Texts in context: Yassas!
Yassas! That’s Greek for hello, goodbye, cheers, “to you!” And a makeshift “thank you” for those (like me) who can’t quite manage efkharistó (eff-car-ee-STOH), the official Grecian “thank you.”
On a recent trip to Greece, every time I tried to say a proper efkharistó I was rewarded with puzzled looks and general incomprehension. The receptionist at our hotel suggested an easier alternative might be to say “yassas!” when I entered, when I left, and whenever a thank you, or other general greeting, was needed.
Then she tried to complicate things by explaining that yassas, written Γειά σας, geia sas, or yia sas, is plural, or formal, while yassou, written γεια σου, gia sou, yia shoe, is singular, or informal. So while I could say yassou to her, or a shopkeeper, or a waiter, she, and they, would need to say yassas to me.
