I looked almost everywhere and can’t find an english to greek translator site. I want to say
“I’m sorry to hear about the death of your dog. Please give my condolences to your family and thank you for being around when I need you”
How do I write this in greek?
I’ll hit my dictionaries at lunchtime (12:30 PM Eastern), unless another Greek-speaking Doper manages to tackle this in the meantime.
I wouldn’t trust any sort of automatic translation service any more than I would someone who bases their life around the lack of a duck quack’s echo. The piece of text you want to translate doesn’t look like the kind of phrase you want translated into hillarious gibberish.
What I’m trying to say is this: Even if you do manage to find an English to Greek translation site, don’t use it. Wait for Olentzero or another Greek-speaker to reply.
Proz.com is your friend for questions like these.
It has hundreds of professionals hanging around waiting for paid jobs to come up but very willing to answer short questions for free while they’re waiting.
Go to the site, do the free registration, then look for the “Ask a question” menu item.
Enjoy.
You are writing in signal or plural? From the contex is difficult to decide.
Probably you should write
" Λυπάμαι για το θάνατο του σκύλου σου. Παρακαλώ, διαβίβασε τα συλλυπητήρια μου στην οικογένεια σου. Ευχαριστώ που ήσουν εκεί όταν σε είχα ανάγκη"
(I am sorry for the death of your dog. Please give my condolences to your family. Thank you for being there when I need you. You can safely skip the “Παρακαλώ”)
If you will use plural the same is:
Λυπάμαι για το θάνατο του σκύλου σας. Παρακαλώ, διαβιβάστε τα συλλυπητήρια μου στην οικογένεια σας. Σας ευχαριστώ που είσασταν εκεί όταν σας είχα ανάγκη".
In that case better leave the Παρακαλώ.
The last sentence would be more “natural” if it was :" Ευχαριστώ που ήσουν (είσασταν) εκεί όταν σε (σας) χρειαζόμουν" In brakets is the plural. It means something like “thanks for being there when I needed you” and it is more common.
If you want the fact that you were sorry after hearing the news, to be clear, you should write the first sentence " Τα νέα για το θάνατο του σκύλου σου (σας) με λύπησαν" the news about your dog’s death made me sorry (that is a little formal) or
“Λυπήθηκα οταν έμαθα για το θάνατο του σκύλο σου (σας).” I was sorry when I learded about your dog’s death,
or more simple
" Λυπήθηκα όταν άκουσα για το σκύλο σου(σας)." I was sorry to heard for your dog.
Hope I helped.
Ok, I don’t know what I did wrong but I am repostin the second part.
The last sentence would be more “natural” if it was :" Ευχαριστώ που ήσουν {είσασταν} εκεί όταν σε {σας} χρειαζόμουν. In brakets is the plural. It means something like “thanks for being there when I needed you” and it is more common.
If you want the fact that you were sorry after hearing the news, to be clear, you should write the first sentence " Τα νέα για το θάνατο του σκύλου σου {σας} με λύπησαν " the news about your dog’s death made me sorry (that is a little formal) or
Λυπήθηκα οταν έμαθα για το θάνατο του σκύλο σου {σας} I was sorry when I learded about your dog’s death,
or more simple
" Λυπήθηκα όταν άκουσα για το σκύλο σου {σας}." I was sorry to heard for your dog.
And if a moderator can fix the previus message… :smack:
Well, let me throw my work in here and Kleia and I can argue semantics. 
Λυπάμαι πού μαθαίνω ότι πέθανε ο σκύλος σου. Παρακαλώ δώσε / Δώσε στην οικογένεια σου τα συλλυπητήρια μου, και ευχαριστώ πού ήσουν τριγύρω πότε σε χρειαζόμουν.
As stated, you can safely drop the Παρακαλώ if you wish, in which case you’ll have to capitalize the δ as I’ve shown. Also remember to include the accent marks!
Kleia, what verb are you using to translate ‘give’? Is διαβίβαζω part of a standard expression about conveying condolences?
The word “πότε” means “when”, but only in a question. For example “When are you leaving?”
When you make a statement you use the word “όταν” instead. For example “When the sun goes down.”
Also, I wouldn’t use the word “τριγύρω”. While it is technically a correct translation of “being around”, it isn’t used in the same context.
Hope I helped!
My English-Greek dictionary specifically had a sentence using ‘trigyrw’ (sorry, I’m on a Mac and it won’t do the Greek alphabet correctly) translated as “I’ll be around should you want me”. It also used ‘pote’ in sentences (“I don’t know when he’ll be coming”), and the sense I got from ‘otan’ (also defined as ‘while’) was more like “during the interval of time which” rather than “on those occasions which”, so ‘pote’ seemed the more logical choice. It’s the Oxford Learner’s Dictionary, 1993 edition from Oxford University Press, so I’d think it’s not entirely inaccurate.
Of course, as soon as I post my defense I see I’m arguing with an apparent native Greek speaker. I still want to hash this out, though.
…aaaand back again. I was wrong about the difference between ‘pote’ and ‘otan’; Dog80 is correct. So ‘when I needed you’ should be ‘ótan se xreiasómoun’.
What do you make of this sentence in the dictionary, though?
‘8a eímai trigyrw an me xreiasteís’ - translated therein as “I’ll be around if you want me”. That’s a very close match for MannyL’s original English sentence.
-The use of “πότε” in “I don’t know when he’ll be coming” (δέν ξέρω πότε θα έρθει ) is correct, but I can’t explain why 
Maybe Kleia1 knows…
-The translation of the phrase “Θα είμαι τριγύρω αν με χρειαστείς” is indeed “I’ll be around if you want me”.
I think the problem with this phrase is that it’s too literal. It means “being physically around”.
The wording chosen by Kleia1 is much broader and general. It can mean being “physically around” and “providing support” at the same time.
Πότε means when (in a specific moment on time) and is used usually in questions. Note that in δέν ξέρω πότε θα έρθει you speak for a non spesific time, and there is a question “hiden” in the sentence. It can’t be used to inticate a specific positive time. In tese cases you sould use τότε (for a specific moment as in τότε που αγόρασα το σπίτι when I bought the house if you’ll continue to say that you did something else the same day, or οταν for a specific moment or an interval of time as again όταν αγόρασα το σπίτι and you could continue with someting you did arround the same time. Οταν is used more often. As a side not beware of the accent marks. Ποτέ means never.
Τριγύρω is indeed being physically around but not there. If i say Θα είμαι τριγύρω I mean that propably you will be able to find me if you look but not with you or in the building or trying to not commit myself. So it seems inappropriate in contex. Also it is very informal, I don’t think I have seen it ever written.
Διαβιβάζω means convey or forward a message. It is a standard for condolences and greedings especially if you don’t know the “target” very well. Δίνω can be used also, without problems if you are in good terms with that person.
Olentzero Λυπάμαι πού μαθαίνω ότι πέθανε ο σκύλος σου is correct but the present form you are using make it sound a little forced. It sounts as the person is learning at this moment that the dog has died. Also the expresion sorry to learn is not really used in greek.
By the way if it was the family dog, it would be better ο σκύλος σας.
I have to work know so later I will come back if I can help.
No, I see it - πότε means ‘at what time?’ whereas οταν means ‘at the time at which’ or something close to it.
I think the recipient of the message is on fairly close terms with MannyL, as implied by the phrase “thanks for being there when I needed you”. So probably he could use Δώσε instead of διαβιβάστε in this instance.
So, how does this phrase work?
Λυπάμαι για το θάνατο του σκύλου σου. Δώσε στην οικογένεια σου τα συλλυπητήρια μου, και ευχαριστώ πού ήσουν εκεί όταν σε χρειαζόμουν.
A correction, as usual. Since it appears to be the family dog (else why convey condolences to them?) “your dog” should be ο σκύλος σας as Kleia1 indicated.