List of Greek Words

People all over the world choose to learn Greek, as they love it in music and movies. Many of them wanted to learn Greek fluently, so that they could travel and work in countries where Greek is the most used language.

If you want to speak Greek fluently, you need to learn more Greek vocabulary. Just knowing the grammar rules won't be enough to converse with the 13.5 million Greek speakers worldwide. Learning essential Greek vocabulary and some standard phrases is key to starting out well. So focus on building out your vocabulary, and you'll soon be on your way to becoming a Greek language expert!

Luckily, there are many ways to learn Greek vocabulary, whether you are a beginner or intermediate, an advanced student, or an almost fluent learner. This article will show you how to quickly acquire vocabulary by using a list of Greek words.

How Many Words You Need To Know:

There is no way to tell how many words you'll need to learn to speak Greek like a native speaker. Here are some estimates, based on research, of the words that you will need in order to achieve different levels of Greek fluency.

Without adding 250 words to your vocabulary, it is difficult to create meaningful Greek sentences. This is why the core of any language is their first 250 words, while the top 1000 Greek terms are essential for about 80% of daily conversations.

The top 2,500 Greek words will allow you to communicate everything you want in easy terms that anyone can understand. Because you have a wider vocabulary, learning 5,000 words will allow you to sound and speak like a native speaker who’s in high school. You can also understand 90% of Greek texts due to better vocabulary. A special bundle of two frequency dictionaries with the 5000 most common Greek words is currently available on our website.

 

With 10,000 words, your active vocabulary will rival that of someone who has completed higher education. You can comprehend 98% of all spoken Greek, and 97% of all written Greek. You can read, understand, enjoy, and appreciate a work with this much vocabulary. Get 30% off the complete set of our Greek frequency dictionaries if you purchase all at once. The top 10,000 Greek words in context are divided into these books!

How Many Words You Should Learn Per Day:

You need to be a good learner and consider many things before you decide on your daily goal vocabulary. You can still learn Greek by learning at least one word per day. However, some people don't have the time to read or study. If you are just beginning and want to learn at least a thousand Greek words, we recommend you learn 10 new words every day. After learning Greek vocabulary for 3 months, you'll have about 900 words. This much vocabulary will be enough to go to other countries as a tourist or live your daily life as an expat.

If you can learn 20 Greek words each day, it will only take you 50 days to learn 1000 words. Additionally, if you think you have enough time to learn at least 30 new words per day, you will reach 80% understanding, or enough to get by in the language, in about a month.

 

Protip:
The quickest way to learn a new language is by learning 20 new words a day. Some of the most successful polyglots use this technique. This mix of speed and time invested per day results in a more successful language learning experience.

 

Common Greek Words

As you probably know, most spoken communication is only made up of a handful thousand words. Some words are more frequently used than others, so it is more important to learn them than those low-frequency ones if you wish to master a language. You will surely need a list of the most common words in Greek to learn practical Greek vocabulary quickly.

 

Below are the links to the paperbacks on Amazon. They are affiliate links. That means we might get a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking these links:

 

• Greek Frequency Dictionary 1 - Beginner Vocabulary
• Greek Frequency Dictionary 2 - Intermediate Vocabulary
• Greek Frequency Dictionary 3 - Advanced Vocabulary
• Greek Frequency Dictionary 4 - Master Vocabulary

 

A note on Greek word lists divided by themes:

Thematic vocabulary lists can help you expand your vocabulary once you have a solid foundation. For example, if you work in nightlife, you can find or create lists of relevant terms. If you're going to spend time at the beach, you can do the same. Learning vocabulary related to "the airport" might seem useful, but at most airports people tend to speak English. Thus, it's better to learn the top 1000 words first, then proceed to learn thematic lists of say, “the supermarket”, or “the restaurant”, or anything relevant to your daily living. 

Essential Greek Words

Learn some basics to get you started on your Greek learning journey.  Slowly build up your confidence and word bank by beginning with these easy and common Greek words:

 

Hello = “Χαίρετε”

Goodbye = “Αντιο σας”

Yes = “Ναί” 

No = “Οχι”

I = “Εγώ”

He = “Αυτός”

She = “Αυτή” 

They = “Αυτοί”

Please = “Σας παρακαλούμε”

Thank you = “Ευχαριστώ”

Sorry = “Συγνώμη”

Good morning = “Καλημέρα”

Good afternoon = “Καλό απόγευμα”

Good evening = “Καλό απόγευμα”

To be = “Να είναι”

To go = “Να πάω”

To do/make = “Να κάνω”

To have = “Να έχω”

To possess = “Να κατέχω”

To be able to/can = “Να είναι σε θέση να” 

To say/tell = “Να πω”

To come = “Να έρθω”

To see = “Για να δω”

To give = “Το να δίνεις”

To know/find out = “Να ξερω” 

To want = “Να θέλω”

To arrive = “Να φτάσω”

To spend time = “Να περάσω χρόνο”

To believe = “Πιστεύω”

To put = “Να βαλω”

To name = “Ονομάζω”

Who? = “ΠΟΥ?”

Where? = “Οπου?”

What? = “Τι?”

Why? = “Γιατί;”

When? = “Πότε?”

Which? = “Οι οποίες?”

How? = “Πως?”

List of Greek Words

To begin learning Greek, all you might need is a word list. You will have a solid source of words to help you get started, especially when you don't know where you should start. There are many word lists available online and in books. Because of the different sources used, each list has various lists of Greek words. However, you need to ensure your list is based on both spoken and written Greek. This is because written language is more complicated and includes a wider range of words, while spoken language is often simpler. Since they correlate to spoken and written languages, we base our lists on the analysis of subtitles.

 

For learners looking for practical lists of Greek words, we recommend our Greek vocabulary list. Our dictionaries depend on how often you use Greek words. These were created to enable learners to rapidly expand their vocabulary. Each book provides an IPA phonetic transcription of Greek terms, which allows you to accurately pronounce a word. Every entry comes with detailed grammatical details, which lets you know whether a word is a verb, adjective, noun, or could be used in various ways. Sample sentences accompany each entry, in which you'll see how the words are used in context. Additionally, you will get some practice in reading. Once you have completed the dictionary, you will be able to read short Greek to English novels.

The books are sorted by:

1. General frequency, the most common words in Greek in descending order.
2. Frequency as part of speech (a list of the most common Greek nouns, verbs and adjectives), and
3. Alphabet, so you can easily look up terms.

You can get them as e-books from our website, or as paperbacks from Amazon.

 

• Greek Frequency Dictionary - Beginner Greek
• Greek Frequency Dictionary - Intermediate Greek
• Greek Frequency Dictionary - Advanced Greek
• Greek Frequency Dictionary - Fluent Greek

 

Conclusion 

To learn and speak in Greek, it is important that you have a good understanding of the vocabulary. Books provide a smarter way to learn Greek vocabulary. The best way to save time and avoid discouragement is to invest in the right resources for learning words. This will make learning easier and quicker, and still be effective to you. MostUsedWords Greek Frequency Dictionaries can be downloaded as ebooks from our website, or as paperbacks through Amazon.