"Το φορτηγό χρειάζεται καύσιμα."

Translation: The truck needs fuel.

[DarrenReiley]

Curious about the word καύσιμα... Sounds like it roughly translates to "burnable" or something? Am I close? Is that term used for any kind of fuel in general or just petrol?

[Nickaged]

You are correct. "Καύσιμα" in Greek literally means burnables but we use it for fuel. I think the whole think is "καύσιμα υλικά" or something, but over the years the second word was dropped. But I could be wrong, so don't take my word for it. And it's used for all kinds of fuel. For any kind of machine that needs some solid, liquid or gas to work, we use καύσιμα.

[Michael880308]

Why is the plural καύσιμα used here?

[Condorandi]

Some of these comments say that "φορτηγό" is van, however they do not mention how do you really say truck in Greek, like a 16-wheeler for example. Could anybody help with this? I understood the use of "καύσιμα" Thank you for that.

[jaye16]

A truck is "ένα φορτηγό".