Dialog – Getting a Taxi in Greece

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While you’re in Greece, you might find yourself in a situation where you’ll need to hire a taxi. Even if you rent a car, you might find that you don’t want to drive all the time. For example, it’s often easier to take a ten minute taxi ride to your destination rather than drive, depending on where you are going. Either way, you might find that you’ll need to speak Greek in order to secure your ride. Here is a dialog that will help you learn what you need in order to get a taxi:

Booking a Taxi in the Greek Language

You will need to start by asking the taxi driver if he’s able to take you. Often, taxi cabs will indicate if they’re free or not, but it is good to ask, just in case:

• Ελεύθερος; Eleftheros; Are you free?

After you ask if they are free, the taxi drive will need to answer your questions. Here’s an example of something he or she would say:

• Ναι. Που πάτε; Neh. Pou pate; Yes. Where are you going?

If he or she isn’t free, you’ll here the Greek word for “no”, or “όχι”. In which case, you’ll keep asking taxi drivers if he or she is free until you find one.

After you answer where you will be going, you’ll likely want to know how much the fare is. This is standard practice because it prevents the taxi driver from trying to add a lot more money at the end. This way, there are no surprises. You ask how much it will cost by saying:

• Πόσο θα κοστίσει; Poso tha kostizi; How much will it cost?

Once they answer and you agree, you simply get into the taxi and enjoy your ride! You’ll be asked to pay at the end of the ride. This is an example of how the rest of the dialog could go:

• Πόσο σας χρωστάω; Poso sas hrostow; How much do I owe you?
• Δεκαοχτώ ευρώ. Ευχαριστώ Thekaohto evro; Eighteen Euro. (for example)
• Κράτα τα ρέστα.Krata ta resta. Keep the change.
• Ευχαριστώ. Efharisto. Thank you.

This dialog doesn’t cover every possible scenario, but it does go over the basics that you’ll need when booking a taxi, completing your ride, and then paying. Read the sentences over a few times to get a feel for them so that you can be ready while you’re in Greece!

The Learn Greek section on GreekBoston.com was written by Greeks to help people understand the conversational basics of the Greek language. This article is not a substitute for a professional Greek learning program, but a helpful resource for people wanting to learn simple communication in Greek.

Categorized in: Learn How to Speak Basic Greek

This post was written by Greek Boston