Greek9 min read

Greek Words: 100 Basic Greek Words with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks

Published September 23, 2026Updated September 24, 2026

A hundred words is not a language, but it's a real start. With the 100 common Greek words below you can greet people, order a coffee and a Greek salad, count your change, ask where the bathroom is and understand half of what a waiter says back. The list is split into four groups: greetings, food, numbers and everyday words. Every word has its accent mark, a pronunciation in plain English spelling (stressed syllable in capitals) and its meaning. At the end you'll find memory hooks for 14 of them and a simple 10-day plan.

The Greek alphabet in 5 minutes

You don't need to master the alphabet before learning words, but five minutes with the basics makes the tables below much easier to read:

• There are 24 letters. Many look familiar: Α, Ε, Ι, Κ, Μ, Ο, Τ, Ζ sound roughly the way you expect.
• Some are traps: Η and Υ are ee, Ρ is r, Β is v, Ν is n, Χ is a throaty h, as in Scottish loch.
• δ is the th in this; θ is the th in think. So δύο (two) is THEE-o.
• γ is y before e and i sounds: γεια is just "ya."
• Letter pairs: ου = oo, αι = e, ει and οι = ee, μπ = b, ντ = d.
• The accent mark (tonos) shows the stressed syllable in every word of two or more syllables. Trust it.

That's enough to follow along. For all 24 letters with example words, read the Greek alphabet guide.

Greetings: 16 words

These are the Greek words you'll use every single day. Learn them first, because you get to practice them with real people immediately.

Food: 20 words

Most visitors meet Greek at the table first. These 20 words cover a menu, a bakery and a supermarket shelf.

Numbers: 15 words

Seven, eight and nine each have two spellings, and both are correct; the second one in each pair is the more everyday form. The numbers above are the forms you use for counting. One, three and four also change with the gender of the noun: ένας καφές (one coffee), μία μπύρα (one beer), ένα νερό (one water). Don't worry about that on day one. You'll be understood either way.

Everyday words: 49 words

The rest of the list covers people, places, time, the small words that glue sentences together, the most useful verbs and a few adjectives.

People

Places

Time

Questions and small words

Verbs

Greek dictionaries list verbs in the "I" form, not an infinitive, so each verb below is already a mini sentence: θέλω means "I want."

Adjectives

Adjectives are given in the masculine form. With feminine and neuter nouns the ending changes: ζεστός καφές (hot coffee), but ζεστό νερό (hot water).

Memory hooks for 14 words

Reading a list once won't make it stick. A memory hook gives each word something to hang on: an English word that sounds like the Greek one, plus a quick, vivid picture that links that sound to the meaning. This is the keyword method, and it works best when the picture is a little absurd.

Sound-alikes:

• γεια (ya, hi): you spot a friend across the street and shout "Yeah!" while waving.
• ευχαριστώ (ef-ha-ree-STO, thank you): on the ferry, Harry helps you stow your heavy suitcase. "Thanks, Harry, stow it!"
• παρακαλώ (pa-ra-ka-LO, please; you're welcome): a parachutist flies low over the café and drops your lost hat back in your lap. "You're welcome!"
• ναι (neh, yes): a knight says "Nay!" but gives a thumbs up. In Greek, the word that sounds like "nay" means yes.
• όχι (O-hee, no): someone asks for your house key. "Oh, key? No way."
• εντάξει (en-DA-ksee, okay): the driver points at the car and asks, "In taxi?" You nod: okay.
• νερό (ne-RO, water): Emperor Nero pours buckets of water on burning Rome.
• γάλα (GA-la, milk): at a fancy gala, a waiter slips and a tray of milk glasses splashes across the ballroom.
• τυρί (tee-REE, cheese): a huge wheel of cheese hangs from a tree like a ripe fruit.
• κρασί (kra-SEE, wine): after the third glass of wine, Uncle Nick goes crazy on the dance floor.

Words English already borrowed:

• μικρός (mee-KROS, small): think microscope, microchip.
• μεγάλος (me-GA-los, big): think megaphone, megabyte.
• παιδί (peh-THEE, child): the same root as pediatrician, a doctor for children.
• δρόμος (THRO-mos, road): hidden inside hippodrome, literally a "horse course."

One more fun fact: τράπεζα (bank) is an old word for "table," because money changers used to do business at a table. Modern Greek keeps a close cousin, τραπέζι, for the table in your kitchen.

Try three more hooks on the spot, then test yourself:

Practice: 100 words in 10 days

Here's a plan that takes about 15 minutes a day:

1. Learn 10 new words a day. Start with the 16 greetings over two days, then food, numbers and everyday words. That's 100 words in 10 days.
2. Say every word out loud, stressing the syllable with the accent mark. Greek is read the way it's written, so pronouncing it from day one costs you nothing extra.
3. Test yourself in both directions. Cover the Greek column and recall the word from the English, then the other way around. Recalling is what builds memory; rereading mostly builds a feeling of familiarity.
4. Review yesterday's words before adding new ones. Then review again after three days and after a week. Words you missed come back sooner.
5. Use them. Greet the owner of your local Greek restaurant with καλησπέρα, and ask for the check with τον λογαριασμό, παρακαλώ.

If you're wondering how far 100 words gets you and what comes next, read is Greek hard to learn?. If you'd like a tool to handle the review schedule for you, here's our take on the best app to learn Greek.

You can also practice these words in Palabra. Every Greek word there comes with pronunciation, an example sentence and a ready-made English memory hook, and reviews are scheduled automatically, right before you're likely to forget. Start with the Greek greetings and family topics: one tap adds a whole topic to your words, and they come back for review one by one.

How this post was made: the draft was written with the help of our model (AI); facts were checked against the sources. How we make it