Greek for…beginners can be easier than you think

It may sound… Greek to you, but a few simple Greek phrases can take you a long way in your vacation in Greece. These are the most popular Greek expressions. Let’s look at some useful Greek phrases for your average day in Athens. Lucky you! For Goodbye and Hello in Greek you only need one word: “YIA SAS”. If you are trying to find your way around town the question for where something is located is: “POU INE”, adding the name of what you are looking for.

For example, if you want to find out where the Metro is you would ask “POU INE TO METRO”. A common visit for us all is of course the bathroom, which is quite conveniently called I TOUALETA, so by combining POU INE with I TOUALETA you reach your goal! When shopping around, asking how much something costs you would say “POSO KANI”. If it’s a good price you can say “NE”, which means yes, or you can say “OCHI”, which means no, and you can follow that with the ever useful “EFCHARISTO”, which is the way to say thank you in Greece. In Greek, the word for ‘please’ and ‘you’re welcome’ is the same, PARAKALO. Bear in mind that most Greeks master some basic English and most important, are by nature very willing to understand you and help you.

Learn how to tell the time in greek here and how to count in greek here. If you need to learn easy words and greek expressions click here.