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Greek Etymology – Why we chose the name „Omilo“ ?

Greek etymology, is something we often use in our Greek lessons.
But this time, we will use it to explain you a bit more about why we chose the name „omilo“ or “ ομιλώ“.
„Omilo Greek Language and Culture“ was founded in 1996, so we are around for many years 🙂 Even longer than „google“ ! 🙂

And …in case you were wondering…

“Omilo” or „ομιλώ¨,  actually is a verb and means “I speak”!

Because at Omilo, we really try to focus on „speaking Greek“!

If you already know some Greek, then you now might wonder: Why “omilo“ (ομιλώ) and not “milao” (μιλάω)?
Well, both verbs mean „I speak“, but the latter is more used in the everyday Greek language, so you will hear it more.

Careful; when you pronounce „omilo“, make sure you stress the LAST O, since also there is the stress in the verb; ομιλώ

Click here to read this article in Greek and listen to the Greek audio

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Easy Reader in Greek + Audiobook – „Lydia: A summer in Greece!“

In May 2019 the Greek Easy Reader was published at Omilo, and since then proved to have made Greek language learners very happy!
The  ‘Λυδία: Ένα καλοκαίρι στην Ελλάδα!’ (Lydia: A summer in Greece!) is written for students at the Beginner levels in Greek.

Click here to read this article in Greek

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11 Greek Proverbs in 1 Song

11 Greek Proverbs in 1 Song will not help you only to memorize Greek proverbs, but also learn a lot about the Greek language and culture. The song we present you today is called “Proverbs”. It was written in 1987 by Melina Tanagri. So with this song, you will have “killed two birds with one stone” (m’ énan sbáro dyó trigónia), as Greeks say.

 

Click here to read the article in Greek

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A Crossword related to Greek Mythology

A crossword related to Greek Mythology is another way to learn Greek.  Learning Greek is a hobby for life, so from time to time you have to find fun and new ways of learning to keep yourself motivated.

So, if you reached an advanced level in the Greek language, you might also try a crosswords and get excited about ancient Greek mythology!
Although the exercise is made for advanced students in Greek, even if you are not at that level yet, you can still give it a try, or just read the Greek myth in English. Weiterlesen

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Greek Traditional Christmas Cookies – Melomakarona

Greek Traditional Christmas Cookies, are very popular and baked at most households in Greece.
During the month of December Greeks are looking forward to buy, bake, eat or treat the typical Christmas sweets.
One of the typical Christmas cookies you can find in every bakery, patisserie or household, are the “melomakarona”.


Read this article in Greek and listen to the AUDIO

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Greek Song by Machairitsas, and Greek Vocabulary

A Greek song by Machairitsas is also ideal to learn Greek vocabulary.
Let’s enjoy beautiful Greek music,  while improving your Greek.
The song  “What do I ask for?” “Τι ζητάω;”, is a very known song, every Greek can sing along..
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Writing in Greeklish or using the Greek Alphabet?

The Greek alphabet is unique and special. It has survived thousands of years without significant changes. From the times of Omiros and Platonas, in Byzantine and Kavafis, it ended up in our times with barely any changes to it.
The Omilo teachers are happy to help you learning this beautiful Greek Alphabet!
By the way, it is much easier than it might look.  
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Learn two useful, but confusing, Greek verbs: ‘παίρνω’ and ‘περνάω’

Two Greek verbs that many Beginners and even Intermediate students find quite confusing are ‘παίρνω’ and ‘περνάω or περνώ’. Apart from the slightly different spelling, the main obvious cause of this confusion is the accentuation; it’s just a twist of the accent that makes these two words sound differently.
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Learn More About Greek Music and Greek Singer Eleftheria Arvanitaki

Do you also like Greek music?  Who is your favorite singer?
We here present you… Eleftheria Arvanitaki! A renowned Greek singer with a career that spans four decades and is a strong favorite among Omilo students. Let’s learn more about her life and work!

Click here to read the article in Greek
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Corona Updates from Greece & A Greek Song About Staying At Home!

What a period it was! Here can read some of our Corona Updates from Greece, written between 202o and 2022 and listen to a Greek Song About… Staying At Home!

In the meantime, 2022 started with some sunny days here in Greece, as well as some snow as well…
Our daily walks in the Athens streets and parks continued, just like in 2020 and 2021. However, since now there is no corona curfew anymore and we are allowed to go further than our municipality, we can also go for daily trips towards the snowy mountains again…something which was not possible last winter.

In the meantime, the world news seems once again taken over by ‚corona‘,  or „omikron“. The positive news; we are honored Greek letters are used for a pandemic :-), and the entire world gets the chance to learn the Greek alphabet. We realized many non-Greeks have no clue that the viruses are named after letters of the Greek alphabet, but fortunately, our dear students are very well aware 🙂 .

Do you remember the days you were learning the Greek alphabet? Do you remember how many Greek letters come before the omikron, and what is the difference between omikron and omega?
In 2021 we already heard of the „alpha“ (referring to the „British“ variant), the „beta“ ( „South African“ variant), the „gamma“( the Brazilian variant), and the  „delta“ (the „Indian“ variant).
But how did we get to „omikron“, and why 10 letters of the alphabet are left out? 

Staying at home is still very important given the COVID-19 circumstances but it doesn’t have to feel dull. This is why we would like to introduce you to a funny and upbeat Greek song about – what else? – staying at home and relaxing!
#menoumespiti – #westayathome

 

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