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(*) This is how the singer
pronounces the words in this song, not how they are
pronounced typically.
For an explanation of the pronunciation symbols, see
this page. The only
deviations, for the sake of avoiding confusion, are:
- the symbol L (instead of K) is used for the
palatal lateral approximant,
- ñ
is used instead of #,
- δ is used instead of D,
- θ is used instead of T,
- γ is used instead of +,
and
- G is used instead of ].
Explanatory Notes:
 «Μια φορά»
means “Once”. The word «μια» is the
indefinite article in the feminine gender (see its full declension
here). The word «φορά»
alone usually means “time”, as in “some time” («κάποια
φορά»), and its full declension is given
here.
«κι» is a written form of the conjunction «και»,
meaning “and”. This form can be used when the following word
starts with a vowel, but not mandatorily. Note that the iota is not
really pronounced; it only serves to denote in writing that the kappa is
pronounced in a special way (palatalized).
We’ll meet the full form, «και»,
a little later, in the 3rd stanza.
«έναν»
is the accusative case of «ένας»,
the indefinite article (“a / an”), here in the masculine gender.
See its full declension here.
The singer appears to be stressing its final syllable (as if saying «ενάν»),
but this is only the result of the metric reading of
the poem.
«καιρό»,
the accusative case of «καιρός»,
means “time”, but it’s usually an indefinite time, long (at least
a few days), and hard to measure. Another word for “time”, a time
measurable and of any length (even as short as a fraction of a second)
is «χρόνος». But note that
both «καιρός» and «χρόνος»
have alternative meanings: «καιρός» means also
“weather”, and «χρόνος» means also “year”. «Καιρός»
is a noun of masculine
gender, here in the
accusative singular, fully declined
here.
«όπως» is a conjunction, meaning “as”.
«λεν»,
meaning “they say”, is an alternative form of «λένε»,
the 3rd p. plural, present tense, of «λέω»
(“I say”). This verb is conjugated in the present tense as follows:
sg.: λέω / λες / λέει.
pl.: λέμε / λέτε / λένε or λεν.
See the other tenses and forms
here.
«τα»:
definite article (“the”), here in the neuter gender, plural number, nominative
case. See the full declension here.
We’ll meet the singular form of the article in the 3rd stanza.
«παραμύθια»
is the nominative plural of «παραμύθι»,
meaning “fairy tale”. The word is compound, originating from
παρά + μύθος, with «μύθος»
being the origin of the word “myth”, and the whole compound word (παρά
+ μύθος) meaning “by myth/legend”. «Παραμύθι»
is declined like
σπίτι.
«κυνηγούσα»,
meaning “I was chasing/hunting”, is the 1st p. singular, imperfect tense, of «κυνηγάω»,
which also appears in its contracted form: «κυνηγώ».
Such contracted verbs are conjugated according to the pattern shown
here. The imperfect tense,
which is similar to the English “past progressive”, is much more common in Greek
than the past progressive is in English. For example, look at the present
situation: the act of chasing (“the dream”) had a duration, it wasn’t
instantaneous, it kept going, right? In such cases (which are really many, if
you think about it) Greek uses the imperfect tense, to mark the progressive
aspect of the action explicitly. English usually is satisfied with a simple “I
chased” in this case. Therefore, this situation is the opposite of what happens
in the present tense in these two languages: Greek does not mark the progressive
aspect in the present tense at all, whereas English does when needed.
«τ’»
is the abbreviated form of the definite article (“the”), in this case «το»
in full, which is in neuter gender, singular number, accusative case
(accusative because it introduces the object of the previous verb). The
abbreviation occurs (but not mandatorily) when the next word starts with a
vowel. See the full declension of the definite article
here. We’ll
meet the unabbreviated form of the article in the 3rd stanza.
«όνειρο»,
meaning “dream”, is the accusative singular of «όνειρο»
(so, the accusative is identical to the nominative for such nouns). The word “oneiric”
exists in English, meaning “of, relating to, or suggestive of dreams”; also the
word “oneiromancy” (Greek: «ονειρομαντεία»), meaning “the
practice of predicting the future through interpretation of dreams”. It is
declined according to
άλογο.
«για να» means “in order to”. But whereas in English the
“in order” part is usually omitted (e.g., “I opened the door to take a look
inside”; the phrase “...in order to take...” sounds stilted), in Greek the
«για» is necessary in front of «να».
Here is another example: “I came to stay” = «Ήρθα για να μείνω».
Notice that in normal speech «για» is pronounced /Ja/
(i.e., as a voiced palatal
fricative), but here Mouskouri pronounces it unpalatalized (/ja/), as a palatal
approximant (a sound not existing in normally spoken Greek). See all the sounds
of the Greek language in this
page.
«μάθω», i.e.: «να μάθω», meaning
“to learn”, is the past subjunctive, 1st p. singular, of the verb «μαθαίνω»
= “I learn”. See its full conjugation
here.
«την»:
definite article (“the”), here in the feminine gender, singular number, accusative
case. See the full declension here.
«αλήθεια»,
meaning “truth”, is a feminine-gender noun, here in the accusative singular.
(Its nominative is identical.) It is declined according to
αγελάδα. Notice
that in normal speech «αλήθεια» is pronounced /a·Lí·θCa/
(i.e., in three syllables, with C standing for the unvoiced palatal
fricative), but here Mouskouri pronounces it in four syllables: /a·Lí·θi·a/
(or perhaps with the ending /-ia/ as a diphthong), thus not palatalizing the
last syllable.
«να ’ναι» is an abbreviation for «να
είναι», an expression that means: “could it be” (in the interrogative, as
in this case), or “it could be” (in the affirmative). The non-idiomatic meaning
of «να είναι» is “to be” (in the 3rd person). The
abbreviated «να ’ναι» is pronounced with the stress on
«να» (/náne/), as if it is one word. This is because
when the stress is on an omitted syllable (here:
«εί-») it is moved over the previous word (here:
«να»). Such abbreviations are optional, and occur in
songs as needed, to adjust to the metric convention.
«ήλιος»,
meaning “sun”, is of masculine gender, here in nominative singular. Cognates in
English: “heliocentric” (Sun-centered), “helium” (a noble gas first detected
around the Sun). Declined like
κόσμος.
«να
’ν’»: most of what was mentioned about
«να ’ναι» (above) holds true for «να
’ν’», too. Here, the already abbreviated «’ναι» is
further abbreviated to «’ν’», because the following word
starts with a vowel. Notice that in the previous case («να ’ναι»)
the word that follows («ήλιος») also starts with a vowel.
So, such abbreviations are optional, and occur in songs as needed, to adjust to
the metric convention.
«αστέρι»,
meaning “star”, is of neuter gender, here in the nominative singular.
Declined like
σπίτι.
Another form of this word is «άστρο» (also
neuter). The ancient form of this word was in the masculine gender (ὁ
ἀστήρ), and it shares with “star” a common
Indo-European root. The English word “asterisk” comes from Greek «αστερίσκος»,
a diminutive that means: “little star”.
«ποιος»
is an interrogative pronoun, meaning “who”. Here it is in the masculine gender,
nominative singular. The three genders are: ποιος, ποια, ποιο.
Notice that in normal speech «ποιος»
is pronounced /pCos/ (i.e., in one syllable, with C standing for the unvoiced palatal
fricative), but here Mouskouri pronounces it in two syllables: /pí·os/
(or perhaps as a diphthong: /-io-/), thus not palatalizing the word.
«είδε»,
meaning “he/she saw”, is in the simple past tense (also called “aorist”),
3rd p. singular. See its full conjugation
here.
«ξέρει»,
meaning “he/she knows”, is in the present tense, 3rd p. singular. See its full
conjugation here.
«γιατί»
is an interrogative adverb, meaning “why”. It originates from the now-obsolete
form «διατί», in turn a combination of «διά
+ τί» (“for what”). Once
again, here Mouskouri hardly
palatalizes the
first consonant.
«μοιάζει»,
meaning “resembles”, “looks like”, is in present tense, 3rd p. singular.
The 1st p. is «μοιάζω». A regular verb, conjugated
according to this pattern.
«με»,
preposition meaning “with”. It typically follows the verb «μοιάζω».
«καρδούλα»
is a diminutive form of «καρδιά»,
meaning “heart”, with which it shares a common Indo-European root. However, «καρδιά»
has also passed (through medicine) in words such as “cardiac”, “cardiology”,
“cardiovascular”, etc. It is of feminine gender, here in the accusative
singular, and declined like
φορά.
«κλειστή» is an adjective, meaning “closed”. Its three
genders are: κλειστός (m), κλειστή
(f), κλειστό (n). Here, «κλειστή»
is in accusative singular, to comply with the noun it modifies («καρδούλα»).
Declined like
ψυχή. Note that normally adjectives precede nons in Greek, but here
«κλειστή» follows «καρδούλα» by
“poetic license”.
«κάποιος»
is an indefinite pronoun, meaning “someone”. Here it is in the masculine
gender, nominative singular. The three genders are: κάποιος,
κάποια, κάποιο. Notice that in normal speech «κάποιος»
is pronounced /ká·pCos/ (i.e., in two syllables, with C standing for the unvoiced palatal
fricative), but here Mouskouri pronounces it in three syllables: /ká·pí·os/
(or perhaps making up a diphthong: /-io-/), thus not palatalizing the word.
(Notice also the similarity with ποιος.)
«άγγελος» means “angel”, but here it is used in its more
literal (and rare) meaning of “messenger”, which is the original ancient Greek
meaning of this word. (Angels are the “messengers of God”, that’s how this word
was used in the original New Testament, which was written in Greek.) It is a
word of masculine gender, here in nominative singular. Declined like
άνθρωπος.
«διαβάτης» means “passer-by”; a noun of masculine
gender, in nominative singular. Declined like
πελάτης.
«σ’» is an abbreviation for «σε»,
a one-size-fits-all preposition meaning “in”, “at”, “on”, or
“to”.
«ακρογιάλι» means approximately “seashore”, but one
that’s accessible for people to walk along. It can be a beach with sand or
pebbles, but it’s not the beach per se, but the walkable line where land
meets water. It is of neuter gender, accusative singular.
(Accusative because that’s the case expected after the preposition «σε».)
Declined like
σπίτι.
«λαμπερό» is an adjective meaning “bright”. Here it is
in the neuter gender, accusative singular, matching with «ακρογιάλι».
Normally adjectives precede the nouns they qualify in Greek
(just as in English), but this rule is not as strict in Greek as it is in
English, and poems are the places where such rules are violated all the time.
Masculine: «λαμπερός»,
feminine: «λαμπερή».
Declined like νερό.
«είχε», meaning “had”, is in the 3rd person singular,
past tense. The 1st person is «είχα»,
and the present is «έχω».
Its full conjugation is
here.
«γράψει»
normally is the 3rd person singular of the past subjunctive form (1st. p.: «γράψω»),
of the verb «γράφω».
But actually the whole «είχε γράψει»
is in the pluperfect tense (3rd p.singular).
«όνομα»
means “name” (the two words are cognates), and is of neuter gender, here in the
accusative singular. It is accusative because it’s the direct object of «είχε
γράψει». It appears with two accent
marks because it receives an extra accent at the last syllable due to the
“enclitic word” «του» that follows. Only words
stressed on the 3rd syllable counting from the end and followed by an enclitic
can appear with two accent marks. For more on enclitics and rules on how to
place accent marks read this page
(but be prepared for a long reading!). Declined like
πρόβλημα.
«της»:
this is the enclitic word (see previous) that means “her” and causes its
previous noun to receive one extra accent mark. Feminine gender, genitive
singular.
«μα»
is a near-synonym of «αλλά»,
meaning “but”. Don’t use «μα»
in everyday speech to mean “but”, use «αλλά»
instead. (But this is a poem, so...) The only case in which you can naturally
use «μα» is when somebody
says something, and then you want to counter-argue, starting with a “But...”.
Even then «αλλά» is
legitimate.
«σαν»
normally means “as”, “like”. But here it has the more poetic meaning of “when”,
which normally is expressed with the word «όταν».
So, taking the previous remark into account, you can conclude
that instead of «μα σαν»
this line could start with the equivalent «αλλά όταν»;
but then it wouldn’t be a poem.
«πέρασε»
means “passed”, and is in the 3rd p. singular, past tense (1st p. «πέρασα»)
of the contracted verb «περνάω/περνώ».
Fully conjugated
here.
«αγέρι»
means “wind”, and is the neuter (poetic) form of the more common «αέρας»,
which means both “wind” and “air”, and has another
poetic form: «αγέρας», from
which this word derives. Here, «αγέρι» is in the
accusative (as direct object of «πέρασε») singular.
It’s almost indeclinable, because although it should be declined like
σπίτι,
the forms «αγεριού» (genitive singular), «αγέρια»
(nom. & acc. plural) and «αγεριών»
are extremely rare. (This native speaker has never heard them
before, though you’ll find them with Google — oh well, one can find anything
with Google, right?)
«σαν»:
this is the regular use of this word, meaning “as”, “like”. (Compare with
this use of «σαν».)
«μια»
is the indefinite article (“a / an”), here in the
feminine gender, nominative
case.
This was also the first word of this poem. See its full declension here.
«σπίθα», meaning “spark”, is a noun of feminine
gender, here in the nominative singular. Declined like
ώρα.
«σβηστή» is an adjective meaning “turned off”,
“extinguished”. Here it is in the feminine gender, nominative singular, matching
with «σπίθα». Masculine: «σβηστός»;
neuter: «σβηστό».
Notice how /s/ is pronounced as [z] in front of voiced /v/.
Once again, as an adjective it should precede the noun it qualifies; but not in
poems... Declined like
ψυχή.
«στη», here meaning “in the”, is a combination of «σε»,
meaning “in”, “at”, “on”, or “to”, and which, abrreviated,
becomes «σ’» (we already met this form
here), and of the definite article «τη», which we
met as «την» here, but in front of
words that don’t start with a vowel or with one of κ, π, τ, ξ, ορ ψ,
loses its final ν for euphonic
reasons. Such combinations of «σε» and one of the
forms of the definite article (in any gender and in any number and case, except
the nominative case), are very common in Greek, because they correspond to any
combination like “in the”, “to the”, etc.
«φωτιά»
meaning “fire”, is a noun of feminine gender, here in the
accusative singular. Declined like
φορά.
«και», meaning “and”, is the most common word in
Greek. (We saw an abbreviated form of it, «κι»,
here.) It has more uses than “and” has in English, because it
can mean “even”, “also”, “both”, and more.
«στον»,
another combination of «σε» and the definite article
(here «τον», masculine, accusative, singular)
meaning “in the”, as before with
«στη».
«αγώνα»,
accusative of «αγώνας», meaning “struggle”, “strife”,
“fight”, etc., a noun of masculine gender, here in the
accusative singular, declined like
κανόνας.
«αντίκρισα» means “I faced”, “I came face-to-face”,
and is in the 1st p. singular, simple past tense of «αντικρίζω»,
which is conjugated according to
this pattern.
«θαρρώ»
is a rare verb that means “I believe”, “I think” (1st p. singular, present
tense). It is found more commonly in poems and songs, whereas the more usual
verb for this meaning is «νομίζω». «Θαρρώ»
is irregular, in that it appears only in present and
imperfect tense.
«κόκκινη» is an adjective meaning “red”. Here it is in the feminine gender,
accusative singular. Masculine: «κόκκινος»;
neuter: «κόκκινο».
Declined like
κάμαρη,
except that the plural genitive is: «των κόκκινων».
«σταγόνα», meaning “drop”, is a noun of feminine
gender, here in the accusative singular. Declined like
ώρα.
«πριν», an adverb of time, meaning “before”.
«βγει»,
meaning “comes out”, “exits” (and in this case, by metaphor, “ends”, or “is
over”), is a form of the irregular verb
βγαίνω,
here in the 3rd p. singular of the past subjunctive form (1st p.: βγω).
This “past subjunctive”, although it sounds ominous and
unforgiving, is merely the Greek replacement of the infinitive (which does not
exist in Modern Greek). Imagine a «να»
in front of this form (i.e., as if it is «να βγει»)
and you have the Modern Greek version of the infinitive.
«το»
is the definite article (“the”), here in the neuter gender,
singular number, nominative case. See the full
declension here.
Why nominative? See the next word.
«καλοκαίρι»,
meaning “summer”, is a noun of neuter gender, here in the nominative singular.
Why nominative? Because this is the subject of the verb, «βγει»
(what ended? the summer). Declined
like
σπίτι.
«να ’χει» is an abbreviation for «να
έχει», an expression that means: “[that] it
has” (in the affirmative, as in this case), or “could
it have” (in the interrogative). The non-idiomatic meaning
of «να έχει» is “to have” (in the 3rd person). The
abbreviated «να ’χει» is pronounced with the stress on
«να» (/náCi/), as if it is one word. This is because
when the stress is on an omitted syllable (here:
«έ-») it is moved over the previous word (here:
«να»). Such abbreviations are optional, and occur in
songs as needed, to adjust to the metric convention. (See
also «να ’ναι»,
earlier.)
«ζωή», meaning “life”, is a
noun of feminine gender, here in the accusative singular.
The related noun «ζώο»
(neuter) means “animal”, and that’s where words like “zoo”
and “zoology” originate from. Declined like
ψυχή.
«ξεχαστεί», meaning “is
forgotten” (more appropriately here, “is abandoned”), is a form of the verb «ξεχνάω»
= “I forget”. Now, what form this is: the verb in the passive voice is «ξεχνιέμαι»
= “I am forgotten”; its past tense
is «ξεχάστηκα» = “I was
forgotten”; the subjunctive of the past tense is «ξεχαστώ»
= “am forgotten” in the 1st person; and «ξεχαστεί» is
in the 3rd person. The verb «ξεχνάω» (active)
and «ξεχνιέμαι» (passive) is conjugated like
περνάω and περνιέμαι. |
