Palabra Lexi · words by topic · Greek
Greek Words: Time & Weather — with Pronunciation and Memory Hooks
Level A0 · first words · 20 words
Today, tomorrow, week, month, days of the week, sun, rain and snow: words for plans, schedules and small talk about the weather.
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".
Time & Weather in Greek: word list
| Greek | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| σήμερα | SI-me-ra | today |
| αύριο | A-vri-o | tomorrow |
| χθες | hthes | yesterday |
| εβδομάδα | ev-do-MA-da | week |
| μήνας | MI-nas | month |
| χρόνος | HRO-nos | year / time |
| ώρα | O-ra | hour |
| λεπτό | le-PTO | minute |
| Δευτέρα | de-FTE-ra | Monday |
| Κυριακή | ki-ri-a-KI | Sunday |
| καλοκαίρι | ka-lo-KE-ri | summer |
| χειμώνας | hi-MO-nas | winter |
| ήλιος | I-lyos | sun |
| βροχή | vro-HI | rain |
| χιόνι | HYO-ni | snow |
| άνεμος | A-ne-mos | wind |
| κρύο | KRI-o | cold |
| ζέστη | ZE-sti | heat |
| σύννεφο | SI-ne-fo | cloud |
| νωρίς | no-RIS | early |
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.
σήμερα [SI-me-ra] — today
Sounds like: “summer at”. You picture summer arriving today, sunny and warm, right at this very moment outside.
Τι κάνεις σήμερα; — What are you doing today?
αύριο [A-vri-o] — tomorrow
Sounds like: “avery oh”. Avery shouts 'oh, tomorrow!' pointing at a calendar page for the next day.
Αύριο έχω δουλειά. — Tomorrow I have work.
χθες [hthes] — yesterday
Sounds like: “Kfess”. Imagine a priest who hears confess-ions only about things that happened the day before, yesterday.
τον είδα χθες — I saw him yesterday
εβδομάδα [ev-do-MA-da] — week
Sounds like: “Eve dome ah-ha”. Eve stands under a glass dome shouting ah-ha every seven days when the week resets
Τα λέμε την άλλη εβδομάδα. — See you next week.
μήνας [MI-nas] — month
Sounds like: “me-nas”. Picture 'ME' wearing a NASA badge, marking off thirty days on a moon calendar for the month.
χρόνος [HRO-nos] — year / time
Sounds like: “drone-os”. A drone flies past a giant clock labeled 'OS', marking each year it circles overhead.
ο χρόνος περνάει γρήγορα — time passes quickly
ώρα [O-ra] — hour
Sounds like: “aura”. A glowing aura surrounds the clock face, pulsing brighter every hour that passes on the wall.
λεπτό [le-PTO] — minute
Sounds like: “lept over”. A clock leaps over one minute mark, ticking loudly as the hand jumps forward on the dial.
Δευτέρα [de-FTE-ra] — Monday
Sounds like: “deft terrier”. A deft terrier jumps onto the calendar page marked Monday and rips it off with its teeth.
Κυριακή [ki-ri-a-KI] — Sunday
Sounds like: “curry ache”. You eat too much spicy curry and get a stomach ache lying in bed all Sunday resting.
καλοκαίρι [ka-lo-KE-ri] — summer
Sounds like: “kaleido-carry”. You carry a kaleidoscope full of bright colors, like the sunny, colorful days of summer.
χειμώνας [hi-MO-nas] — winter
Sounds like: “he moans”. He moans loudly, shivering under blankets, because the freezing winter wind rattles his window.
Τον χειμώνα χιονίζει. — It snows in winter.
ήλιος [I-lyos] — sun
Sounds like: “heel-ios”. You lift your heel to walk on hot sand while the blazing sun burns above the beach.
Ο ήλιος είναι ψηλά — The sun is high
βροχή [vro-HI] — rain
Sounds like: “vro-hee”. You shout 'vroo-hee!' as rain suddenly pours down and soaks your shoes.
Η βροχή πέφτει δυνατά. — The rain is falling hard.
χιόνι [HYO-ni] — snow
Sounds like: “cheap knee”. You buy a cheap plastic knee brace, but snow leaks inside it, freezing your whole leg.
Το χιόνι λιώνει — The snow is melting.
άνεμος [A-ne-mos] — wind
Sounds like: “anemone”. A field of red anemone flowers bends and sways as a strong wind rushes through them.
κρύο [KRI-o] — cold
Sounds like: “cry-oh”. You cry 'oh!' because the icy wind is so cold it stings your cheeks outside.
Κάνει κρύο έξω. — It's cold outside.
ζέστη [ZE-sti] — heat
Sounds like: “zesty”. A zesty lemon sizzles on hot pavement, radiating waves of heat that make you squint.
Έχει πολλή ζέστη σήμερα — It's very hot today
σύννεφο [SI-ne-fo] — cloud
Sounds like: “sin echo”. You shout your sin and its echo forms into a fluffy white cloud floating above the mountain.
Ένα μεγάλο σύννεφο — A big cloud
νωρίς [no-RIS] — early
Sounds like: “nor is”. Nor is the sun up yet - you left the house too early, before dawn light appeared.