long
- Thread starter larshgf
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Paulfromitaly
MODerator
Italian
Do you have a context and a full sentence?
There are synonyms in every language and the choice between them depends on the context.
There are synonyms in every language and the choice between them depends on the context.
Helleno File
Senior Member
English - UK
Another excellent question larshgf - especially your examples! I've found this difficult too and still have some things I am unsure about. While we wait for the native speakers...
I think μακρύς is for real physical length that you can measure. Μεγάλος is most other things where you aren't focussed primarily on the physical length but have a sense being, well, big! Otherwise likely πολύς. So in your examples
Ένας μακρύς δρόμος (Remember in the famous poem with its now old-fashioned stress markings: νὰ εὔχεσαι νά ῾ναι µακρὺς ὁ δρόµος)
Ένα μεγάλο ταξίδι
Πολλή ώρα/πολύς χρόνος/πολύς καιρός - "time" has its own complications, depending on how long you see it as being.
So I think a long break, flight, holiday, book, film, even απόσταση and διαδρομή would all be μεγάλος and φούστα, σκοινί and νύχια are μακρύς. I suspect a long breath or a long life would also be μεγάλος ?? I have a feeling that there could be examples which none of the above fit with English 'long'.
Additionally if you are asking how long something is it's πόσο μήκος έχει... where μακρύς would be the adjective but πόσο μεγάλος, πόση ώρα etc for the others.
(I can't imagine how you do this from Danish via English to Greek!)
I think μακρύς is for real physical length that you can measure. Μεγάλος is most other things where you aren't focussed primarily on the physical length but have a sense being, well, big! Otherwise likely πολύς. So in your examples
Ένας μακρύς δρόμος (Remember in the famous poem with its now old-fashioned stress markings: νὰ εὔχεσαι νά ῾ναι µακρὺς ὁ δρόµος)
Ένα μεγάλο ταξίδι
Πολλή ώρα/πολύς χρόνος/πολύς καιρός - "time" has its own complications, depending on how long you see it as being.
So I think a long break, flight, holiday, book, film, even απόσταση and διαδρομή would all be μεγάλος and φούστα, σκοινί and νύχια are μακρύς. I suspect a long breath or a long life would also be μεγάλος ?? I have a feeling that there could be examples which none of the above fit with English 'long'.
Additionally if you are asking how long something is it's πόσο μήκος έχει... where μακρύς would be the adjective but πόσο μεγάλος, πόση ώρα etc for the others.
(I can't imagine how you do this from Danish via English to Greek!)
Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
μακρύς seems to be often used in contexts relating to space, whereas μεγάλος more when a word relates to time:
ένα μακρύ γράμμα (“a long letter”)
η Μαρία έχει μακριά μαλλιά (“Maria has/wears long hair”)
δέκα πόδια μακρύς (“ten feet long”)
το καλοκαίρι οι μέρες είναι πιο μεγάλες (“in the summer the days are longer”)
η αδελφή μου είναι μεγαλύτερη από εμένα (“my sister is older than me”)
But also:
μακροζωία (“long life”)
μεγάλη ζωή or μεγαλοζωία would be more like “great/big life”.
ένα μακρύ γράμμα (“a long letter”)
η Μαρία έχει μακριά μαλλιά (“Maria has/wears long hair”)
δέκα πόδια μακρύς (“ten feet long”)
το καλοκαίρι οι μέρες είναι πιο μεγάλες (“in the summer the days are longer”)
η αδελφή μου είναι μεγαλύτερη από εμένα (“my sister is older than me”)
But also:
μακροζωία (“long life”)
μεγάλη ζωή or μεγαλοζωία would be more like “great/big life”.
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velisarius
Senior Member
British English (Sussex)
Are you asking about Modern Greek, larshgf? Which dictionary gives this?
πολύς (πολλή/ πολύ) 01|much 02|(pl) many 03|long
πολύς (πολλή/ πολύ) 01|much 02|(pl) many 03|long
larshgf
Senior Member
Danish
Yes, modern greek. The above is from my danish-greek dictionary:
Rolf Hesse: Σύγχρονο Ελληνοδανικό Λεξικό (Nygræsk-Dansk Ordbog) ΕΚΔΟΣΕΙΣ ΠΑΤΑΚΗ 2018
I understand that πολύς is seldom used in the meaning "long".
velisarius
Senior Member
British English (Sussex)
It's used in phrases like για πολλή ώρα and πολύ καιρό - Ελληνοαγγλικό Λεξικό WordReference.com
In English there's often no real distinction between "much time" and "a long time". Time can be seen as a length or as a quantity.
(Edit: I notice Hellenophile made the same point above)
I don't think the form πολύς is found in demotic Greek.
In English there's often no real distinction between "much time" and "a long time". Time can be seen as a length or as a quantity.
(Edit: I notice Hellenophile made the same point above)
I don't think the form πολύς is found in demotic Greek.
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Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
The Oxford Greek-English Dictionary also has πολύς for “long”, but it specifies that it is used with words denoting time.
So, one could form sentences like:
“We waited a long time” (“Περιμέναμε πολλή ώρα”)
or
“I won’t stay/remain here a long time” (“Δεν θα απομείνω πολύ χρόνο εδώ”),
“Will I need a long time to learn Greek?” (“Θα χρειαστώ πολύ χρόνο για να μάθω ελληνικά;”), etc.
The main problem seems to be that where Germanic languages (German, Danish, English, etc.) use “long”, others (e.g. Romance) tend to use terms like “much”, e.g., Spanish “mucho tiempo”. Similarly, Greek happens to use "πολύς" ("many", "much") in the examples above. Otherwise, it’s “μακρύς”, “μεγάλος”, etc., depending on the context.
How else would you say πέρασε πολύς καιρός or ήρθε πολύς κόσμος;
Helleno File
Senior Member
English - UK
So... what would a "long night" or a "long winter" be??
Apollodorus
Senior Member
English UK
μακρά/μακριά νύχτα, μακρύς χειμώνας?
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We also say μεγάλη νύχτα: Οι νύχτες είναι μεγάλες το Δεκέμβρη. But of course, μεγάλη νύχτα can also mean 'big night'.
The famous film 'The Longest Day' was titled Η πιο μεγάλη μέρα του πολέμου in Greek.
A popular, though pessimistic song says «Τα καλοκαίρια μας μικρά κι ατέλειωτοι οι χειμώνες»
Οι μέρες μικραίνουν / μεγαλώνουν.
And in any case, 'short', said of a length of time, can only be μικρός or σύντομος (=brief), never κοντός.
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