Τhe difference between the adjectives άσπρος and λευκός
Today we will talk about my favorite color, λευκό/white or it is better to call it άσπρο? Have you ever wondered when do we
use the one adjective and when the other? Some people say that the adjective λευκός is mostly used in formal
speech while the adjective άσπρος in daily life. Is that really so?
Even thought the adjective λευκός is Greek, the word άσπρος is a Latin word. In Roman
empire “asprum” was called the low value coin. It was coming by the word
“asper”/rough. Little later, Byzantines were calling άσπρα the silver coins in order to
focus on their difference from the high value gold coins. So, from the
byzantine Greek until today the word got the same meaning as the adjective “λευκός/white”. In most cases we can choose
which of the two adjectives we want to use. For example, I can say both άσπρα νύχια and λευκά νύχια/white nails. With the clothes as
well. Άσπρο/λευκό παντελόνι/white pants, but with the clothes
we usually choose the adjective άσπρος. Άσπρη μπλούζα/White blouse, άσπρο πουκάμισο/white shirt, άσπρο σακάκι/white jacket etc.
Unfortunately, we cannot always choose which
adjective we like the most. Sometimes we can use only the adjective λευκός and other times only the adjective
άσπρος. Let’s
see:
Λευκό κρασί/White wine, Λευκός Οίκος/White House, Λευκός Πύργος/White tower, λευκά είδη/linen (bed and bath). With the term λευκά είδη/linen we mean bed sheets, tablecloths, towels). While we can say “Προτιμώ τα άσπρα σεντόνια/I prefer the άσπρα σεντόνια/white sheets” or “Αγόρασα ένα άσπρο τραπεζομάντιλο/I bought a άσπρο τραπεζομάντιλο/white tablecloth”, the general term to talk about all of them includes the adjective λευκός. “Η Μαρία παντρεύεται, γι’αυτό αύριο θα πάμε να αγοράσουμε λευκά είδη/Maria is going to get married this is why tomorrow we will go to buy linen”.
Let’s go to the next. Λευκή κόλλα is a white paper on which we haven’t written anything yet. It is
usually that paper we were writing a test at. When I was a student I hated the
phrase that the teachers were using “Βγάλτε μία λευκή κόλλα/take out a piece of paper”.
Unfortunately nowadays I say to my students the same phrase too.
Λευκό ποινικό μητρώο: clean criminal record has the
person who has not committed any crime. Λευκά αιμοσφαίρια/leucocytes and λευχαιμία/leukemia is called the blood’s disease that is manifested by a very
high number of leucocytes.
In the elections when someone does not want to
vote any of the existing political parties, we say that he gives “λευκή ψήφος/white
vote” or “λευκό ψηφοδέλτιο/white ballot”. The “white vote” is
a way of protest against the political system and at the same time the vote is
not considered as invalid.
“λευκή μαγεία/white magic. I don’t know what
exactly is, but here the adjective is used to focus on the contrast between
this kind of magic and black magic.
“Λευκή απεργία/work
to rule” is called the strike that some people have without stop working
completely to not lose their work.
Λευκός θάνατος/white death are called the hard
drugs, because it is about a white powder that leads to death.
Λευκός γάμος/white wedding but in Greek it means
“fake wedding”. When two people get married without loving one the other or
wanting to have a family, but for another reason, usually in order to take one
of them a resident permit or maybe to take a legacy.
We use the adjective λευκός for some animals, such as “λευκός
καρχαρίας/white shark” and “λευκός
ελέφαντας/white elephant”, but also the same adjective
is used about the people. We say λευκή φυλή/white race, λευκοί
άνθρωποι/white people.
And let’s
go now to the adjective άσπρος/white. We say άσπρο τυρί/white cheese, such as greek feta
cheese, cream cheese.
Now some phrases with the word άσπρος. My friends usually tell me “Είσαι άσπρη σαν το γάλα/you
are white like the milk”. When somebody’s skin is very “light colored/pale”, we
say that he is white like milk.
Άσπρη μέρα/White day is the happy day. This is
why you will listen very often Greeks saying “Πότε θα δούμε μια άσπρη μέρα/when are we going to see a white
day?/a day without problems”.
Next phrase is ”κάνει το άσπρο μαύρο/he makes the white black. It means
“to distort the truth”. So when someone narrates the facts not as they are but
in the way he wants in order to prove that he is the good one, we say that he
makes the white black.
I kept for the end my favorite phrase. Στη ζωή τίποτα δεν είναι άσπρο ή μαύρο. Υπάρχει και το γκρι./ In the life nothing is white or black. There is grey too. In a difficult situation when we don’t know what to do because we don’t like the two choices we have, a friend of us can say to us. In life nothing is white or black. Using this phrase we encourage the other person because we are telling to him that certainly there is a third choice.
I want also to tell you the three compound
words you should know. Ασπρόμαυρος/black and white. we cannot say λευκόμαυρο. We always say ασπρόμαυρο.
The second compound word is ασπρομάλλης/white-haired”. We don’t say λευκομάλλης. He who has white hair is called ασπρομάλλης. But we say that the Greece’s flag
is γαλανόλευκη/blue-white. In this compound word we use only
the adjective λευκός.
