# έχετε μια καλή καρδιά. Does it make sense?



## SolarGirl90

Is that the right way to say "you have a good/kind heart" in Greek? 

Speaking to a woman, btw. Thanks


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## Ntwson

Actually, you are trying to say "you are good-hearted/kind-hearted people." Since I am not a native speaker, I believe you can say "you are so compassionate!" (Είστε πολύ συμπονετικοί!) but, please, wait for another opinion. You also have the options, as adjectives, "πονόψυχος" and "σπλαχνικός." P.S.: I am a male receptionist/secretary and I am looking for a job as a bilingual receptionist at a company. When I get it, I will conclude my German language course in order to start an Arabic language class. I can't start it now because I am learning German, Greek and Russian. And since I have just "taken a look" at Farsi, I know that I will need a real, not virtual, Arabian (or even an Arabic-speaker) teacher here.


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## SolarGirl90

Ntwson said:


> Actually, you are trying to say "you are good-hearted/kind-hearted people." Since I am not a native speaker, I believe you can say "you are so compassionate!" (Είστε πολύ συμπονετικοί!) but, please, wait for another opinion. You also have the options, as adjectives, "πονόψυχος" and "σπλαχνικός." P.S.: I am a male receptionist/secretary and I am looking for a job as a bilingual receptionist at a company. When I get it, I will conclude my German language course in order to start an Arabic language class. I can't start it now because I am learning German, Greek and Russian. And since I have just "taken a look" at Farsi, I know that I will need a real, not virtual, Arabian (or even an Arabic-speaker) teacher here.



Thank you. Do you know if "Είστε πολύ συμπονετικοί!" could be used when talking to a female? I know that Greek is similar to Arabic in that nouns and adjectives are assigned a gender. 

Btw, if you need help with Arabic feel free to ask me anything via PMs


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## Nikolaos_Kandidatos

Hi SolarGirl90,

as far as I can tell, the phrase έχετε μια καλή καρδιά is quite correct. You can also omit the article and say έχετε καλή καρδιά. (I'd like a native speaker's insight on any possible difference in nuance between these two options - anyone? I can't tell if there is any.) Note that in these two phrases the interlocutor's gender plays no role (I assume it might in Arabic?). Of course you can always express the same idea using different wording, like Ntwson. For example, to stick to an exact translation, you could say είστε καλόκαρδος/καλόκαρδη (here the adjective needs to be adjusted according to the interlocutor's gender).


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## Nikolaos_Kandidatos

SolarGirl90 said:


> Thank you. Do you know if "Είστε πολύ συμπονετικοί!" could be used when talking to a female? I know that Greek is similar to Arabic in that nouns and adjectives are assigned a gender.
> 
> Btw, if you need help with Arabic feel free to ask me anything via PMs



Είστε πολύ συμπονετικοί is in masculine plural, and is used when addressing a group of people either comprised totally of males or of mixed gender. If the phrase is addressed to a single female interlocutor, the correct form is είστε πολύ συμπονετική.


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## ireney

Hello all!
«Έχεις μια καλή καρδία» while syntactically correct but it's rarely used; it's rather awkward Greek.
«Έχεις καλή καρδιά» on the other hand is fine. You could also use «Έχεις μεγάλη καρδιά» (you have a big heart) which basically means the same. As for the singular or the plural in this case (έχεις, έχετε) it depends on either a) the number of people one is talking to or b) the degree of familiarity with a person; if the person is not on a first name basis with you and you wish to be polite you should use the plural form. If they are familiar then singular.


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## SolarGirl90

Nikolaos and ireney: many thanks to both of you!! It's clear now


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## Yiagos

Generally speaking (μιλώντας γενικά) in spoken Greek we do not use much the indefinite articles (αόριστα άρθρα). I think the reason is speed, but the Greek language is not very strict.
For example, we can say _η Άννα είναι μία (or μια) όμορφη γυναίκα_ but we can omit the indefinite article. Τα οριστικά άρθρα (definite articles) are used much more. 
In most cases, (ΟΚ depending on context) all names are followed by a definitive article, e.g. η Άννα, ο Γιάννης, η κυρία Παπαδοπούλου κλπ...

I am not a Greek teacher


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