Greek · Joy & Kéfi
πάμε
páme
PAH-meh · /ˈpa.me/
Let's go! / Come on! — the rallying cry.
1/5 Grandma-safe
mild, playful; fine on daytime TV
Literally
"let's go / we go"
Word-for-word — which is rarely what it means.
How to use it
The engine of Greek enthusiasm and encouragement. "Πάμε!" to start a night out, rally a team, or hype a friend. "Πάμε γερά" (let's go strong) and "πάμε δυνατά" mean "let's give it everything." In the stadium it's a chant; at the table it launches the evening. Fully Grandma-safe and impossible to overuse. "Πάμε στοίχημα;" = wanna bet?
Heard in the wild
Έτοιμοι όλοι; Πάμε!
Everyone ready? Let's go!
Where it lands
Greece & Cyprus (universal)
Quick answers
- What does "πάμε" mean?
- In Greek, "πάμε" means "Let's go! / Come on! — the rallying cry.". Literally it's "let's go / we go". The engine of Greek enthusiasm and encouragement. "Πάμε!" to start a night out, rally a team, or hype a friend. "Πάμε γερά" (let's go strong) and "πάμε δυνατά" mean "let's give it everything." In the stadium it's a chant; at the table it launches the evening. Fully Grandma-safe and impossible to overuse. "Πάμε στοίχημα;" = wanna bet?
- Is "πάμε" offensive?
- It's on the mild end — 1/5 (Grandma-safe) on the Punch-o-Meter. mild, playful; fine on daytime TV.
- How do you pronounce "πάμε"?
- Say it "PAH-meh" — capitals mark the stressed syllable. In IPA: ˈpa.me.
Related in Greek
ώπα ópa OH-pah Oops! / Hey, watch it! / Let's go! — NOT mainly the plate-smashing tourist cheer. γαμάτο gamáto ghah-MAH-toh Awesome / badass / fucking great. τέλειο téleio TEH-lee-oh Perfect / awesome / great — the clean, all-ages enthusiasm word. κέφι kéfi KEH-fee The good-time feeling — soul, joy, being in the mood to celebrate. να 'σαι καλά na 'sai kalá nah seh kah-LAH Bless you / thanks so much / take care — a warm blessing. γεια μας geiá mas YAH mahss Cheers! — the standard toast.
The same idea, elsewhere
Via concepts like "Hell yes".
- French Ça déchire ! That rocks! / That's awesome!
- German Geil! Awesome! / Sick! / Hell yes!
- Italian Grande! Nice one! / You legend! / Way to go!
- Japanese やった Yes! / I did it! / We won!
- Korean 아싸! Yes! / score! — the fist-pump syllables.
- Polish zajebisty Fucking awesome / badass — the great slang-POSITIVE of the jebać family.
- Portuguese Que massa! How cool! / Awesome!
- Russian Офигенно! Freaking awesome! / Amazing!
Reviewed by native speakers. Rate it differently? Tell us what we got wrong.