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ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

tudororor
Romania

ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by tudororor »

On duolingo the accent is on the α but I've seen some sites where they tell you that it is with the accent on ε. Are they both correct? Which one do Greeks use the most in common speech?

Native language: Romanian🇷🇴. I'm using English🇺🇸 on a daily basis. I know some German🇩🇪. I started learning Greek🇬🇷 in April 2022

O.Zoe
Greece

Re: ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by O.Zoe »

---
It's ο ξάδερφος (male cousin) and η ξαδέρφη (female cousin), in nominative case. "Ξαδέρφος" is not correct. So, you have probably seen either the female form or the noun in another case (e.g. genitive).

Here's the declension
Image
source: Wiktionary

You can check a word on neurolingo.gr.

---
Then, there's the neuter noun το ξαδέρφι (it's genderless), but the singular form is not really used. It sounds quite awkward to me, actually. The plural form, τα ξαδέρφια, is very common, though.

🇬🇷 N :gb: C1 :de: B1 :it: A1

Cifi

Re: ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by Cifi »

I am working through the skill "family" that teaches ξαδέρφια, ξαδέρφη, αδέλφια and αδερφή.

It is kind of hard to get into my head that they look so similar, but the accents are different in female singular.

Last edited by Cifi on Thu Jul 07, 2022 10:39 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Native: :de: Intermediate: :uk: Lower intermediate: :es: Beginner: :fr: Absolute beginner: 🇬🇷
(If there are errors in what I'm writing in either language, please do correct me - I'll never take it as offense or something like that.)

tudororor
Romania

Re: ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by tudororor »

O.Zoe wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 7:02 am

---
It's ο ξάδερφος (male cousin) and η ξαδέρφη (female cousin), in nominative case. "Ξαδέρφος" is not correct. So, you have probably seen either the female form or the noun in another case (e.g. genitive).

Here's the declension
Image
source: Wiktionary

You can check a word on neurolingo.gr.

---
Then, there's the neuter noun το ξαδέρφι (it's genderless), but the singular form is not really used. It sounds quite awkward to me, actually. The plural form, τα ξαδέρφια, is very common, though.

Thank you for the clarification. I was really confused😅

Native language: Romanian🇷🇴. I'm using English🇺🇸 on a daily basis. I know some German🇩🇪. I started learning Greek🇬🇷 in April 2022

Cifi

Re: ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by Cifi »

Just a side note: I recently had ο ξάδερφός της which was a nice example of the double accent rule explained in the tips.

Native: :de: Intermediate: :uk: Lower intermediate: :es: Beginner: :fr: Absolute beginner: 🇬🇷
(If there are errors in what I'm writing in either language, please do correct me - I'll never take it as offense or something like that.)

Cifi

Re: ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by Cifi »

Cifi wrote: Tue Jul 05, 2022 9:59 am

I am working through the skill "family" that teaches ξαδέρφια, ξαδέρφη, αδέλφια and αδερφή.

It is kind of hard to get into my head that they look so similar, but the accents are different in female singular.

And there's also also the switch in consonants ρ -> λ in αδέλφια. When I realised this, I thought I must have made a typo somewhere, but the above are the examples Duolingo teaches. From what I gather, αδέλφια and αδέρφια both are possible? (Question 1)

But this likely isn't true for any of the others? Or are λ and ρ interchangeably in all these words? (Question 2)

[mention]tudororor[/mention]: I hope I am not hijacking your thread with my questions.

Last edited by Cifi on Fri Jul 08, 2022 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

Native: :de: Intermediate: :uk: Lower intermediate: :es: Beginner: :fr: Absolute beginner: 🇬🇷
(If there are errors in what I'm writing in either language, please do correct me - I'll never take it as offense or something like that.)

Phil682961

Re: ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by Phil682961 »

For what I gather, αδέλφια and αδέρφια both are possible? (Question 1)

That's right: https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/αδέρφια#Greek

Or are λ and ρ interchangeably in all these words? (Question 2)

They are indeed interchangeable in all these words!

O.Zoe
Greece

Re: ξάδερφος or ξαδέρφος?

Post by O.Zoe »

Cifi wrote: Wed Jul 06, 2022 6:03 pm

Just a side note: I recently had ο ξάδερφός της which was a nice example of the double accent rule explained in the tips.

For those who are not aware of the double accent rule, here's an explanation.

---

Cifi wrote:

From what I gather, αδέλφια and αδέρφια both are possible?

ο αδερφός/αδελφός, η αδερφή/αδελφή, τα αδέρφια/αδέλφια, ο ξάδερφος/ξάδελφος, η ξαδέρφη/ξαδέλφη, τα ξαδέρφια/ξαδέλφια. All these are correct.

Later, you'll learn some more words that have variants. For example, εφτά/επτά (seven), οχτώ/οκτώ (eight), εννιά/εννέα (nine).

🇬🇷 N :gb: C1 :de: B1 :it: A1

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