Breakdown of Όπου κι αν ακούσουμε τη σειρήνα, φεύγουμε.
φεύγω
to leave
ακούω
to hear
όπου κι αν
wherever
η σειρήνα
the siren
Questions & Answers about Όπου κι αν ακούσουμε τη σειρήνα, φεύγουμε.
What does Όπου κι αν mean here?
Όπου κι αν means wherever or no matter where.
So the first part of the sentence, Όπου κι αν ακούσουμε τη σειρήνα, means something like:
- Wherever we hear the siren
- No matter where we hear the siren
It introduces an indefinite situation: the exact place is not known or not important.
Why are both κι and αν used? Wouldn’t όπου αν be enough?
In this pattern, όπου κι αν is the normal idiomatic way to say wherever.
A few useful points:
- κι is a short form of και
- here it does not literally mean and
- together, όπου κι αν forms a set expression meaning wherever / no matter where
So learners should usually think of όπου κι αν as one chunk.
You may also see όπου και αν, which means the same thing. κι is just more natural in everyday language.
Why is the verb ακούσουμε and not ακούμε?