# very very well



## janecito

I just have a quick question...

If *καλά *means 'well' and *πολύ καλά* means 'very well', what does *πάρα πολύ καλά* stand for?

Confused.


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## modus.irrealis

Basically, πάρα πολύ can mean either "very very"  or "too," depending on the context. I can't really think of an English equivalent; maybe "exceedingly" works.


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## janecito

OK, thank you.

The example that made me write this post was the following:

Α: Η Ελένη μιλάει καλά τουρκικά;
Β: Ναι, μιλάει *πάρα πολύ καλά*.

So, I guess, in this case "very very good" or "excelent" would go...

How would you say "It's too good to be true."?


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## ics

Hi janecido,Modus irrealis is right, “πάρα πολύ» means “very very”, “more than very good” so “excellent” I think fits here… (Sorry but my scarce knowledge of english dosen’t permit me to suggest a proper equivalent)
As for the other question, too good to be true in greek will be «παραείναι καλό για να είναι αληθινό» or «είναι πολύ καλό για να είναι αληθινό». I prefer the first version but I think is just a question of style.
Hope it helps!


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## metis

janecito said:
			
		

> OK, thank you.
> 
> The example that made me write this post was the following:
> 
> Α: Η Ελένη μιλάει καλά τουρκικά;
> Β: Ναι, μιλάει *πάρα πολύ καλά*.
> 
> So, I guess, in this case "very very good" or "excelent" would go...
> 
> How would you say "It's too good to be true."?


 
And what about "yes, she speaks a very good turkish, indeed". Do you think it is too soft to mean "she speaks an excellent turkish"? Just an idea, let me know what you think, Giulio


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## ireney

Well it's not exactly "excellent". Excellent would be "εξαιρετικά", "Τέλεια" (Perfect), "θαυμάσια". It's more like extremely well. Sort of what metis said "very good indeed", "close to perfect".


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## janecito

metis said:
			
		

> And what about "yes, she speaks a very good turkish, indeed". Do you think it is too soft to mean "she speaks an excellent turkish"? Just an idea, let me know what you think, Giulio


I agree this would be a good way to translate it. Only, maybe we shoud say "She speaks Turkish very well indeed.". After all, "πάρα πολύ καλά" is an adverb not an adjective. I think.

Another quick question... Is πάρα only used in this expression (πάρα πολύ) or can one use it with other adverbs/adjectives as well: πάρα καλά, πάρα ψιλός etc.?


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## ics

> Is πάρα only used in this expression (πάρα πολύ) or can one use it with other adverbs/adjectives as well: πάρα καλά, πάρα ψ*η*λός etc.?


Yes, it’s used as a reinforsative of “πολύ» and no, you can’t say πάρα καλά, πάρα ψ*η*λός etc. In alternative you can say “παραείναι ψηλός» «παραείναι καλός» 

ps: ψιλός means thin, ψηλός means tall


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## skatoulitsa

Παρά is usually used in combination with πολύ.
In general it gives a meaning of something more, but not excessive in the negative sense as "too" is.
Sometimes it gets combined with verbs like "παραείναι", but not directly with adjectives. Another example: "το παρακάνω" = "I overdo it" (i guess it gets a bit negative here)


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## MissPrudish

Πάρα πολύ καλά could be translated as "very very well" but not "too".
"Too" could be the equivalent of "υπερβολικά" (ipervolika) in greek, which suggests excess.


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## modus.irrealis

Are people sure that "πάρα πολύ" can never be translated "too" in English? I've heard it used this way and one of the definitions in this dictionary is


> με τη σημασία υπερβολικά πολύ, παραπάνω από ό,τι έπρεπε, προκειμένου για καταστάσεις δυσάρεστες


 Am I missing something here?


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## ireney

Well, modus, both you and Miss Prudish are correct 

How is that possible you may ask. Well Miss Prudish referred to the whole expression "πάρα πολύ καλά". In this case (para poly + kala) it cannot be translated as "too". 'Kala' would indeed be coupled with "υπερβολικά" in that case.

'Para poly' on the other hand, in general, _can_ indeed be translated as 'too'.

P.S. That does NOT mean that, in everyday speech, giving your tone the right twist, you cannot use 'para oly kala' meaning 'too'.


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