I speak it, but I can repeat/read so well when I go to Spain, my friends there are quite shocked. Both languages have very similar sound. We Greeks have the "th" sounds and our "L" sound is also soft, just like the Spanish, also don't forget that in many regions of Greece (Athens heavily) the S sound is sh-ed.

[@issith7340]

What is very strange, is how fast and easy a greek speaking person can learn Italian. In six months, you probably learn 85% of this language. Spanish is a bit more challenging. Though for a Greek speaker, there’s the funny thing , where, immediately he starts speaking Spanish with a perfect castellano accent, even without knowing what the words mean. You literally read the text, in perfect madrid-accent, without understanding what you are speaking about, at all. These things happened to me, with itslian and Spanish, that’s why i stated all these. Now, learning English was a more elongated period when i was a child ( in Greece we are forced to learn English as very young children), but i think English is way harder to learn by Greeks.

[@ARISKORAKIDIS]

👌👍💪🇬🇷😜

[@Nassos83]

@@issith7340 Not exactly true about Italian, unless you have an Italian husband/wife and speak 24/7 Italian or study in an Italian university. The grammar is my god so complex especially with so many irregular verbs. I started Italian almost 20 years ago, I do keep in touch thanks to KZbin and online magazines, but if you ask me to have a lengthy conversation with a native Italian speaker, forget it. Till today I utilize Google Translate to recall a Italian word I forget. With Spanish for me the challenge will be to remember ser/estar, the simple past tense that is similar to the "passato remoto" in Italian , the many "false friends" between Italian and Spanish, and that there are many words of Arabic origin in the Spanish vocabulary that are completely different from Latin/Romance.

[@issith7340]

@@Nassos83 what is your native language ? Greek?

[@beckybahas2602]

I’m glad you posted this video. I have Greek friend that recommended listening to Greek Tv. I have a Duolingo steak of over 1200 continuous days, mostly in Greek, I have taken Greek lessons and spent a lot of time studying. I go to a very Greek, Greek Orthodox church and I try to speak a little. However, I am only at the point where I recognize a lot of words but I have a hard time understanding while people are speaking. I am 62 and my only language is English. I’ll try the Greek TV

[@ch1ckenphat514]

As a spaniard from Galicia, my brain was picking up on the similarities almost instantly. I've learned a few basic phrases to get me by while my short time there. Looking forward to speaking it fluently, however long it might take me.

[@lolal2502]

I speak decent Spanish, and I can tell you, Greek is very difficult. Very little similarities with Spanish or Latin.

[@Nassos83]

@@lolal2502 The only similarity with Castillian Spanish is phonetics, hence the ease the Spaniards have when memorizing some basic Greek phrases to get by if there's a language barrier. Beyond that indeed for a foreigner, be it fluent in a Romance or Germanic or even Slavic language, it's a completely new universe especially in the written form. It is however the complete opposite way for us Greek when we learn Spanish. The reactions we get from Spaniards when they listen us speaking Spanish is like "wtf o_O".

[@Stilvotidis]

Spanish is a Latin language and Latin has a lot in common with the greek language, because latin speakers were also greek speakers back in the Roman era, so the similarities went on through the ages... I must say that the Spanish pronunciation is more familiar to the greek than italian.

[@hedylus]

It's much more than that. Around 2600BC, proto-Greek speakers from the Greek mainland, began colonising Italy. In around 1200BC a more aggressive Lacedaemonian Greek culture colonised the colonies, but found it difficult writing Greek in either Linear A or Linear B since both were used by Etruscans, Greek speakers and other minor languages. And so one of the new colonists, Latinos of Ithaca, began using an older more simple alphabet from Western Greece to write down Greek of that time. Within a short space of time, and through using this alphabet, ancient Greek in Italy was fixed as a separate language, "Latin Greek". By 700BC, Latin was still just about about mutually comprehensible with regular Greek speakers, but by 650BC, and with the widespread introduction of the current Greek alphabet, Latin Greek speakers continued using the old Western Greek alphabet (of 1200BC) and were thought of as the Latins by Greek mainlanders and Aegean Greek speakers. This is the origin of Latin speakers and the reason why Greek & Latin are always so irreversibly intertwined with each other.

[@charlene2112]

When I lived in Greece, I made friends with a Greek lady. She helped with Greek, I helped her with English. I used to watch Greek TV and that also helped.

[@Kevin-zz9nc]

When I was in Spain this arrangement was known as a Cambio....literally exchange. The first one was a girl who spoke zero English and refused to try to communicate with sign language or gestures so that didnt last. My coworker then found me a guy who had a little english. He was soccer mad so the cambio consisted of a weekly double of soccer followed by Al Ataque!!!! But at least I got to sit down with a Spamish family every week and hear them discuss things and talk. He is right you have to immerse yourself so get the paper and a dictionary and sit down in a bar and try to understand the news where you hear the language and can practise ordering things. One-day you realise you're catching one word in every sentence then maybe two words....little while later you'll be able to figure out what they're saying from the context. Then you're on your way.....of course it may dawn on you that all this time all they've been bitching and going on about is whether wine is better than beer!!!!

[@konstantinek4761]

Greek is indeed a difficult language to learn and master (if the latter is ever possible) ... Greek is an "inflected" language meaning that a word (the same word) is presented in multiple forms depending on gender, tense, case, etc. A verb for example can have over 100 forms. In addition, the Greek language is over 3,000 years old and ever evolving... Exposing oneself to any language is indeed very helpful. As a starting point, I would suggest that if you learn the Greek alphabet and how each letter is pronounced you would be establishing a solid base. You will be able to read words correctly and the association with their meaning will come much faster. It obviously helps that many words you currently use/understand (as mentioned in the video) actually have a Greek origin.

[@samandmax42]

I don't think this is correct, unless you're talking about ancient Greek. I can count max 26 forms in the grammar book. Unless we count "έχω γράψει", "έχεις γράψει" as 2 forms instead of one. But that's just inflecting the verb "έχω" to form the tense, which we only have to learn once... (I'm also not counting future continuous which just adds "θα" to present tense)

[@ManosAlpha]

Soooo true about learning the alphabet and the pronunciations first! Even if some words have multiple meanings, there is no confusion in pronouncing them! E.g. "minute" has two ways to pronounce it; it's hard (if at all) to find a greek word where you see a word and don't know how to read it. Or I just can't think of one right now...

[@georgeageorgopoulos]

Mr your Greek perfect!!

[@generalnguyenngocloan1700]

He’s even starting to have a Greek accent when he speaks English. 😂

[@bartvankampen1161]

Listen to Greek music! There are so many wonderful, cheerful and beautiful songs: you naturally want to know what it is about. Ask yourself every day: "How do you actually say this in Greek?" Figure it out and everything you remember will improve your Greek. Basic knowledge of grammar and vocabulary is required. Buy a Greek newspaper or (children's) book and try to translate it.

[@frapapcgaming]

Ακριβώς όπως το είπες είναι, όπως ένα μωρό γεννιέται και δεν ξέρει καμιά γλωσσα,με την ακοή την μαθαίνει όλοκληρη με τον καιρό χωρίς να ξέρει κανόνες και γραμματική, οπότε αν θες να μάθεις μια γλώσσα πρέπει να την ακούς και να έχεις θέληση για μάθηση,με αγάπη από Αθήνα

[@yllejord]

Εξαρτάται, κάθε άνθρωπος έχει διαφορετικό τρόπο να μαθαίνει γλώσσες, από μια ηλικία και μετά.

[@sasukegre]

Greek is very mathematical and rule-focused. Even if you haven't heard a word again, if you know the fundamental rules, you know how to use the word in different context and syntax patterns. That's not the case with many languages, including English.

[@yllejord]

That's every language, mate.

[@sasukegre]

@@yllejord Νot to the extend Greek is as well as some few other languages. I have studied 3 other languages (English, French, German) and from lingual analysis from experts, that's the understanding that I got.

[@yllejord]

@@sasukegre would you mind linking to one of those experts, or pointing me towards their general direction at least, please, if it's not too much of a bother?

[@MSPANAKIS]

14' Even 'native' speakers make mistakes, all the time -- unless they practice reciting a particular, pre-worked text (e.g., actors) -- because speech is spontaneous and casual. And that is true for any language.

[@ΑπόλλωνΘηρευτής]

Some Greek words in English and other languages: Melody, music, harmony, telephone, metro, meter, cinema, telepathy, history, dinosaur, astronaut, cosmology, star, photograph, ouranus, micron, mega, market, catastrophe, epilogue, prologue, mathematics, epitome, school, organization, pharmacy, airplane, meteorite, calligraphy, disc, athlete, meter, plethora, economy, geography, technology, architecture, physics, geometry, icon, fantasy, choreography, theory, anthropology, ego, automatic, cone, polygon, kaleidoscope, zoological (zoo), pragmatism, idea, circle, metal, acoustics, philosophy, otolaryngology, archeology, mystery, epitome, antidote, perimeter, diameter, electricity, chemistry, bible, oxygen, pediatrician, panorama, myth, pentagon, agony, lyre, guitar / sitar, politics, hydraulics, gene, atom, lion, democracy, police, method, enthusiasm, character, climate, parallel, gastronomy, synergy, base, protagonist, therapy, synthetic, phenomenon, dynamic, program, hypothetical, tactical, irony, sarcasm, wine, dollar, money, auto, tetragon, heptagon, three, camel, leopard, panther, kiss, euphonia, etymology, ocean, alphabet, gene, airplane, meteor, shell, apostroph, apotheosis, metaphore, metall, esthetic, chaos, decalogue, logo, cycle, cube, hero, irony, giant, Europe, episode, energy, pneumonia, analysis, organ, planet, meteorite, Galaxy, poet, poetry, museum, rhythm, grammar, kilometer, theater / amphitheater, ode/on, tragedy, comedy, philanthropy, pandemic, ecology, logic/logistic, dialogue, automatic, telepathy, telescope, hypocrisy...let me rest for awile.

[@xsfsdsdhen1739]

As a Greek i am pretty sure "wine" and "three" are not derived from Greek words, they are pure germanic. These words existed in similar form in proto Germanic way before they come in contact with the Greeks. But i guess the rest is true 👍

[@angad5338]

​@xsfsdsdhen1739 I would agree with you and I would add some more

[@angad5338]

For example electricity ( electron, ηλεκτρωρ) probably comes from sanscrit. But given that all the languages speaken in the region of Europe, mediterranean and up to India have a common ancestor. (Proto-Indo-European Language) it's hard to know if they influenced each other or some words come directly from the common ancestor. Wine was uoin-a- in the proto indo European, win in protogermanic, wine in Latin and οίνος in Greek. Maybe proto germanic didn't influence greek

[@angad5338]

But Greeks where the ones that transported the cultivation of grapes across the rest of the Europe so the word wine as in the juice from the grapes were of Greek origin

[@ΑπόλλωνΘηρευτής]

@@xsfsdsdhen1739 οίνος > vino (Λατ.) > wine (αγγ.) > wein (γερμ.), vin (γαλ.) κλπ. Φυσικά τα v και τα w είναι επειδή υπήρχε το δίγαμα (F) το οποίο καταργήθηκε αργότερα, και επροφέρετο ως ελαφρύ φ ή β, εξ ού και το λατινικό F... Όσο για το three, αν δεν προέρχεται από το τρία τότε από πού;...

[@Nassos83]

Good job buddy! I jiggled when you said "se misi oritsa", you sounded like speaking with a heavy "chorio" accent. 😂 It also seems that even Spanish speakers cannot easily pronounce the "ochi" in the proper Greek way even though you do utilize the "jota".

[@youlamatou]

1.23 Not "και να πίνω το δεύτερο καφέ" but "και να πιω το δεύτερο καφε".Sorry, don't get angry with me for correcting you. So many people do that when I correct their English.

[@Michalis_Sideratos]

The thing with English is that it is the easiest language to get a start off and communicate. 1 gender article, easy grammar, easy syntax. It is the exact opposite from Greek and it's frustrating. The best way to learn a language, as you say and I agree, is to immerse yourself in it. Having it all around you and being forced to speak it will make it magically easy. Don't mind if you say gibberish in the beginning, people will help you cause they take pride of a foreigner trying to speak their language.

[@Theodoros_Kolokotronis]

Greek is an Indo-European language, constituting an independent branch of it, native to Greece, Cyprus, Italy (in Calabria and Salento), southern Albania, and other regions of the Balkans, Caucasus, the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records.

[@socratesparcharidis5719]

Συγχρονοι γλωσσολογοι αμφισβητουν σθεναρως την Ινδοευρωπαικη καταγωγη της Ελληνικης γλωσσης.

[@mr.black8144]

you are a treasure for us,i respect you so much .God bless you and your lovely family

[@savvassyrmopoulos5570]

Fresco=italian (thw same in spanish I think). "Nopo" in original greek (the accent on the second "o"). Yaya (=grandmother) (the accent on the second "a") is turkish I think.

[@melaniehatzakos6987]

You are right that listening is so important. I would listen to my husband talk with his parea and I would hear words repeated a lot, then I would ask my husband what does this word mean. Pretty soon, I would hear specific words and was able to know what they were talking about, but still couldn't understand everything. The more i listened, the more I learned about pronunciation, then when I saw those words in print in my books, i would be able to read them. After a while, the parea realized i understood what they were saying, then they decided they would speak English for me. They saw that i was serious about learning and then respected me. The hardest thing for me to remember are the case endings...my vocabulary is good, but I dont always get the case right.

[@konstantinossohos2349]

This is a great video! Also another way to learn a language, Greek in this case while a bit unconventional is to use Chatgpt for fixing syntax errors or correcting expressions you thought in your head sounded fine but actually had some errors. Regarding pronunciation, try reading Greek books out loud for hours, don't stop until the pronunciation is perfect, and listen to series, listen to Βουλή των Ελλήνων on TV, news, lectures, even Physics lectures, anything to make you not only grasp the conversational component but the academic and functional component of the language. Also, never think of this as a "when" question, like "when" will I have proficiency? - this is what I thought once. It's a matter of perseverance and grit, and knowing that one day you will sound like a native speaker. Also a little bit of a dark trick to use, but use humiliation and embarrassment to your advantage. Just visualise everyone making fun of you for a grammatical errors or your accent, and use that fear and embarrassment as energy to be channeled into your own self-learning and improvement. It is a rough journey but never give up; to anyone trying to learn Greek or any other language.

[@SeasonsChange1111]

I absolutely love what you are saying and your respect for the Greek culture and language is very inspiring. 🙏

[@karagiannisboris]

0:24 LIKE KIMONO....JUST JOKING...ΚΑΛΑ ΤΑ ΕΛΛΗΝΙΚΑ ΜΠΡΑΒΟ

[@annecavallo5743]

You cannot be afraid to make mistakes.

[@MrSpyroschr]

Hi y'all, I am Greek and back in the day I learned English from the 80's TV series Dukes of Hazard.

[@thespartanslayer1]

Hey man! I am a new subscriber here, and I just wanted to let you know that your videos are truly awesome. I grew up in Greece till I was 15, and then I moved to NY where I was born and stayed for the rest of my time (I'm 33 now). Anyway, I had the same challenges since I didn't speak English when I moved to NY, but I learned super fast via watching movies and shows. In my opinion, that's the fastest way to learn a language and immerse yourself in the culture. I really appreciate the respect and dedication you show for our country, my Greek brother

[@eziomorte3380]

Ancient Greek? We cant even say a couple of senteces right, mate! We can read the ancient texts on tombs etc but write or talk? No way! First time here on your channel! Your Greek are AMAZING mate, you made just a few minor mistakes here and there that probably I, as a Greek, could do and no one would notice! You speak better than me who was born in Thessaloniki, raised in Athens and then moved to London at 22 (Im 42 now)! That "1 τεταρτακι" just killed me, I was at least 17-18 years old untli I started using this frase (which means 250gr btw for anyone who's curious) because I was always confused! Amazing! Subbed to your channel! Cheers! PS: BTW Im learning Japanese at the moment, at first I thought it was impossible but what you said is the key, you must immerse yourself in the languge, that was the key for me! I even began watching anime, TV shows and reading manga and it helped me immensely, it was the best thing I ever did. Manga need knowledge, you need to understand this "alien alphabet" so to speak, so it came later, but anime was a HUGE help from day 1. What I did was first LISTEN what the characters were saying and try to understand words and then look at the subs. At first I couldnt understand a thing except for "arigatou gozaimasu" and similar basic words. It took some time but after a few months I could actually understand quite a few words! Im at a 30-40% of understanding what's being told now without the subs which is fantastic for me, so yeah, TV shows is a GREAT help. As someone who speaks english without the need to translate in my mind first (immersion) it helped me with Japanese too. I learn new words, frases etc and, my mind, like a machine, is like downloading them and then using them without the need to translate them first. Its probably because I do the same with english? I dont really know how to explain it better, but it happens effordless. Now, reading is another thing, our alphabet in the west is almost the same, a native english/latin speaker will easily learn to at least understand the greek alphabet/words but learning Hiragana, Katakana and especially Kanji, well that's another story. Now as for the english I didnt have the same problem because we start learning the language at 8-9 years old in Greece so at 14-15, even if you dont study, you can still understand and speak much, much more than the basics (although our Meditterenean accent will never go away hahahaha). Finally, as a musician myself who studied theory of music since I was 7, playing piano, guitar, bass, keyboards and a bit of violin, you are absolutely right, I have a friend who's 2 times better than me in precision and speed, playing complicated rock and metal solos on his guitar and he doesnt even know what the notes or even scales, are.

[@MrAdamMcFarlan]

My man,your accent is like 8.5/10! I very rarely see people that almost master the greek accent. Last time I met a person it was a woman that had like 9.5/10 and I haven't realized she wasn't greek a month AFTER I met her. She has been living in Greece for 30+ years... One day you will have this kind of accent, I'm sure. Good job!

[@tpapadopoulos80]

I’m Greek American , teaching my kids Greek is very hard but I use Disney plus and put on the cartoons like Bluey in Greek with English subtitles. It has definitely improved my Greek as well.

[@HandOfGodGR]

Wow you speak really good greek dude! As a greek guy, i'm really impressed! 👏👏👏

[@elizanth9782]

Your pronunciation is amazing you speak Greek like native Greek man. Eιμαι Ελληνίδα και σου λεω πολλα μπραβο σε εσένα στην επιμονη σου να μάθεις τη γλώσσα μας και στη γυναίκα σου που σιγουρα σε βοηθάει.Χαιρομαι που ανθρωποι σαν εσάς επιλεγουν να ζήσουν στην Ελλάδα μας.

[@TheBreathless24]

Greek's not easy to learn. So to all the people out there who try to learn it, huge respect. And if you come in contact with Greek people, don't be afraid to use what you've learned. Even if you make mistakes, it doesn't matter. They'll be happy to hear you say some words.

[@dimitrisfr5491]

Εσύ θα έπρεπε να ήσουν καθηγητής ελληνικής γλώσσας .

[@BrianJonson]

Greek pianist Yanni never learned music - but he composed some amazing pieces

[@antonisk2890]

Greek here, actually for a non-native person, you speak very very well. Greek is a rather complicated language and a bit different in philosophy (having learned English, German and Spanish) and actually being able to speak spanish it makes it easier to speak more correctly. Anyways, well done dude!

[@namemenick9819]

You speak Greek very good,but lets be real...Greek language is not for everyone.Demands very very very hard work for someone to get to your level.People out of Greece almost stands no chance to learn Greek.

[@tasoskotaras2738]

Great advices not only for learning Greek, but any language. The analogy with learning musical instrument is spot on.

[@stevefoxg]

Daniel this is a great video. I have finished Duolingo and have been struggling to find the next step. So I will check out the shows you mentioned. I did find, sitting on the bus on my way to the beach, listening to Greeks speak - I picked up a lot of commonly used words - like lipon, poli orea, orea, and so on...

[@tilemacro]

I met a South Korean Orthodox Priest in 1990. He spoke greek exactly as a native greek person. (So it can be done.)

[@youlamatou]

The most difficult part of the greek language is distinguishing simple past from past continuous. This is the weak point of foreign and this is how we native greek people can tell no matter how well a foreigner speaks the language.

[@MariaL-o8l]

Very informative and beautiful, all of your videos. Congrats on your greek, too! About Greek students abroad... While studying in Italy, I encountered Greek students, who had completed their university studies (even in challenging fields), but spoke Italian very poorly or at a basic level. It is something like "i can relate with the neighbor, but i can't communicate with the bank", technically... the opposite! They simply studied and understood the terminology, but either lacked an aptitude for languages or were unwilling to engage with the culture of the country they had come to. So, they didn't immerse themselves in the local community and didn't learn the language well. A key factor, that i recall, was the mindset that "in a few years, I'll return to Greece, so there's no need to waste more time than I already spend studying". Thanks again for the videos and the beautiful sceneries!

[@Milybecan]

I say the same. Knowing Spanish (my mother language) is a great advantage when it comes to pronunciation. I watch that same comedy show.😅 Yes, It does pay to watch them, the news too, just to start getting used to it. Soon after, I started to identify words and then tie one word to the other. I learned other basics from my little grandson.😂 If course I have a lot to go. Will need more time than the 3 months I usually stay once or twice a year. Agree with your tips.🎉

[@elianalia1082]

O Pelatis:Thelo mono vutiro, fresca avga, dhiakosia peninda grammaria zambon eliniko, meli Imitu qe dhio fetes tiri olandhiko. O ipallilos: Efkaristo! To tamio ine dheksia sto vathos😂😂😂. Ta elinika dhen ine poli dhiskola, alla dhen ine qe poli efkola. I Ellines dhen tus katalaveno panda iati milun grigora.🤣. Stin Eladha pinome ta uza qe ti birra mas, trogondas psomi, sardheles, elies, tiri qe domates. Afta ine ta pragmata pu servirun stin Eladha ja orextiko. Jasu Eladhaaaaa😍😍😍

[@jimskoutas1933]

Are you albanian?

[@elianalia1082]

@@jimskoutas1933 Yes, I are😂😂😂

[@senseeman]

geia sou file :)

[@elianalia1082]

@@senseeman γεια και εσένα ο φίλος μου

[@alkistx8267]

Σωστός σωστός έτσι πρέπει να ζει ο άνθρωπος 😎

[@helens1111]

Love your channel… lots of helpful information, but can you turn the camera around so we can enjoy the beautiful scenery you are experiencing, instead of the camera focusing on you? Thanks so much

[@neksini]

Συγχαρητήρια και μπράβο σου φιλέ για το μήνυμα που στέλνεις για τους ξένους αλλά και για την δικιά μας νεολαία. Το πόσο πλούσια είναι η γλώσσα μας και ότι αξίζει να συντηρούμε 🎉🙌🏼💪🏼👍🏼👌🏼

[@yannig8791]

I live in london and whenever I hear spanish people talk from a distance I’m 100% sure they are greek but as I get closer I realise that they speak spanish. 😊 So yes the fact that your greek including the accent is good may be because your native language is spanish. All the best.

[@savvassyrmopoulos5570]

My father was captain in trade navy and once occured a third nationality person ro judge which language is faster speaking between greek and spanish. The winner was spanish.

[@fmayer1507]

This video is totally correct! I live in Greece, and total immersion along with constantly trying to speak it correctly, is key. Once a word is mastered, then thinking in Greece is key. There are no shortcuts. Work is required, and you must be willing to make mistakes and not be intimidated by making mistakes and getting corrected by native Greek speakers.

[@someinteresting]

Have you used the series Ελληνικά for learning the language? I like it very much. And Ταξίδι στην Ελλάδα for the Proficiency level.

[@Not-Impressed..1821]

Your colloquial Greek is really good. Probably better than mine.

[@ledzep9501]

Such a nice video... And your Greek man, phheeeeeewwwww, they sound really great, honestly!!

[@valeriegoulet]

I'm hellenica karistisian and kastorian f4om mama and biellese piedmontese italian from the alps I want to go over from Florida to live 3 months in karystos in spring for easter season and italy in summer.. I watch you and I need to kiss the homelands

[@laurenhw1988]

I'm learning Greek and I speak it well enough to get by but it is definitely not an easy language!

[@no4h1453]

Like any language, it is easy to learn to understand Greek in listening or reading. It is much more difficult to speak fluently and write. Daniel, I would like to know what is your opinion about the Greek music as a professional musician yourself. Do you like listening or playing Greek music. I think this could be a whole video to make on Greek music. Thanks

[@clairemc]

Yes! I needed this encouragement today. Thanks Daniel and will check out the links. Ευχαριστώ πολύ

[@captainreza1]

I like the tempo in the music at the beginning and the end of your insightful video! Cheers!

[@antonisdouropoulos500]

You forgot to leave a link for Κωνσταντίνου και Ελένης.

[@celseac8107]

"ΜΩΡΗ ΚΑΤΑΚΟΥΖΗΝΑΑΑ" should be everyone's priority to learn 😂

[@0pieamii]

Thinking in Greek is another world 😊🇬🇷🇦🇺

[@dimitrastavrou3761]

MAYBE IT IS TIME TO START READING POETRY ! START WITH KAVAFIS .....

[@wifiThief]

your greek are impressive. not only do you know the words, their grammar (grammar is a very difficult part of the Greek language) but you speak the "real" language with a local, something very difficult that few books can teach you. next challenge: to do a similar dialogue in thessaly or in epirus with local papoudes lol

[@BrianJonson]

Try streaming Greek radio as well. There are apps and websites that stream it 24 hours a day

[@celseac8107]

Amazing video!! Your Greek is indeed good! All the recommendations were on point! If I may, the only small thing that needs improvement in your accent is the pronunciation of ι in a few words. For example, "παιδιά" is actually pronounced "παιδγιά". (It's in the cases that have that -ja instead of -ia", like "πηγάδια" which is pronounced "πηγάδγια"). Να 'σαι καλά φίλε μου!

[@teoragos]

“When you reach the point where there’s no need to translate anything, that’s when you’ve mastered that language”. That really is so true! You really speak with a great accent, congrats!

[@jimmorrison2657]

I am English and I've been learning Greek for four and a half years. Great video ✌️

[@abandoneduniverses]

I was once museum guard..Still remember the visitors smiling when they catch on the air words or phrases that are easy to understand when you are english speaker. If you search for "cutted" words you will find more..sea from thalla-sea tree from δεν-tree etc..and in ancient Greek more and more like the phrase that Odysseus said to Penelope....kisson me penelopa 😂😂❤❤ kiss on me penelopa

[@georgebourlos1430]

Greek alphabet and greek words have a continet followed by a vowel... this is the most natural and easy thing to do and makes the language easy... Scandinavian languages dont have that.... (however, differentiating by gender on all words and changing the end of the pronoun or verb accordingly thrrws us back)

[@yiannisr3784]

αν μάθεις την Ελληνική γλώσσα μπορείς να εκφράσεις τα πάντα

[@chrissid.1401]

Σε όλες τις γλώσσες μπορείς. Υπάρχουν αλλά στοιχεία που κάνουν τα ελληνικά μοναδικά.

[@yiannisr3784]

@@chrissid.1401 δεν μπορείς σε όλες η Ελληνική γλώσσα γεννάει λέξεις

[@johnpapadopoulos9057]

Very down to earth approach.

[@dimitriosdaukopulos3941]

Speaking it easy!!!! Just pronounce all vowels flat !!! The grammar is tough!!

[@VenomHungry]

actually greek language as the most of the people say is one of the hardest languages to learn! And not only because of the pronuciations but because 1 word can have so many meanings! Or because 1 thing can have so many words to describe it! You are very cool guy and with good greek speaking! Congrats! Keep it up!

[@alexp3572]

From my opposite experience I realised I am getting into English when i was throwing Greek words to my colleagues. My brain implemented both languages and couldn’t differentiate them, both is communication.

[@BarfAttack]

As a native Greek, I'll have to say that whoever told you that your Greek is good they're lying. Your Greek is impressive, no doubts about it. Well done.

[@NC7491]

Τα ελληνικώς σου είναι πολλλύ καλά.

[@ΜΑΡΙΑΣΕΡΕΤΗ-χ5τ]

Your greek are very good!!!

[@paulmokidespaul5347]

You're mastering the Greek language 😮. Poli kalo.

[@cpaleolo]

I would really enjoy to hear you speak Spanish. I’m a Greek Australian who knows great level of Greek wanting to learn Spanish..

[@chrgeo8342]

You speaking Spanish helped a lot in your very good Greek accent. The grammar and the talking is all due to your hard efforts. Spanish did not help there. I am Greek that knows a bit of Spanish

[@master_macchiato3222]

Περπάτημα και καφεδάκι - τα καλύτερα πράματα

[@donmanolo4875]

Nailed it... Spanish similar... tha...

[@giannakk]

You have indeed mastered speaking Greek, very nice pronunciation brother. Well done!

[@dameleanis5426]

Hey dude you talk like a Greek and with accent! Keep going,you make beautiful videos so thanks for showing our land!!

[@stevetsitis]

We have been influenced and have words from other languages too. For example : taxi/ταξί, ascenseur/ασανσέρ, gas/γκάζι, ball/μπάλα, bottiglia/μποτίλια, train/τρένο, scala/σκάλα etc. There are many other from Spanish, Italian, French, Turkish, The Balkans.

[@Earth_journey_yoga]

Your videos are so helpful, thank you so much. Apologies if I've missed them, but what are the tv shows I can find on KZbin please? ☺️

[@gmcenroe]

Duolingo is also a good option for learning Greek. I just finished German after 265 consecutive days of work. Now reviewing and looking for another language. You are correct about the time needed. I dedicated at least 2 hours per day to learn German and I still have much to learn beyond Duolingo.

[@someonesomewhere8888]

Μy guy you speak very well for a foreigner and your pronunciation is very close. Congratulations!

[@paulmokidespaul5347]

Best wishes for your video's!!!

[@donmanolo4875]

You the best....

[@donmanolo4875]

You the best....