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- "Το δείπνο είναι κεφτές."
41 Comments
I would say that the sentence is not English-sounding at all. Dinner is a meatball, maybe. Very unnatural.
The main reason this sentence feels a little unnatural to me is because they used the world δείπνο instead of βραδινό, since they both mean the same thing but δείπνο is quite a formal world , which you wouldn't hear if you were eating a meatball. It also bugs me that it's a meatball and not meatballs (κεφτέδες) since there is no way you are going to have just a meatball for dinner, the sentence: Το βραδινό είναι κεφτέδες, the dinner is meatballs, is something you could potentially hear
I agree, but how would the word meatball could be incorparated as one meatball to teach the singular? Maybe as "there is one meatball on the pasta?"
Yes, it seems a really strict diet. Particularly at the beginning, the sentences don't have much meaning. Later, you get a richer diet (pardon the pun). :)
Δείπνο is the main meal of the day which in Greece, as in many southern European countries, is usually eaten in the afternoon. So, βραδινό (the evening meal) is not an issue. As for have "a meatball" just see Jacob's image.
Well, as an English teacher I'd have to say that it is a strange sentence indeed. But with many years of experience in various countries, I've learned to "never say never".
That aside I'll also point out that our mission here is to help the learner understand the Greek. In addition, I'll draw your attention to the comments on this page in which we explain more than once that we are aware that the Greek is an odd sentence but that we are unable to alter it at this phase and have reported it.
We are now working on a new tree where we hope to correct this and other odd sentences.
But the image of the meatball is pretty good I think.
I think the problem is that in English there may be no good, uniform way of saying this, and it differs quite a bit between context and indeed British and American English. Presuming I've understood the meaning of the Greek (and ignoring the singular, as it would not be used in this way in English), options could be: - It's meatballs for dinner - Dinner will be meatballs - The meal consists of meatballs Still problematic in Duolingo, as they all sort of fail to provide a direct enough translation to fit the format.
You've made quite a good analyis of why this sentence fails to meet the standards needed here. All your alternatives would be fine if it weren't for it being "one meatball". I've already reported this for review but I think the next step would be to ask if it could be removed. Thank you, your help is appreciated and we hope to hear from you again.
Don't try to find a history behind the sentences. Yes, the vast majority are logical but some of them are just odd. We're trying to teach vocabulary and grammar and a little humor often helps to remember the sentence. It's was a good idea to read the other comments on the page before posting. Your question has been answered.
Your attention please!
The pronunciation of the new "male" TTS voice is completely wrong.
I reported it.
I' d say someone slipped up. I think we were going for something along the lines of "The dinner is chicken." This sentence will be replaced or at least edited in the new tree.
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Good! I know that Duolingo isn't (can't be) a democracy. But if it were, my vote would go to "Disappear it!" This silly English sentence reminds me of Archie Bunker calling his son-in-law "Meathead." Sort of like insulting supper by calling it a meatball....
Is the pronunciation right, here? That word δείπνο really sounds like "ziggno" to my ears. I know π is sometimes pronounced other than "p", but this time, it's really different than what I've gotten used to.
"δείπνο" sounds correct. It is pronounced: "THEEP no" with of course the Greek δ as in "the" not soft as in "thin". To listen to the word pronounced by a native speaker try here:
https://forvo.com/languages/el/
Also, these online dictionary sites have good pronunciation options:
https://en.bab.la/dictionary/greek-english/%CE%B4%CE%B5%CE%AF%CF%80%CE%BD%CE%BF
https://translate.google.com/?hl=en#el/en/%CE%B4%CE%B5%CE%AF%CF%80%CE%BD%CE%BF
https://www.bing.com/translator/?from=he&to=el&text=%CE%B4%CE%B5%CE%AF%CF%80%CE%BD%CE%BF
This is one of those strange, fully statements that pop up on Duo. It actually says "κεφτές" which is a/one meatball. So, either it's a really big meatball, or someone is on a diet. But it's not plural "meatballs".
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Remember the WWII song ´One meatball, without spaghetti ...´ - ? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56MQBE5RVr4 I´m off to the Greek island again - see you all at the beginning of November. Γεια σας!
You and I might possibly be the only ones who remember that song. But it does fit here. How that sentence became part of the course I don't know but it's become a mascot. Thanks for the link it's a great reminder and should be our course anthem. :-)
Hope you have a great time on the island. Looking forward to talking again soon. Γεια σας!
The English translation you are requesting sounds comical to a native ear.
Duo is noted for its funny, whimsical sentences. There are whole sites on the net with them.
They are basically the same. The suffix "...άκι singular "...άκια" plural creates the diminutive. "παιδί" > "παιδάκι", etc it's commonly used even when something is not smaller. "Φέρε με λίγο νεράκι, παπακαλώ." "Bring me a little water, please." So we have both "a little" and "νεράκι", but what you mean is simply "Bring me some water, please." We can add "...άκι" to nearly anything...it makes it more casual, more idiomatic. We use it a lot!
Look at the photo above with the granny and the "κεφετδάκι" not really a small one at all. It translates to:.."Granny, I'm not very hungry. Give me one little meatball." and Granny replies..."It's ready dear." (my sweet).
Question, could you call this "kofta" in English, or is that considered too Turkish? Mmmm, now I want kofta.
No, I'm referring to the fact that you will often see "kofta" meaning lamb meatballs on menus in London. Probably a loanword into English from Turkish but originally Greek. You even get recipes for it like this: https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/lamb-koftas
Yes, there might be more than one name for anything but for our purposes, it should be "keftes".
Duo likes to throw in a little humor now and again. But if you look at the picture on this page you'll find a meatball for a whole team.
