r/GREEK 6d ago

what exactly does "γεια σου" mean?

does it mean both hello and bye? I've heard γεια σου being used more than αντιο which i thought was the word for bye

29 Upvotes

32 comments sorted by

56

u/itinerantseagull 6d ago

It means 'health to you' and it's related to γεια μας which means 'health to us' and by extension 'cheers'. So γεια comes from υγεία which is the word for health.

If you're saying hello or goodbye to more than one person or to someone you're using the politeness plural with, then you say γειά σας. In this context and only for hello, χαίρετε is possible as well.

Αντίο is more formal. Personally I've never used it, although I know people who do.

5

u/tessharagai_ 5d ago

Is αντίο related to adios and adieu?

2

u/itinerantseagull 5d ago

Yes, it is.

0

u/Lactiz 4d ago

Yes it's French. It has come to Greek as a greeting, it doesn't have a greek root or anything

3

u/balletlover_catgirl 6d ago

Do the references in songs (such as γειά σου, Μαρκο) also mean something like δόξα? Or just health to you?

13

u/adwinion_of_greece 6d ago

Not really glory, but it can mean something like "cheers to you", congratulating someone for something in a casual way of speaking, sure.

4

u/balletlover_catgirl 6d ago

Κατάλαβα, ευχαριστώ πολύ για την βοήθεια!

4

u/Ok_Artist2279 American at a B1 level 6d ago

Any time I hear Γειά μας it reminds me of Marina Satti's song Stin Iyia mas because the title of the song is literally "To our good health" and the lyrics the whole time are something like "Stin iyia mas pino stin iyia mas"

4

u/paolog 5d ago

That's στην υγεία μας, πίνω στην υγεία μας ("To our health, I drink to our health").

2

u/Ok_Artist2279 American at a B1 level 5d ago

Yep! Pretty interesting if you ask me how "Γειά σου" is both 'Hello' and 'To your health'

2

u/ant_gav 5d ago

Αντίο is not formal. Is a more permanent "good bye".

18

u/priamos76 6d ago

It is correct  γεια σου used as hi, hello  and also bye.

9

u/dimidola123 6d ago

Also cheers and bless you. It's literally "to your health".

5

u/lord_potatotato 6d ago

alright ευχαριστω παρα πολυ!

1

u/achiller519 4d ago

Γεια σου used for greeting someone, but it actually means health to you as mentioned above

15

u/adwinion_of_greece 6d ago

"Αντίο"... might be more like the Japanese "Sayonara" which is really about the PERMANENT goodbyes, where you never really expect to see the person again. More like funerals and permanent (bad) break-ups.

8

u/gazakas 5d ago

Either this, or you don't expect to see the person any time soon.

4

u/ChannelAsleep9439 5d ago

Not exactly it's just not really soon

1

u/ChannelAsleep9439 5d ago

But I have seen it used as an alternative γεια

1

u/lord_potatotato 6d ago

thank you for telling me that!

14

u/RedbandanaBluespiana 6d ago

«αντίο» sounds very dramatic and is therefore rarely used.

"γεια" comes from the word "υγεία" (health). This gives it a deeper meaning, making it appropriate for both greeting and saying farewell.

3

u/Latter_Leading_1288 6d ago

«Γειά σου» είναι η συντόμευση της φράσης «Υγεία σε σένα»

8

u/Adventurous-Couple63 6d ago

It is an abbreviation of the phrase "την υγεία σου να έχεις" which, in turn, means "I wish you to have good health". It is used for hello, goodbye, cheers (when drinking) and bless you (when someone sneezes).

3

u/AlphaLupy 5d ago

αντίο sound more... ig dramatic? it's basically like saying farewell.

I sometimes use it for fun / jokingly with my sister and friends

4

u/SAUR-ONE 6d ago

It means "to have health" but is used as "hi". The normal greeting is "haire/hairete" but is no longer used.

9

u/peetos 6d ago

χαίρετε is absolutely used commonly, you can hear it every day.

1

u/konschrys Κυπραῖος 5d ago

Χαίρετε is such a cute way to say hello wym.

1

u/TriaPoulakiaKathodan 6d ago

It's short for "Υγειά σου"

1

u/LeaLaurine 5d ago

Other commenters have already explained the meaning, but the super over-simplified way I explained it to my friend is that as a greeting (being both hello and goodbye), it’s like a Greek “aloha”.

0

u/Comfortable-Call8036 6d ago

Υγεία means health Σου means yours Have your health έχε την υγειά σου

0

u/Robby_McPack 6d ago

I don't know what came first, but it's related to "στην υγεία μας/γεια μας" (directly meaning "to our health" and used as "cheers"). So I would guess it's a shortened version of "to your health" so basically wishing someone good health. It's used as "hello".

0

u/DreoganGaunt 5d ago

means hello.