Palabra Lexi · common words in Greek

How to say "brother" in Greek

"Brother" in Greek is αδελφός (adelfós), pronounced a-del-FOS (stress on the syllable in capitals). It is a masculine noun (ο αδελφός, plural οι αδελφοί). Also: αδερφός, the everyday spelling of αδελφός.

Pronunciation is spelled out in English, one syllable at a time, with the stressed syllable in capitals; Greek marks that syllable with an accent in writing too. The speaker button uses your browser's built-in Greek voice. Gender and plural: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

How to pronounce αδελφός

Αδελφός is pronounced a-del-FOS, in IPA /a.ðelˈfos/. The stress falls on FOS, the syllable in capitals. Greek shows this in writing: the accent mark sits on the stressed vowel.

• Δ is th as in "this".

Listen: normal and slow speed, in your browser's Greek voice. IPA: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.

Is αδελφός masculine, feminine or neuter?

Αδελφός is masculine, so it takes the article ο: ο αδελφός. The plural is οι αδελφοί. That fits the usual pattern: most nouns ending in -ος are masculine.

Example sentence

Ο αδελφός μου
my brother

"Brother" in Greek: everyday use and word roots

Both spellings are correct: αδελφός (more formal) and αδερφός (everyday). Philadelphia means "brotherly love".

Regional words and roots: Wiktionary and the Liddell–Scott Greek lexicon. Greek varies by region, so treat these as the most common patterns, not strict rules.

How to remember αδελφός

αδελφός [a-del-FOS] sounds like the English “a dolphin”. Picture this:

Your brother swims like a dolphin: dives under the towel and surfaces with your sandwich.

A sound-alike plus a vivid scene is the keyword method, a well-studied way to learn vocabulary. How it works.

Practice αδελφός

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Other ways to say "brother" in Greek