# υπηρετώ/εξυπηρετώ



## BrendaP

What's the difference between υπηρετώ and εξυπηρετώ and how are they used?  Εξυπηρετώ is in the WR dictionary, but it's not in any of mine.


----------



## JuniorBoy

Υπηρετώ means that you work for somebody else.In this case you are like a "slave".


Εξυπηρετώ means that something could be done or not.By this i mean that you can if you want but you can't do it if you don't want.
Example:I will bring you your books tomorrow.-->That's a serve.(You did this because you were kind).You are giving your help
BUT sometimes it needs to be done.
Example:The service at this restaurant was good.-->(The waitor had to to serve us)

(You can also read what ireney wrote).I don't know if i wrote them correctly but you can compare my post with Ireney's one and see if we say the same thing.


----------



## ireney

Hey there!

Υπηρετώ means "serve someone or something". It can be used either a) for someone who is a servant or acts as a servant b) someone who serves in someone or something in the more "modern" sense c) for people who serve in the army or the police force. More or less (with the exceptions below) like the English "to serve".

a) Δεν πρέπει να υπηρετείς το αφεντικό σου! Δεν είσαι δούλος του! 
b) 1. O X επέλεξε να υπηρετήσει το ιδανικό της ελευθερίας/ το σατανικό καθεστώς.
c)  Υπηρέτησα την θητεία μου στο ναυτικό.

"Εξυπηρετώ" has two (and a half) meanings:

a) Doing someone some service (that's the exception I was talking about; in English you'd use "to serve" for this one too)
An employee in a customer service can say for instance "Πώς μπορώ να σας εξυπηρετήσω;" 
Or you can say "Άργησα να πληρώσω τον λογαριασμό αλλά ευτυχώς ένας ευγενικός νέος με εξυπηρέτησε".

a and a half   When something (never someone) serves a purpose. Usually found with this meaning in the negative 
Αυτή η πράξη δεν εξυπηρετεί κανένα σκοπό.

b) Serving malevolent interests. There's an overlap with the b) meaning of "υπηρετώ" here (although this has, as you can see, a more restricted usage) but with very slight difference: 
Ο Χ υπηρετεί τους τρομοκράτες = X is at their beck and call, they are his masters.
Ο Χ εξυπηρετεί τα σκοτινά συμφέροντα = X is not working directly for the terrorists, he just, for one reason or another, is doing them favors, is acting in a way that profits them.


----------



## JuniorBoy

ireney said:


> Hey there!
> 
> Υπηρετώ means "serve someone or something". It can be used either a) for someone who is a servant or acts as a servant b) someone who serves in someone or something in the more "modern" sense c) for people who serve in the army or the police force. More or less (with the exceptions below) like the English "to serve".
> 
> a) Δεν πρέπει να υπηρετείς το αφεντικό σου! Δεν είσαι δούλος του!
> b) 1. O X επέλεξε να υπηρετήσει το ιδανικό της ελευθερίας/ το σατανικό καθεστώς.
> c)  Υπηρέτησα την θητεία μου στο ναυτικό.
> 
> "Εξυπηρετώ" has two (and a half) meanings:
> 
> a) Doing someone some service (that's the exception I was talking about; in English you'd use "to serve" for this one too)
> An employee in a customer service can say for instance "Πώς μπορώ να σας εξυπηρετήσω;"
> Or you can say "Άργησα να πληρώσω τον λογαριασμό αλλά ευτυχώς ένας ευγενικός νέος με εξυπηρέτησε".
> 
> a and a half   When something (never someone) serves a purpose. Usually found with this meaning in the negative
> Αυτή η πράξη δεν εξυπηρετεί κανένα σκοπό.
> 
> b) Serving malevolent interests. There's an overlap with the b) meaning of "υπηρετώ" here (although this has, as you can see, a more restricted usage) but with very slight difference:
> Ο Χ υπηρετεί τους τρομοκράτες = X is at their beck and call, they are his masters.
> Ο Χ εξυπηρετεί τα σκοτινά συμφέροντα = X is not working directly for the terrorists, he just, for one reason or another, is doing them favors, is acting in a way that profits them.



Σωστά τα είπα εγώ?


----------



## BrendaP

Thanks JuniorBoy.
And, Ireney, as always...thanks (and a half)  I'm printing that out.  I'll need to study it a bit!


----------



## διαφορετικός

I'd like to add the following summary of how I understand the above posts:

*Υπηρετώ* means being mentally ready to carry out serving acts.

*Εξυπηρετώ* means doing something (a service) which is an advantage for someone or for some purpose.


----------



## kaloua

ireney said:


> Ο Χ εξυπηρετεί τα σκοτινά συμφέροντα



"τα σκοτινά" παει να πει "interests?" Δεω μπορώ να το βρώ στο λεξικό WordReference.


----------



## διαφορετικός

Θα βρεις «σκοτεινός» και «συμφέρον» στο λεξικό. Αυτά είναι οι βασικές μορφές αυτών των λέξεων.

You will find "σκοτεινός" and "συμφέρον" in the dictionary. These are the basic forms of these words.


----------



## Polinat7

διαφορετικός said:


> I'd like to add the following summary of how I understand the above posts:
> 
> *Υπηρετώ* means being mentally ready to carry out serving acts.
> 
> *Εξυπηρετώ* means doing something (a service) which is an advantage for someone or for some purpose.



I dont think so!  Υπηρετώ usually means I do something for a price. Εξυπηρετώ means I do something because I want to help you, but often used for polite reasons even when you get something for a price because your mainly action is to help.
For example, an employee in a store will say
Πώς μπορώ να σαs εξυπηρετήσω? How may I help you? 

Είμαι στρατιώτης και υπηρετώ την πατρίδα μου. I am a soldier and I serve my country.


----------



## διαφορετικός

Polinat7 said:


> Υπηρετώ usually means I do something for a price.
> [...]
> Είμαι στρατιώτης και υπηρετώ την πατρίδα μου. I am a soldier and I serve my country.


What is the "price" here? As a soldier, I did not earn much money - at least I think a soldier would not emphasize his salary when he speaks about his military service. Can you provide a clearer example, please?


----------



## Perseas

διαφορετικός said:


> What is the "price" here? As a soldier, I did not earn much money - at least I think a soldier would not emphasize his salary when he speaks about his military service. Can you provide a clearer example, please?


Υπηρετώ has various meanings. _
Υπηρετώ τη στρατιωτική μου θητεία_ is _I do my military service_. 
_Υπηρετώ ως καθηγητής σε ένα σχολείο_ is _I work as a teacher in a school_. (_Υπηρετώ _is here more elevated and shows that you see your work as very important for the society. Also, public servants use often this verb).

I think you are German speaker and I will give you two links by the Pons dictionary with the verbs υπηρετώ and εξυπηρετώ. I think they might be helpful.


----------



## Polinat7

Well yes, if what Perseas said doesnt help further I should explain it better. When I say "I do something for the price" i dont mean that you are greedy and you're goal is to make money and that's it. I mean that when you serve ( verb υπηρετώ) you usually get payed. You work for it. You give your services. It is also a word that reminds slavery. Εξυπηρετώ is similar to υπηρετώ (both can be translated as 'serve') but its translation is more like 'help' or 'be convenient'. I gave you an example for the first one , the one with the employee. An other one, 

Θα βάλουν ένα επιπλέον λεωφορείο στο πρόγραμμα για να *εξυπηρετήσουν* ( third person plural )τους πολίτες.
They will add an extra bus in the schedule to serve (to help) the citizens. 

Also, υπηρετώ την πατρίδα μου (i serve my country ) doesnt have a negative meaning. It is something good , it means that you *work* for your country , it isn't an emphasis for your salary, but for your services. 
Now, to understand better the word εξυπηρετώ, in greek, i think that in most of the cases , you can replace the verb "help" (βοηθάω) with this verb. It will be very polite but it makes a perfect sense.




διαφορετικός said:


> What is the "price" here? As a soldier, I did not earn much money - at least I think a soldier would not emphasize his salary when he speaks about his military service. Can you provide a clearer example, please?


----------



## διαφορετικός

Thank you for the additional details, Perseas and Polinat7.


Perseas said:


> I will give you two links by the Pons dictionary


This is a dictionary I use often, but although I do not know any better Greek-German dictionary, it often does not make clear everything. (In German, as in English, both Greek verbs discussed here can be translated to the same verb - "dienen" = "serve").

So far, I have not noticed any contradiction between my hypotheses and examples of usage. I will explain this for the last examples.


First hypothesis:


διαφορετικός said:


> *Υπηρετώ* means being mentally ready to carry out serving acts.


Examples with "υπηρετώ":


Polinat7 said:


> υπηρετώ την πατρίδα μου. [...] I serve my country.


The soldier is ready to serve (but he is not carrying out a defined serving act - we just know that he is there to receive orders).


Perseas said:


> _Υπηρετώ ως καθηγητής [...]_ _I work as a teacher_


The profession or position of a person does not explain what he/she does, but what he/she is ready to do.


Second hypothesis:


διαφορετικός said:


> *Εξυπηρετώ* means doing something (a service) which is an advantage for someone or for some purpose.


Examples with "εξυπηρετώ":


Polinat7 said:


> For example, an employee in a store will say: Πώς μπορώ να σαs εξυπηρετήσω?


The employee may be mentally ready to serve the customer, but his question is about a single serving act.


Polinat7 said:


> Θα βάλουν ένα επιπλέον λεωφορείο στο πρόγραμμα για να εξυπηρετήσουν ( third person plural )τους πολίτες.
> They will add an extra bus in the schedule to serve (to help) the citizens.


They will carry out a single defined serving act by adding an extra bus. This does not mean that they are generally ready to help the citizens. (But the bus itself ... maybe one can even say that it is "mentally" ready to carry out serving acts? No, it has no mind. Therefore, it just carries out serving acts: Ένα επιπλέον λεωφορείο στο πρόγραμμα θα εξυπηρετεί τους πολίτες. Correct?)


----------



## ireney

Hi διαφορετικέ!

My only problem with your hypotheses is that when you εξυπηρετείς someone you are by default ready to carry out serving acts as you yourself point out. I can't see how it helps really in the general understanding of the differences between the two. Obviously, on a personal level it may help (we all use all sorts of personal distinctions for meanings, distinctions that work for us) but I'm afraid it may confuse the matter for others.


----------



## Perseas

Polinat7 's explanation about _εξυπηρετώ _is very good in my opinion:



Polinat7 said:


> Now, to understand better the word εξυπηρετώ, in greek, i think that in most of the cases , you can replace the verb "help" (βοηθάω) with this verb. It will be very polite but it makes a perfect sense.


Or when you _εξυπηρετείς_ someone you make things easier for this person, you serve somebody's needs. For example:
_a.Πώς μπορώ να σας εξυπηρετήσω; (How can I help you)
b.Aυτό το αυτοκίνητο με έχει εξυπηρετήσει πολύ (Τhis car has served me for a long time)
c.Aυτός με εξυπηρέτησε πολύ όταν είχα ανάγκη (He was a great help/of great service to me when I was in need)_.
_d.Eξυπηρετώ σχέδια/επιδιώξεις/συμφέροντα (I serve plans/purposes/interests, not always moral) ---> this is a bit different, see below (e)._


_Υπηρετώ_ is used for example in these cases:
_a.Υπηρετώ κάποιον (I am servant/in service of someone)
b.Υπηρετώ τη στρατιωτική μου θητεία (I do my military service)
c.Υπηρετώ σε γυμνάσιο/στην Χ υπηρεσία (I work in a high school/ in office X)
d.Υπηρετώ την πατρίδα μου (I serve my country)
e Υπηρετώ έναν σκοπό/μία ιδέα (I serve a purpose/an idea)--->_This case may resemble the last example (d) of _εξυπηρετώ_ but when we use _υπηρετώ_ we mean that we believe in this idea/purpose, we are devoted, and we don't look anyway for getting something in exchange.


----------



## διαφορετικός

ireney said:


> when you εξυπηρετείς someone you are by default ready to carry out serving acts


Thank you, ireney - yes, this is a weakness of my hypotheses.

I like good examples - like the ones from Perseas - but I also like abstraction. Let me adapt my hypotheses:

*Υπηρετώ* means being mentally ready to do whatever seems necessary in favour of X.
*Εξυπηρετώ* means doing something in favour of X.
X can be anything - a purpose, a person, an organization, an idea, ...
In many situations both verbs can be used, but they express different aspects of the situation.

This is probably my last attempt, but objections are welcome.


----------



## Perseas

διαφορετικός said:


> *Υπηρετώ* means being mentally ready to do whatever seems necessary in favour of X.


If you can say the same for "serve" in the examples below: _*serve*_ "means being mentally ready to do whatever seems necessary in favour of X" :
_I serve my country.
I serve a year in the army.
He served as Transport Minister.
_


----------



## διαφορετικός

Thanks for your reply, Perseas.


Perseas said:


> If you can say the same for "serve" in the examples below: _*serve*_ "means being mentally ready to do whatever seems necessary in favour of X" :


I think I can:


Perseas said:


> I serve my country.


I am ready to do whatever seems necessary in favour of my country.


Perseas said:


> I serve a year in the army.


For a year, in the army, I am mentally ready to do whatever seems necessary in favour of the army (or the country or the purposes of my military superiors).


Perseas said:


> He served as Transport Minister.


As Transport Minister, he was mentally ready to do whatever seemed necessary in favour of the purpose of his position.


----------



## Polinat7

διαφορετικός said:


> *Υπηρετώ* means being mentally ready to do whatever seems necessary in favour of X.
> *Εξυπηρετώ* means doing something in favour of X.



Can you explain to me what do you mean by "being mentally ready"? 
If you are a slave, you are mentally ready?

To see the difference, in my point of view•
Your definitions are good but it's not like a.. 1-1 relation. The real difference is that 
For the first one you do something because you have to do it, it's your work and usually you get money for it (or some kind of price). For the second one you HELP someone. And if you take money for it, meaning it is part of your job, the money you get is not directly from this service. Or you get directly money but you use this word because it is more polite and doesnt remind of slavery as υπηρετώ.


----------



## διαφορετικός

Thanks for your reply, Polinat7.



Polinat7 said:


> Can you explain to me what do you mean by "being mentally ready"?


I will try to do so. It means: the person who is mentally ready has recognized that it is reasonable to act in that manner.



Polinat7 said:


> If you are a slave, you are mentally ready?


Yes, the slave has recognized that he must serve his master, because otherwise he will be punished.



Polinat7 said:


> Your definitions are good [...]


Thank you for this comment, although I see that you seem not to agree completely.



Polinat7 said:


> For the first one you do something because you have to do it, it's your work


This part of your definition seems to express the same as my definition (of the first one).



Polinat7 said:


> and usually you get money for it (or some kind of price).


I agree, but I did not mention this in my definition, because I cannot rely on things which are usual - but it it is an additional hint about how to understand your definition.



Polinat7 said:


> For the second one you HELP someone.


I wanted to express the same with my definition (of the second one), except that my definition does not restrict the meaning to persons as the object of helping (it can be a purpose or an idea, too).

I think you understand the two verbs the same way as I do, but we express it in different manners. Maybe your definition is clearer or easier to understand for many people.


----------



## Polinat7

Thank you for your reply too, διαφορετικέ.


I understand better with your explanations.
I agree with your definitions but I wanted to understand the way you think. Now i get it.



διαφορετικός said:


> I think you understand the two verbs the same way as I do, but we express it in different manners. Maybe your definition is clearer or easier to understand for many people.





yes , I totally I agree. Now that you explained to me , I think you  understand the meanings perfectly (maybe better than me) and your way of thinking surprised me, so thank you and congratulations for your effort. ))


----------



## διαφορετικός

Thanks for the compliment, Polinat7.


----------



## διαφορετικός

Can things or ideas, as well as people, perform the act of "υπηρετώ" or "εξυπηρετώ" (as synomyms of "χρησιμεύω")?
Examples:

Το πληκτρολόγιο αυτό μου υπηρετεί για γράψιμο.
Η λέξη «πληκτρολόγιο» εξυπηρετεί ως παράδειγμα ενός εργαλείου.


----------



## Perseas

διαφορετικός said:


> Can things or ideas, as well as people, perform the act of "υπηρετώ" or "εξυπηρετώ" (as synomyms of "χρησιμεύω")?
> Examples:
> 
> Το πληκτρολόγιο αυτό μου υπηρετεί για γράψιμο.
> Η λέξη «πληκτρολόγιο» εξυπηρετεί ως παράδειγμα ενός εργαλείου.


1. A small correction first:
1a. Το πληκτρολόγιο αυτό με υπηρετεί στο γράψιμο.
In my opinion, this is a valid statement, albeit in figurative sense. "υπηρετώ έναν σκοπό" means "to serve a (higher) purpose" and a keyboard -no matter useful it may be- can't serve a higher purpose. It's just a device that enables the user to input text into a computer.

1b. Το πληκτρολόγιο αυτό με εξυπηρετεί (πολύ) στο γράψιμο.
This statement can be used in a literal sense. "εξυπηρετεί" here doesn't simply mean "χρησιμεύει", because every keyboard would do that job, it means that this specific keyboard is very helpful to you as opposed to other keyboards.

2. Sounds odd without context but in terms of syntax is okay to me.
"εξυπηρετεί ως παράδειγμα" is a valid expression.


----------



## διαφορετικός

Hi Perseas,

thanks for your interesting reply.

About the correction(s) in my first example:

μου => με: thanks - obviously, the object must be accusative, not genitive (in my mother language, German, it must be dative, hence the mistake).
για => στο: I am not sure whether this change is a correction, too.



Perseas said:


> a keyboard -no matter useful it may be- can't serve a higher purpose.


I can accept that. But what about a revolution? Example:

3a. Η επανάσταση υπηρετεί τη δημοκρατία.
Is this a valid example? Would you prefer the following?
3b. Η επανάσταση *εξ*υπηρετεί τη δημοκρατία.


----------



## Perseas

Perseas said:


> "υπηρετώ έναν σκοπό" means "to serve a (higher) purpose"


Althought this is true and the verb "υπηρετώ" has this connotation in general, in your example it was about "to serve a person". So the figurative sense I was talking about is that I consider my keybord to be like a servant (Diener) who offers me his services.
1st meaning: Παράλληλη αναζήτηση


διαφορετικός said:


> για => στο: I am not sure whether this change is a correction, too.



"στο" sounds better to me but, if you use "για", then with the article: "για το γράψιμο".



διαφορετικός said:


> 3a. Η επανάσταση υπηρετεί τη δημοκρατία.
> Is this a valid example? Would you prefer the following?
> 3b. Η επανάσταση *εξ*υπηρετεί τη δημοκρατία.


Both "Χ υπηρετεί τη δημοκρατία" and "Χ εξυπηρετεί τη δημοκρατία" are valid expressions.  It's just the use of the word "επανάσταση" in that context that makes me skeptical. They have similar meaning. For the sake of accuracy, "υπηρετεί" gives the sense that X serves  the idea of democracy completely, absolutely (if X is a person "υπηρετεί" may involve dedicating themselves to the idea of democracy), while "εξυπηρετεί" actually helps democracy but I don't see the total commitment as in "υπηρετεί".


----------



## διαφορετικός

Perseas said:


> So the figurative sense I was talking about is that I consider my keybord to be like a servant (Diener) who offers me his services.


Do you think that the non-metaphorical meaning of υπηρετώ always has people (or perhaps animals) as subjects? Does this apply to εξυπηρετώ as well?

Is the sentence "Το πληκτρολόγιο υπηρετεί το γράψιμο." reasonable?


----------



## Perseas

διαφορετικός said:


> Do you think that the non-metaphorical meaning of υπηρετώ always has people (or perhaps animals) as subjects? Does this apply to εξυπηρετώ as well?


When a person "υπηρετεί" another person, this is not a metaphor. On the contrary, other cases add up to metaphorical usage.


διαφορετικός said:


> Is the sentence "Το πληκτρολόγιο υπηρετεί το γράψιμο." reasonable?


Yes, it makes sense.


----------



## διαφορετικός

Many thanks, Perseas.


----------

