# some rice (unspecified amount of an uncountable thing)



## διαφορετικός

How can I describe an unspecified amount of rice, "some rice", in Greek? My guesses:

λίγο ρύζι (but I don't want to say that it is "little" rice)
κάποιο ρύζι (I think this is a "false friend" from the English language, but I am not sure)


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## Armas

Maybe κάμποσο ρύζι but I think it too gives an idea about the amount (more than λίγο, less than πολύ).
Κάποιο ρύζι sounds to me like "some (type of) rice".
Let's see what the natives say.
Edit: μια ποσότητα ρυζιού ?


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## διαφορετικός

Thanks for your reply, Armas.


Armas said:


> "some (*type of*) rice"


This is not what I want to express.


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## διαφορετικός

Another guess: Should I simply omit any determiner of the ρύζι? As follows:
"I have bought some rice" = "Αγόρασα ρύζι"
(I think that it sounds odd, but maybe I am wrong.) (In English at least, I would not say "I have bought rice." Maybe this would be okay as well, I am not sure.)

PS: my _English_ grammar book says about "some" for uncountable nouns: "the expression of quantity cannot normally be left out" (unlike in German)


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## Armas

Αγόρασα ρύζι doesn't sound odd to me but neither does "I have bought rice" 


διαφορετικός said:


> PS: my _English_ grammar book says about "some" for uncountable nouns: "the expression of quantity cannot normally be left out" (unlike in German)


Does it say when it can be left out?


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## διαφορετικός

Armas said:


> Does it say when it can be left out?


No, it doesn't; probably it is just regarded as informal style or something like this.


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## ioanell

διαφορετικός said:


> How can I describe an unspecified amount of rice, "some rice", in Greek? My guesses:
> 
> λίγο ρύζι (but I don't want to say that it is "little" rice)



διαφορετικέ, the English “some rice” is correctly rendered by “λίγο ρύζι” in Greek, but you cannot ignore that “λίγο” means “little” in any language, I guess. 
Nevertheless, the meaning of “λίγο” could depend on the situation and the context, e.g.
“-Τι αγόρασες; -Αγόρασα λίγο ρύζι για να κάνω γεμιστά”. (=– What did you buy? – I bought some rice in order to prepare stuffed peppers). Here, “λίγο” could mean a quantity of at least half a kilo, if one buys a packet at the supermarket. But in a shop selling bulk quantities of e.g. rice, cereals, pulses etc, the customer will be asked by the assistant to specify his request for “λίγο ρύζι” or another food. Even when one asks their neighbour to borrow “λίγο ρύζι” (a really unspecified quantity in this case), one will be finally asked to specify their request by another mode of measurement, e.g. a tea-cup.
“Κάμποσο ρύζι” is an acceptable expression, e.g. “– Τι έφαγες για μεσημεριανό; – Μια χοιρινή μπριζόλα και κάμποσο ρύζι” (=– What did you have for lunch? – A pork steak and a good deal of rice” Here, “κάμποσο” could mean ‘αρκετό / πολύ’ (=‘enough’ / ‘a lot’). 
‘Αγόρασα ρύζι’ is also an acceptable expression, as e.g. “– Τι αγόρασες από το σουπερμάρκετ; – Αγόρασα ρύζι, δημητριακά και πατάτες” (=– What did you buy from the supermarket? – I bought rice, cereals and potatoes”) 
“Κάποιο ρύζι” can only be used in a situation like this: “– Θυμήθηκες καθόλου ν’ αγοράσεις ρύζι; – Αα, ναι, αγόρασα κάποιο ρύζι, αλλά δεν θυμόμουν τη μάρκα (=επωνυμία) που μού ζήτησες” (=– Did you any way remember to buy rice? – Oh, yes, I bought some rice, but I couldn’t remember the brand you asked me to”. Here, “κάποιο ρύζι” means “some type of rice”. Otherwise, this expression normally should be crossed out.


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## διαφορετικός

Many thanks, ioanell. I have no questions left.


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## ioanell

You 're welcome!


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## sotos

"λίγο" doesn't necessarily mean "little" but can mean "some", depending on the quantity in relation to the needs of the speaker(s). Έφαγα λίγο ρύζι may mean "I ate less than a portion", but "αγόρασα λίγο ρύζι" may mean "I bought 3 kilos". "Κάμποσο" may be understood as "more than a little, enough". However, in other non-countable things, "κάποιο" may mean "little". e.g. έχω κάποια κούραση = I'm a bit tired.


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## διαφορετικός

Thank you for this interesting additional information, sotos.


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