wordpower
The more Greek you learn, the more you will realise how many English words have their origins in Greek. The Greek pronunciation can be completely different but the meaning can become clear when you begin to understand how Greek letters are transcribed into English. For…
All about Greek nouns
Nouns (are the words for living beings, things, places and concepts) Every single Greek noun belongs to one of the three groups called genders: masculine(m), feminine(f) or neuter(n). The nouns for male and female people are usually masculine or feminine: ο πατέρας (father), η μητέρα…
Top 10 essentials
Describing and commenting Eίναι ωραίο! It’s nice/lovely! Είναι πολύ γλυκό! It’s very/too sweet! Δεν είναι καλό! It isn’t good! Talking about what’s available Υπάρχει νοσοκομείο; Is there a hospital? Έχει πρόβλημα. There’s a problem. Δεν έχει ζεστό νερό. There’s no hot water. Talking…
Using two verbs together
Because there is no infinitive in Greek, if you want to say I want to go; can we do?; they want to know etc., you link the two verbs together using the word να, e .g. Θέλω να πάω I want to go (lit. I…
Talking about what you like and dislike in Greek
The Greek for I like …(Μου αρέσει) literally means To me is pleasing. To say what you like and don’t like, you use the same group of words as for expressing possession, since μου, σου, etc. can mean to me, you, etc. To say you…
5 funny Greek idiomatic expressions
In every language, there are certain expressions and phrases that can’t be directly translated from one language to another because the meaning is different than what it appears. For example, an idiomatic expression in English is, “What’s up?” We aren’t actually asking about what is…
contracted verbs: πάω, λέω, ακούω, τρώω
Contracted words There are a few μένω-type verbs whose stem ends with a vowel. These verbs are contracted, i.e. shortened in certain forms, so that the vowel in the ending merges with the one in the stem. The most common of these verbs are: πάω…
Greek for beginners- Γεια σου!
Greek expressions Saying hello, goodbye & how are you Saying what you are called & asking someone else’s name In Greece and Cyprus people tend to be informal with each other and seldom use each other’s surnames. You may well hear people addressed…
Greek idioms
Describe Personalities in Greek with 8 Idioms- 8 expressions you need to know σκληρό καρύδι: a tough cookie Η γιαγιά μου είναι σκληρό καρύδι. Μπορεί να διαχειριστεί οποιοδήποτε πρόβλημα. My grandmother is a tough cookie. She can handle any problem. διαόλου κάλτσα: a…
4 great books to learn Greek without a tutor
Talk Greek, the bestselling course from BBC Active, which has inspired and helped so many people to learn Greek from scratch and given them the confidence to have a go. Collins, Easy learning Greek, this language course allows learners to take on board all of…