Bonderups greek language guide

Introduction

I work with many Greek colleagues and want to learn a bit of Greek so I can understand and use the language in everyday situations. As part of that process I am building this guide.

This page will slowly grow into a small Greek language guide with explanations of the alphabet and pronunciation, simple grammar notes, example words and phrases, exercises and tests, and links to small apps I am making for learning Greek.

I will update and refine this guide over time as I learn more and as I build new tools.

Greek alphabet

When saying the names of the letters in Greek, you can mark uppercase letters with kefaléo (capital) and lowercase letters with mikró (small), e.g. kefaléo álfa for Α and mikró álfa for α.

How the Greek alphabet is used

Modern Greek is written with a simple alphabet, not blocks like Korean. You write letters in a straight line from left to right, and each letter usually represents one consonant or one vowel sound.

Uppercase and lowercase

• Every letter has an uppercase (Α) and a lowercase (α) form.
• Uppercase is used at the start of sentences and in names (people, cities, countries, etc.).
• Most of the time you will read and write in lowercase.

The special sigma: σ and ς

• Greek has two lowercase forms of sigma: σ and ς.
• σ is used at the start or middle of a word: σήμερα (today).
• ς is used only at the end of a word: καλώς, πώς.
• Uppercase sigma is always Σ.

Stress mark (accent)

Modern Greek uses a single accent mark (´) to show which syllable is stressed. It appears over vowels in lowercase words:

• μαμά – mamá (mum)
• καλημέρα – kaliméra (good morning)
• In ALL CAPS, accents are often omitted: ΚΑΛΗΜΕΡΑ.

When you read a word, find the vowel with the accent and put the main stress there. This is very important for sounding natural.

Basic sound idea

Some letters have a pretty stable sound (Κ = k, Μ = m, Τ = t, Π = p), and others changed in modern Greek (Β is now like English “v”, not “b”). Many different letters can now have the same vowel sound (for example, η, ι, υ, ει, οι are all pronounced like “ee”).

Common letter combinations (diphthongs)

These are two-letter combinations that act like one sound:

• αι → like “e” (as in bed) – e.g. και ≈ “ke”.
• ει, οι, η, ι, υ → all sound like “ee” – e.g. είναι, είμαι.
• ου → like “oo” in “food” – e.g. ούζο ≈ “OO-zo”.
• αυ → “av” or “af” depending on the next sound – e.g. αυτό ≈ “af-TO”.
• ευ → “ev” or “ef” – e.g. Ευχαριστώ ≈ “ef-ha-ris-TO”.

Greek punctuation (short version)

• Comma (,) and full stop (.) work like in English.
• Question mark is written as a semicolon (;) – e.g. Τι κάνεις; = “How are you?”
• Exclamation mark (!) is also used.

Examples of words

• Ελλάδα – Elláda (Greece)
• Αθήνα – Athína (Athens)
• νερό – neró (water)
• καφές – kafés (coffee)

When you read Greek, think: letter by letter, left to right, and pay special attention to the accent mark for stress.

Letters and pronunciation

This table lists the Greek letters with their names, a rough English sound, and a short pronunciation hint. Use the 🔊 buttons to hear each letter with text-to-speech.

Greek words

A small set of important everyday Greek words. These are useful to recognise early and appear frequently in conversation, signs, menus, and messages. Use the 🔊 buttons to hear the pronunciation.

Greek phrases

These are very common everyday phrases. The Greek column shows how it is written, the Latin column shows an approximate pronunciation, and the English column gives the meaning. Use the 🔊 buttons to hear each phrase.