Learn Greek Online!: Yassas - is it hello OR for you?

	Yassas - is it hello OR for you? by George McEwan - Sunday, 18 March 2012, 03:35 PM
	Trying to learn Greek from a couple of different sources and am now confused. I always thought yassas or yassou meant hello, but one place I'm studying with says that Xeretay means hello and yassas means "for you" Which is correct, cheers, George Reply

It's slightly more complicated than that, and comes from the fact that different words in Greek can be pronounced the same but mean something different.

First, "Xeretay" (correct spelling χαίρετε) does indeed mean "hello", but is relatively formal. You wouldn't use it among friends. It's just the normal way of greeting strangers.

As for "yassas" and "yassou", here's the story:

When spelled γεια σας and γεια σου, they do indeed mean "hello" (the first one when speaking to more than one person, or formally to one person, the second when speaking informally to one person). Γεια σου is even the most common way to greet friends. Literally, they mean "your health" (a common way to greet people. In French, one says "salut" to greet people informally, and that word does also mean "health").
When spelled για σας and για σου, they do indeed mean "for you", the first one when speaking to one person formally or to more than one person, the second one when speaking to one person informally.

So what's the difference between the two? It's a question of stress: γεια σας and γεια σου are pronounced "YASsas" and "YASsou", with the stress at the beginning, while για σας and για σου are pronounced "yasSAS" and "yasSOU, with the stress at the end.

So to answer your question: "yassas" is both "hello" and "for you". Spelling and stress disambiguate. It's just a case of near homophony (words that mean something different but are pronounced the same or nearly the same way).

BTW, if the place you're studying with fails to mention that γεια σας and γεια σου are the most common ways to say "hello", I'm a bit concerned with the quality of that place. Χαίρετε is correct, but very formal, and not nearly as commonly used as the alternatives.

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	Re: Yassas - is it hello OR for you? by George McEwan - Sunday, 18 March 2012, 04:54 PM
	Thanks for that. The other place I'm using is Pimsleur's, and American program which may be slightly dated as it still uses Drachma's in the lessons, and also used Xaipete from the start which I found strange as in many years visiting Greek islands I'd never heard it used. Having said that I do find the program useful for pronounciation. Thanks again, George Show parent \| Reply

	Re: Yassas - is it hello OR for you? by C G - Thursday, 21 June 2012, 03:55 AM
	Hi there. I am new here. I am surprised by Christophe's answer : to me, για σου simply doesn't mean anything. "For you" would be "για σενα" I'd say (not sure about the spelling, as I never wrote Greek, really). I'd say your explanation works for the plural form only. Or am I wrong? Thanks. Cheers, Cedric Show parent \| Reply

	Re: Yassas - is it hello OR for you? by Christophe Grandsire-Koevoets - Wednesday, 27 June 2012, 04:07 AM
	Nope, you're perfectly right. My mistake, Do'h! Indeed, my explanation is only valid in the plural. In the singular, there can be no ambiguity. Show parent \| Reply

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