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Many times people ask me what is the meaning of the word “μεράκι" (meraki) in Greek.

So what does it mean?  How do we pronounce it?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vasiliki Baskou, Instructor/Director, https://learn-greek-online.com.

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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

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Vasiliki Baskou, Instructor/Director, https://learn-greek-online.com.

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