Learn Greek › C1 › αλί
αλί
woe (to) /aˈli/
particleC1#3940 most common
Also: alas, woe unto
Example sentences
Αλί σου!
Woe to you!
Αλί μας, τι θα κάνουμε τώρα;
Woe to us, what will we do now?
Αλί σ' εκείνον που θα την προδώσει.
Woe to him who betrays her.
Αλί και τρισαλί σε όποιον τολμήσει να πατήσει σ' αυτά τα χώματα.
Woe, thrice woe, to whoever dares set foot on this land.
Αλί στον αδύναμο, γιατί ο κόσμος δεν τον λυπάται.
Woe to the weak, for the world shows them no pity.
Στα παλιά τραγούδια, το «αλί» αντηχεί σαν θρήνος για όσους η μοίρα δεν λυπήθηκε.
In old songs, the cry "woe" echoes like a lament for those fate did not spare.
Word family
αλίμονοalas, woe (the common modern form)
τρισαλίμονοthrice woe (emphatic doubling)
αλί σουwoe to you (fixed exclamation)
Etymology
Αλί is an old interjection of grief found in Byzantine and later Greek, used to cry out misfortune over someone or something. Its exact origin is debated among linguists, and no single source is firmly established. It survives today mainly inside the compound αλίμονο, which has become the standard modern word for "alas."
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