The word “μεράκι” comes from the Turkish word “merak”.
"μεράκι" means "strong desire". For example:
Το είχε πολύ μεράκι να πάει ταξίδι στην Κρήτη.
He had such a stong desire to go visit Crete.
Το είχε μεράκι να κάνει βόλτα με άλογο.
He had a strong desire to go for a horse ride.
Το είχε μεράκι να χορέψει συρτάκι.
He had a strong desire to dance sirtaki.
It also means love, care and attention to detail for something someone does. For example:
Φτιάχνει σπιτικά γλυκά με πολύ μεράκι.
She makes home made sweets with a lot of love and attention, she puts her heart in it.
Χόρεψε συρτάκι με πολύ μεράκι.
He danced sirtaki with a lot of passion.
This is how we pronounce “μεράκι”:
https://learn-greek-online.com/mp3/meraki.mp3
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Vasiliki Baskou, Instructor/Director, https://learn-greek-online.com.