A basic knowledge of Greek counting might be quite useful during your stay in Crete.
Especially in small mountain villages not everyone speaks English. Why not enjoy the friendly reaction of the coffee house owner ….
- One coffee please. Έναν καφέ παρακαλώ (Énan kafé parakaló).
At the Souvlaki stand:
- How much does 1 Souvlaki cost? Πόσο κάνει ένα σουβλάκι (Póso káni éna Souvláki)?
- Two Euro? Δυο Ευρώ ( Thio Evró)? (th as in “then”)
- Yes please, we will take 2. Ναι παρακαλώ, θα πάρουμε δυο (Nai parakaló, tha pároume thio). (th as in “then”)
- Thank you! Ευχαριστώ (Efcharistó).
Greek counting: From 1 to 19.
In Greek, the numbers 11 and 12 are unique and therefore need to be memorized individually.
Greek counting: From 20 to 100.
Once you learn to count from 1 to 19, counting from 20 to 100 is easy, as the rest of Greek numbers are formed with the tens, followed by the numbers from 1 to 9.
From 30 to 99 you can count as given in the example for counting from 20 to 29.
For example 32 is “triánta dío” / 47 is “saránta eptá” (simply take the red tens and add the blue numbers from 1 to 9).
So how do you say 38? And how 81?
Pythagoras – a famous mathematician
Pythagoras (570 BC – 500–490 BC) was a Greek philosopher. But … he made also important developments in mathematics, astronomy, and the theory of music. The theorem now known as “Pythagoras’s Theorem” was known to the Babylonians many years earlier but Pythagoras was the first to prove it.
