Translate Greek to English
Greek text shows up in travel guides, university course materials, shipping documents from Piraeus, news from Athens, menus at tavernas, and messages from Greek-speaking friends and family. If you cannot read the Greek alphabet, this translator does it for you. Paste the Greek text above and the English result appears on the right within seconds.
Common Greek to English translations
| Greek | English | Pronunciation | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Γεια σας | Hello (formal) | heh-LOH | ||
| Καλημέρα | Good morning | good MOR-ning | ||
| Ευχαριστώ | Thank you | thank yoo | ||
| Παρακαλώ | Please / You are welcome | pleez | ||
| Πόσο κάνει; | How much is this? | how much iz this | ||
| Πού είναι η τουαλέτα; | Where is the bathroom? | wehr iz thuh BATH-room | ||
| Δεν καταλαβαίνω | I do not understand | ay doo not un-der-STAND | ||
| Μιλάτε αγγλικά; | Do you speak English? | doo yoo speek ING-lish | ||
| Θα ήθελα νερό | I would like water | ay wood lyk WAW-ter | ||
| Τον λογαριασμό, παρακαλώ | The bill, please | thuh bil pleez | ||
| Χαίρω πολύ | Nice to meet you | nys too meet yoo | ||
| Αντίο | Goodbye | good-BY | ||
| Χρειάζομαι γιατρό | I need a doctor | ay need uh DOK-ter | ||
| Συγγνώμη | Excuse me | eks-KYOOZ mee |
Tips for Greek to English translation
Greek uses the semicolon (;) as a question mark, which surprises most English speakers. If you see a sentence ending with ; in Greek text, it is a question. The translator converts this punctuation automatically, but knowing this helps you verify whether the output correctly identified a question versus a statement.
Greek compound words and long technical terms are often built from familiar roots. αεροδρόμιο (airport) combines αέρας (air) and δρόμος (road). ηλεκτρονικός (electronic) shares the same root as the English word. Recognizing these Greek roots in the source text can help you verify that a translation captured the correct meaning.
Modern Greek has absorbed loanwords from Turkish (ντουλάπι, wardrobe), Italian (μπαλκόνι, balcony), and French (μπουκάλι, bottle). These appear in everyday conversation but may not exist in formal written Greek. Translators generally handle them well since they have standard English equivalents, but very casual or slang-heavy Greek text may produce less precise results.
The formal and informal distinction in Greek uses the same T/V pattern as French and German. εσύ (esy) is informal “you” for friends and family. εσείς (eseis) is formal or plural. Both translate to “you” in English, but a text consistently using εσείς should be translated into more formal English.
About the Greek language
Greek is the oldest documented living Indo-European language, with continuous written records from the 15th century BC (Linear B) through the present day. It is the language of Homer, Plato, Aristotle, and the New Testament. The Greek alphabet, adopted around the 8th century BC from Phoenician script, became the ancestor of both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.
Modern Greece has a population of about 10.5 million, with significant Greek-speaking communities in Cyprus (about 800,000), the United States, Australia, Germany, and Canada. The language plays an outsized role in international vocabulary: words like telephone, democracy, photography, and pediatrics all come from Greek roots. Learning to recognize these roots makes scientific and medical terminology in many languages much more transparent.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. No account needed, no payment, no limits.
Yes. The tool processes any standard Modern Greek text regardless of register.
Yes. Click the speaker icon next to any English phrase.
Greek uses the semicolon (;) as its question mark. This dates back to Byzantine Greek and is standard in all Modern Greek writing.
This tool is designed for Modern Greek. Ancient Greek has different grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. For Classical or Koine Greek, a specialized translator would be needed.
Modern Greek uses a single accent (tonos) to mark the stressed syllable. Every word with more than one syllable has an accent. The stress position affects pronunciation and occasionally meaning.
This page handles Greek to English. Visit our English to Greek translation page.
No. Greek and Cyrillic are related (Cyrillic was derived from Greek) but they are separate alphabets used for different languages. Some letters look similar but may represent different sounds.
No. All processing happens in real time. Nothing is logged or shared.
Over 60 pairs including Turkish, Italian, Spanish, French, German, Arabic, Chinese, and more.
Need the reverse? Try English to Greek translation.
