Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Greek
Greek Words: Greetings & Introductions — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 18 words
Every conversation starts here: saying hello, introducing yourself, thanking, apologizing and saying goodbye. These words alone get you through a hotel check-in or a café order politely.
Greek marks the stressed vowel in every word, so once you know the alphabet you can read any word aloud. Nouns come in three genders with the articles ο, η, το. Pronunciation below is spelled out in English, stressed syllable in capitals; d stands for the soft th of "this".
Greetings & Introductions in Greek: word list
| Greek | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| γεια | ya | hi |
| καλημέρα | ka-li-ME-ra | good morning |
| καλησπέρα | ka-li-SPE-ra | good evening |
| καληνύχτα | ka-li-NI-hta | good night |
| αντίο | an-DI-o | goodbye |
| παρακαλώ | pa-ra-ka-LO | please / you're welcome |
| ευχαριστώ | ef-ha-ri-STO | thank you |
| συγγνώμη | sin-GNO-mi | sorry |
| ναι | ne | yes |
| όχι | O-hi | no |
| τι κάνεις; | ti KA-nis | how are you? |
| καλά | ka-LA | well |
| χάρηκα | HA-ri-ka | nice to meet you |
| όνομα | O-no-ma | name |
| φίλος | FI-los | friend |
| εντάξει | en-DA-xi | okay |
| τα λέμε | ta LE-me | see you |
| καλώς ήρθες | ka-LOS IR-thes | welcome |
Memory hooks for these words
A sound-alike is an English word or phrase that sounds like the foreign one. The scene ties it to the meaning: you recall the sound, the sound brings back the picture, the picture brings back the meaning. Read each scene once, then try to recall the meaning a minute later without looking at the list.
γεια [ya] — hi
Sounds like: “yeah”. You wave at a friend across the street and shout 'yeah!' as a cheerful greeting hello.
Γεια! Τι κάνεις; — Hi! How are you?
καλημέρα [ka-li-ME-ra] — good morning
Sounds like: “kalimera beach”. You walk onto a sunny beach called Kalimera at sunrise, waving happily to fishermen pulling nets.
Καλημέρα, τι κάνεις; — Good morning, how are you? (on Kalimera beach)
καλησπέρα [ka-li-SPE-ra] — good evening
Sounds like: “call his spare”. You call his spare phone in the evening to greet him warmly before dinner starts
Καλησπέρα, τι κάνετε; — Good evening, how are you?
καληνύχτα [ka-li-NI-hta] — good night
Sounds like: “collie nightcap”. A collie dog wears a soft nightcap and curls up by the fireplace to sleep peacefully.
Καληνύχτα, αγάπη μου! — Good night, my love, said to the sleepy collie.
αντίο [an-DI-o] — goodbye
Sounds like: “ante up”. Poker player says 'ante up' then throws his cards down and walks out the door, leaving forever.
παρακαλώ [pa-ra-ka-LO] — please / you're welcome
Sounds like: “parachute low”. A parachuter drops low, waving kindly and saying you're welcome as he lands safely near you.
Παρακαλώ! — You're welcome!
ευχαριστώ [ef-ha-ri-STO] — thank you
Sounds like: “ever a store”. You bow at the shop door and shout 'ever a store!' to the clerk who saved your last loaf of bread.
ευχαριστώ πολύ — thank you very much
συγγνώμη [sin-GNO-mi] — sorry
Sounds like: “sick note”. The boy hands his teacher a crumpled sick note and says sorry for missing the spelling test.
Συγγνώμη, δεν το ήθελα — Sorry, I did not mean it
ναι [ne] — yes
Sounds like: “nay”. A knight shouts 'Nay!' but flips his thumb up meaning yes, confusing everyone at the castle gate.
ναι, θέλω — yes, I want
όχι [O-hi] — no
Sounds like: “oh key”. You shake your head 'oh, key?' and slam the door shut, refusing to hand over the key.
Όχι, ευχαριστώ — No, thank you
τι κάνεις; [ti KA-nis] — how are you?
Sounds like: “tin cannis”. You shake a tin can labeled 'Cannis' and ask your neighbor how he is doing this morning.
Τι κάνεις; — How are you?
καλά [ka-LA] — well
Sounds like: “calamari”. The cook fries the calamari so well that every plate comes back to the kitchen empty.
Μαγειρεύεις καλά — You cook well
χάρηκα [HA-ri-ka] — nice to meet you
Sounds like: “haricot”. Two new neighbours shake hands over a steaming pot of haricot beans and both say, 'Nice to meet you!'
Χάρηκα πολύ! — Very nice to meet you!
όνομα [O-no-ma] — name
Sounds like: “oh no, ma!”. A mom shouts a name tag falls off, kid yells 'Oh no, ma!' pointing at the label with the name.
φίλος [FI-los] — friend
Sounds like: “fee-loss”. Your friend refuses to charge a fee, so you lose nothing paying him back with a hug.
Είναι φίλος μου. — He is my friend.
εντάξει [en-DA-xi] — okay
Sounds like: “en-taxes-y”. An accountant sighs 'en-taxes-y' and stamps the form okay after checking all the numbers.
Εντάξει, το κατάλαβα. — Okay, I understood it.
τα λέμε [ta LE-me] — see you
Sounds like: “tall lemma”. A tall professor writes a lemma on the board, waves, and says 'catch you later' as he leaves.
καλώς ήρθες [ka-LOS IR-thes] — welcome
Sounds like: “calories”. The baker at the door holds out a tray of cream cakes and laughs, 'Welcome! Forget the calories today!'
Καλώς ήρθες, φίλε μου! — Welcome, my friend!