# άχρηστος



## SerinusCanaria3075

Kalimera (how do you say evening?)

I have a question about how to transcribe 2 Greek letters when writing them in the Latin alphabet:

ά*χ*ρ*η*στος
a*ch*r*e*stos

Am I writing it correctly? Someone told me *χ *was transcribed as "ch" and from what I saw earlier η= i , so is it only the equivalent letter without involving pronunciation or is "e" okay also? (*η *is pronounced like Spanish "i" if I'm not mistaken)


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## mroma

I don´t know about ch, but η = i


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## Vagabond

X is sometimes transcribed as ch, others as h. In any case, it sounds very similar to the Spanish j (not exactly the same, but still, similar enough).

η is pronounced like Spanish i if I am not mistaken either  It is sometimes transcribed as i and others as e; e is a remnant of old Greek - η (Η) used to have a difference that ι in ancient Greek in that it was somewhat of a long Ε. In modern Greek, that's no longer an issue.

So basically you could go for achrestos (I admit it does look a bit weird, though), or achristos, or ahristos.

Good evening is "kalispera" (καλησπέρα).


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## SerinusCanaria3075

Vagabond said:


> X is sometimes transcribed as ch, others as h. In any case, it sounds very similar to the Spanish j (not exactly the same, but still, similar enough).
> 
> So basically you could go for achrestos (I admit it does look a bit weird, though), or achr*i*stos, or ahristos.


Kalispera. (would it be used to also say good night?)

Yeah, someone a while back explained to me how to pronounce *χ *(can't remember who but thanks if she's watching). Anyway, would _achristos_ have a similar sound to the French "cr"? (*cr*êpe, *cr*ème, su*cr*e)

(so "i" is used most of the time (70, 80, 90%?) to transcribe *η *correct?)


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## modus.irrealis

SerinusCanaria3075 said:


> Kalispera. (would it be used to also say good night?)


"Good night" would be καληνύχτα kalin*i*chta.



> Yeah, someone a while back explained to me how to pronounce *χ *(can't remember who but thanks if she's watching). Anyway, would _achristos_ have a similar sound to the French "cr"? (*cr*êpe, *cr*ème, su*cr*e)


Like Vagabond said it's like Spanish j or the German ch in ach. (Before e and i vowels, though, it's like the German ch in ich.) Actually, the r part of French cr sounds a little bit like Greek χ, but the French r is made further back in the throat.



> (so "i" is used most of the time (70, 80, 90%?) to transcribe *η *correct?)


For modern Greek, there's no "official" system but my experience has been that most people use i (unlike ει and υ which are also pronounced i but I see lots of ei and y). If it's specifically ancient Greek you're dealing with, English does have the traditional transcription where it's e (or ê if it's important to distinguish η and ε).

(And nobody's mentioned the Greeklish h and maybe I shouldn't mention it either -- I'm not a fan of how it looks -- but you might come across it online).


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## Vagabond

modus.irrealis said:


> (And nobody's mentioned the Greeklish h and maybe I shouldn't mention it either -- I'm not a fan of how it looks -- but you might come across it online).


Greeklish gives _so many_ options... and I hate it as well. Not to mention it would probably be even more confusing to a learner than the actual Greek alphabet.


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## Tetina

I'm very confused how to write _η, ι, υ, οι, ει_ and dinstict them by _ε_. 
When I write _η_ like _i_ maybe foreigners pronounce it _άι_ and if I write it like _e _then how do I write _ε_?

About _ch=χ_ are we sure nobody reads it like _τσ_ or _κ_? A Spanish friend used to read Χαλάνδρι (Chalandri)= Τσαλάνδρι. I also think the closest to _x_ is the spanish _j_ but what about those who aren't or they don't know spanish?
On the other hand, if you write it _h_ are you sure they are going to pronounce it or it would not be (almost) silenced?


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## anthodocheio

Vagabond said:


> Greeklish gives _so many_ options... and I hate it as well. Not to mention it would probably be even more confusing to a learner than the actual Greek alphabet.


 
 Learn the Greek alphabet! 
It’s a fundamental and sure way to learn Greek!

Ανθοδοχείο


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## oh_kristine

Indeed, greek looks so sexy when written in greek letters! 
However, I cannot save a file with a greek name on my Windows 98 PC, so I prefer to use Beta Code because it's less confusing for us students and the original spelling can be reconstructed (Axrhstos).
Yet, all my greek MP3 files have greeklish names because you'll find more tracks from 'Anna Vissi' than from 'Anna Bissh'


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## SerinusCanaria3075

So in "ά*χρη*στος" (a*chri*stos/a*hri*stos)...
The letters are "merged", meaning that they sound somewhat (not similar but for sound purposes) like "cream, crab" rather than pronouncing *χ *and *ρ*separately correct?

(_cri _rather than _k-ri_) or (_aj-ristos_)

Thanks for your patience.


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## anthodocheio

SerinusCanaria3075 said:


> (_cri _rather than _k-ri_) or (_aj-ristos_)


 
In this word, the latter.. I think.. Maybe both..

In my name, Χριστίνα, you have no choise but pronunce them together.
Do you think you can pronunce it? Something like Hrri...


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## SerinusCanaria3075

anthodocheio said:


> In my name, Χριστίνα, you have no choise but pronunce them together.
> Do you think you can pronunce it? Something like Hrri...


So it's a "rolling sound" but when pronounced they sound like a single tone even though it's meant to be said separately correct?
Hristina.

But when it's written with a K (like _Christ = Kristos_ right?) there's a difference, correct? I've seen _Christina, Kristina_ but it's great to know _Χριστίνα_.


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## anthodocheio

Christ is Χριστός. Just like the sound I'm trying to explain.

Y cuidado con mi nombre, que  es mi nombre...
En fin ¿qué has entendido?



> But when it's written with a K there's a difference, correct?





In Greek "χρ" is widely used.. Just like "cr" in other languages...


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## SerinusCanaria3075

anthodocheio said:


> _Christ _is Χριστός.
> 
> In Greek "χρ" is widely used.. Just like "cr" in other languages...


So "χρ" is more common than "Kρ" if I understood (although I think I saw Kριστός somewhere, is it possible that in ancient Greek it was written like this or am I completely crazy?)

In any case "χρ" sounds different than "Kρ" 

(mi*kr*oς) I saw "mikros" on an etymology website which was a prefix for _small_, so is it written different in Modern Greek? (maybe mi*cr*oς?)


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## pavlo

X = jota (ja ja ja)
H = i
......................
CH = ts (chorizo)

Es claro, no?


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## wonderment

Harry Foundalis has a really wonderful website on the Greek Language with audio clips:
http://www.foundalis.com/lan/greek.htm

If you go to the page on 'The Alphabet' you can listen to the pronunciation of all the consonants and vowels. And he gives very clear explanations of modern Greek phonetics and phonology. If you go to the page on 'Details of modern pronunciation' you can hear the pronunciation for the various letter combinations, including τον χρόνο 1/4 way down the page.


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## anthodocheio

SerinusCanaria3075 said:


> So "χρ" is more common than "Kρ" if I understood (although I think I saw Kριστός somewhere, is it possible that in ancient Greek it was written like this or am I completely crazy?)
> 
> In any case "χρ" sounds different than "Kρ"
> 
> (mi*kr*oς) I saw "mikros" on an etymology website which was a prefix for _small_, so is it written different in Modern Greek? (maybe mi*cr*oς?)


Hello Serinus!

Is almost impossible tan you show Κριστός in Greek. Μικρός though is like that, that's right. "Κρ" does exist also.

In any case "χρ" sounds different than "Kρ". Definitely! 

Let's see: 

crisis = κρίση
cristal = κρύσταλλο
cristiano = χριστιανός
criterio = κριτήριο
cronómetro = χρονόμετρο
color = χρώμα
cromo = χρώμιο
cripta = κρύπτη
crisantemo = χρυσάνθεμο
crisálida = χρυσαλίδα

Espero que te sirva...


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## SerinusCanaria3075

καλησπέρα

Thanks to all for your patience, really helpful.


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