Sausage in Greek
λουκάνικο
loukaniko — sausage
Hear λουκάνικο
Λουκάνικο (loukaniko) is sausage, stressed lou-KA-ni-ko, and the plural λουκάνικα is what you will actually see on a menu. Regional names attach themselves to it constantly: λουκάνικο Πηλίου, λουκάνικο Τρικάλων, χωριάτικο λουκάνικο for the coarse village kind.
The word that trips people up alongside it is παστουρμάς (pastourmas), which is not a sausage at all. Παστουρμάς is beef, salted, pressed and air-dried, then coated in a thick paste of fenugreek and garlic and sliced thin. It sits near the sausages in a deli counter and behaves nothing like them on the plate.
Σουτζούκι (soutzouki) muddies things further, because it is a cured sausage and the name also belongs to a sweet — σουτζούκος, walnuts threaded on string and dipped in grape must.
Example sentences
Ένα λουκάνικο, παρακαλώ.
Ena loukaniko, parakalo.
One sausage, please.
Τα λουκάνικα είναι σπιτικά;
Ta loukanika einai spitika?
Are the sausages home-made?
Related forms
- παστουρμάς (pastourmas) — cured, spiced beef — not a sausage
- σουτζούκι (soutzouki) — a cured sausage
- χωριάτικο λουκάνικο (choriatiko loukaniko) — coarse village sausage
Common questions
- What is the difference between pastourma and loukaniko?
- Λουκάνικο is a sausage — meat in a casing. Παστουρμάς is a whole cut of beef, salted, pressed, air-dried and coated in fenugreek and garlic, then sliced thin. They share a counter and nothing else.
Quick check
Pick the Greek word that matches.
How do you say "sausage" in Greek?
Related words
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