Greek words of sympathy and comfort/Expressing condolences in Greek

Greek words of sympathy and comfort/Expressing condolences in Greek

Lesson 40.

                In this lesson we will learn what to say to someone who is facing difficulties, to

                someone who is sick, who lost his work or to someone in grief.

                When we face difficulties, for example the last weeks that we stay home far from

                our families we can wish each other Καλή δύναμη.

                Καλή δύναμη means “good strength” and we use this phrase when we want to

                wish to someone to be strong/to stay strong literally or metaphorically. Also we

                can wish Καλή δύναμη to someone who is going to work and his work is very

                difficult.

                A similar wish is Καλό κουράγιο. It means “good courage” and it is another way to

                wish to the other person to be strong/ to stay strong. We can say Καλό κουράγιο to

                someone in grief as well. Also we can use this phrase ironically too (more details in

                the video).

               

                To someone who got divorced or to someone who lost his work, we can say

                Λυπάμαι πολύ/ I am so sorry.

                Nowadays losing a job is a common experience and with that high unemployment

                rate is very hard to help the person who lost his work. So let’s see some phrases  we

                can use to comfort the other person.

                Κάτι καλύτερο θα έρθει / Something better will come.

                Όλα θα πάνε καλά / Everything will go well.

                Έχει ο Θεός / God will provide.

                To someone who has a cold or a flue, we can informally wish (to one person)

                “Περαστικά σου”, and if we want to be polite or if we talk to many people we

                say “Περαστικά σας”, or we just say (to one person or to many) “Περαστικά”.

                All these phrases mean “get well soon”.

                When we visit in the hospital or at home someone who had a surgery, we can say

                Καλή  ανάρρωση / good recovery or Ταχεία ανάρρωση / fast recovery.

                When we visit at home someone who was at hospital and he returned home we can

                say “σιδερένιος” if we talk to a man, and “σιδερένια” if we talk to a woman. The

                adjective o σιδερένιος-η σιδερένια-το σιδερένιο means iron. You wish to the other

                person to be healthy and strong as iron.

                To someone in grief we can say “συλλυπητήρια”/condolences or “Tα θερμά μου

                συλλυπητήρια”/My warm/my deepest condolences.

                Also we can informally say to one person “Να ζήσεις να τον θυμάσαι”(if the

                deceased is a man) and “Να ζήσεις να τη θυμάσαι” (if the deceased is a woman).

                If we want to be polite or if we talk to many people we can say “Να ζήσετε να τον

                θυμάστε” (if the deceased is a man) and “Να ζήσετε να τη θυμάστε” (if the

                deceased is a woman). It means “May you live to remember him/her”.

                We mainly use this phrase in Plural, even when we talk to one person, because we

                mean “you and your family”. So we can say to a friend «Να ζήσετε να τον θυμάστε»/

                May you (you and your family) live to remember him.

                Another phrase we can say is “Ζωή σ’εσάς”/Life to you. We use this phrase to wish

                to the family to be healthy and live many years. We use this phrase only in Plural.

                These were some phrases we use to express sympathy to the bereaved family.

                Let’s see some wishes we say for the person who passed away.

                Ας αναπαυθεί εν ειρήνη/ May he or she rest in peace.

                Αναπαύσου εν ειρήνη/ Rest in peace.

                Καλό παράδεισο. It means “good paradise”. We use this phrase to wish the person

                who passed away to enter paradise.

               

                To learn the pronunciation of these phrases and also for further information, you

                can watch the video you will find at the beginning of this lesson.