This is a common question not only from beginners but from all those wishing to progress from their current level to a higher one. This document provides a guide for learning Greek along with a compilation of resources to aid students of all levels further progress their Greek, while providing suggestions for what you should use and what you should avoid.
h there are many resources out there that provide accurate and useful information for Greek, there are also a lot that contain a lot of misinformation and will provide very little help, or may even hinder your progress with Modern Greek. Here are some sites/apps you should avoid.
The below comes from experience. As an upper-intermediate Greek learner who has had to sift through this stuff, these recommendations are in place to ensure you don’t make the same mistakes that I did. If you wish to still do all of this, anyway, feel free to do so. I don’t wish to force any specific method of learning on anyone, and this is just general advice.
If you’re a complete beginner looking to learn the basics, do not use Duolingo. Though you may learn a few words here and there, Duolingo’s Greek course consists mostly of English cognates and provides grammatically incorrect/very “off” sounding sentences. Though it may be useful to learn vocabulary in conjunction with other tools, you shouldn’t rely on it to learn the grammar of the language. If you wish to learn Greek grammar and useful vocabulary, check out Language Transfer, instead.
Websites whose sole purpose is providing declension tables tend to inadvertently provide incorrect conjugations or provide forms that simply don’t exist in Modern Greek (they tend to be automatically generated and don’t accept corrections). If you wish to learn verb conjugation, greekgrammar.eu provides resources for all the important Greek grammar rules.
This one may sound obvious, but searching “Greek” into Google will provide many more Ancient Greek resources than Modern Greek, and it may be difficult to tell the difference as a beginner. To be sure you aren’t learning Ancient Greek, simply include Modern Greek in your search, or double check with someone who knows Greek.
Unless, when you’re reading this, AI has taken over the world, avoid using large language models such as ChatGPT for Greek. Tools such as these don’t completely understand the grammar of Modern Greek and fail to produce natural sounding speech, and in many instances, makes mistakes that may hinder your progress. Unless you’re using an AI powered translation tool, such as DeepL, you should avoid using AI all together.
Many influencers online may try to convince you that you can learn a language in 1 month, 2 weeks, or however short of a time as possible. If it sounds ridiculous, it probably is, and odds are they are trying to sell you something. You cannot learn Greek in a month. You may think you can, but you can’t. Setting your expectations too high or comparing yourself to those who’s job it is to learn languages will either result in you losing your motivation or beating yourself up when you aren’t at the state you expected.
Since the Greek Alphabet is completely unique, you’re going to have to learn all these new letters and how they’re pronounced in order to read and write in Greek. There may also be new sounds not in your native language that you’ll have to learn (such as γ and χ for native English speakers).
For those who know the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), the Modern Greek phonology can be found here. If not, each letter and letter combination along with hidden pronunciation rules are listed below. There also exists a document by Greek Discord server owner, Poursa to aid in learning the alphabet.
Below you will find a list detailing the Modern Greek Alphabet and the sounds they produce. Specific letter combinations may produce different sounds (yes, Greek has diphthongs). If you don’t want to read the list below, see this video by GreekPod101.
Alpha (Αα)
Beta (Ββ)
Delta (Δδ)
Epsilon (Εε)
Zeta (Ζζ)
Eta, Iota, Upsilon (Ηη/Ιι/Υυ)
Theta (Θθ)
Kappa (Κκ)
Lamda (Λλ)
Mu (Μμ)
Nu (Νν)
Xi (Ξξ)
Omicron, Omega (Οο/Ωω)
Pi (Ππ)
Sigma (Σσς)
Tau (Ττ)
Phi (Φφ)
Psi (Ψψ)
As noted above, Σ, σ, ς and Ζ, ζ are pronounced slightly differently to the English S and Z. Don’t worry about learning this different pronunciation as a beginner if it’s too difficult, as most Greek people aren’t going to hear the difference. It should also be noted that these sounds are not the same as the English “sh” or the “zh” sounds found in words such as “ship” and “measure”. It may sound that way to you, but they are not. Pronouncing these letters this way is much worse than simply pronouncing them as their English equivalents.
Groups of letters may produce different sounds than what is expected from each individual sound. Here’s a list of them:
ΜΠ/μπ
ΝΤ/ντ
ΟΙ/οι/ΕΙ/ει/ΥΙ/υι
ΑΙ/αι
ΑΥ/αυ/ΕΥ/ευ
ΓΓ/γγ/ΓΚ/γκ
ΤΖ/τζ
Rho (Ρρ)
Chi (Χχ)
Gamma (Γγ)
Γχ/γχ
If you are still struggling with gamma (Γγ) and chi (Χχ), you may find this video from Easy Greek useful. Though it’s in Greek, it also has English subtitles.
Stress marks in Greek denote which syllable is stressed on a word, for example - the word άλλα differs from αλλά. This also occurs in English, but we just don’t write it. For example with conflict (the noun), and conflict (the verb).
There is also the double dotted stress, such as with “ϊ” and can be combined with the regular stress mark to form “ΐ” (meaning that syllable takes the stress). This mark is used to separate two vowel sounds, such as in κοροϊδεύω and ιδιοφυΐα.
Vowels are not reduced in Modern Greek (such as with English and Russian). For example, the word “America” in English is often pronounced “uh-me-ruh-cuh” where almost if not all the vowels turn into an “uh” sound. This does not occur in Modern Greek. For example with the word αμερική, where all vowels are clearly pronounced. (a-me-ree-kee).
Hard consonants are not aspirated. In English, for example, consonants such as “t”, “k” and “p” are pronounced as “tuh”, “kuh” and “puh” with breath (aspiration) behind it. This does not occur in Modern Greek. Because of this, these sounds may sound similar to “d”, “g” and “b” to a beginner (though they are not).
With the letters “κ” and “γκ”, if a front vowel is found after, this sound also moves further forward. For example, the word “και” may sound more similar to “kye” than “ke”. Example pronunciations for this can be found here, and here.
Words such as δεν, μην, τον, etc. result in the “Νν” sound being assimilated if followed by a voiceless stop. For example, τον πατέρα is pronounced το μπατέρα (to batera), τον τόνο is pronounced το ντόνο (to dono) and την καρδιά is pronounced τη γκαρδιά (tee garthia).
Sigma (Σσς) becomes voiced (Ζζ) when found next to a voiced consonant, for example with συμπέρασμα, σβήστρα. This does not apply to vowels (αγοράζω and αγοράσω are two different words).
There’s a rule regarding unstressed Ιι (iota) before any other vowel and how it changes. An explanation for this can be found here.
Greek vowel elision rules (e.g. I am -> I’m in English) can be found here.
Once you have learned the alphabet and can read Greek, the time has come to learn the grammar along with some useful words. This section will detail many beginner and intermediate friendly resources to help teach the grammar of the language.
This is my personal all-time favourite course for learning Modern Greek. It’s a podcast series (120 episodes) that goes through all the basic Modern Greek grammar while teaching you useful vocabulary in a natural, easy to remember way. It can be found on YouTube, and on SoundCloud, along with a transcript, here.
It may also be a good idea to pair Language Transfer with another source to learn vocabulary (as the course is mainly grammar focused). Sources for improving vocabulary can be found here.
κλικ στα ελληνικά is a book series providing lessons for students of levels from A1 - C1. These books are entirely in Greek, however, so it may be a bit difficult to use as a complete beginner (and you may need someone to help you). Links to each level can be found below.
Greek Lessons Online is a YouTube channel providing useful vocabulary and grammar rules for beginner learners. Their videos encompass all the grammar you’ll need up until a B1 level, and can be found here.
GreekPod101 teaches a lot of “tourist Greek”, in a sense, but is still a source of useful resources. They have videos detailing useful phrases and words along with tutorials to learn the alphabet, and can be found here.
This video makes videos mostly in Greek (with both English and Greek subtitles), while speaking slower than normal to improve comprehension. They have videos teaching grammar and phrases for beginner to intermediate levels, and can be found here.
Linguatree’s videos are mainly focused at complete beginners, as she speaks Greek very slowly in her videos (with subtitles in various languages), while teaching useful grammar and vocab. This is an extremely useful resource for beginners. Her videos can be found here.
A document outlining useful tense combinations in Greek, to help understand where learners commonly make mistakes and what each advanced combination really means. Document can be found here.
In Greek, και is a very volatile word. While mostly meaning “and”, it has a lot of other uses as well. A document describing these uses can be found here.
Once you understand the basics of grammar, you should work on expanding your vocabulary. There are many ways to go about this, the most popular being spaced repetition (flashcards).
Since there are many Ancient Greek decks out there, here are some useful Modern Greek decks:
More flashcard sets may be added in the future, including core vocabulary for levels based on the texts from τράπεζα κειμένων.
As a beginner you should be reading as much as possible to improve understanding of vocabulary and grammar in context, below are some useful resources to aid with reading broken down by (approximate) level.
A series of stories where you can practice the basic patterns of the Greek language. Lots of repetition. These can be used by beginners and for later review of grammatical patterns. Can be found here.
Meaning “bank of texts”, this page is provided by ελληνομάθεια (the people who give certificates of proficiency), and provide texts at all levels for learners. Texts can be found here.
Meaning “children’s fairy tales”, this page provides stories meant for children in Greek, and are roughly at a mid B2 reading level. Texts can be found here.
Free E-Books meant for children, but are suitable for learners as well. Stories can be found here.
Free E-Books meant for Greek speakers, and may only be suitable for advanced learners. Free E-Books can be found here.
Immersion is a useful tool that will help you drastically improve your comprehension of the language and ability to correct your own mistakes. Though it may be difficult to grasp the lightning speed at which Greek people speak as a beginner, it’s always a good idea to start sooner rather than later. Below are some links that will help you improve your comprehension
Talks done in a formal context that provide clear and (easier) to understand speech compared to conversations in shows, for example. Has subtitles in both English and Greek. Playlist can be found here.
Greek physics channel with subtitles in Greek only. This is suitable for intermediate level students who wish to learn extra vocab and improve comprehension. Channel can be found here.
Similar to καθημερινή φυσική. Has subtitles in Greek online. Channel can be found here.
Easy Greek is both a YouTube channel and a podcast, and is fantastic for learners. They have subtitles in various languages and also have a “Super Easy” series for complete beginners. YouTube channel can be found here, and the podcast can be found here.
Greekonomics is a Greek YouTube channel that discusses the economy and how it affects society. Videos have subtitles in Greek (and some with English, as well). His channel can be found here.
Greek lessons in Greek, has both English and Greek subtitles. Slower spoken than full speed Greek, and may be useful for intermediate learners. Channel can be found here.
There are multiple sites that will provide access to Greek TV shows online, and Netflix has a few as well. You can find (very legally) Greek TV shows and Movies online, here. You can also find στο παρά πέντε with Greek subtitles, here.
Ελληνομάθεια provides practice exams for their in person ones. These encompass all levels (from A1 to C2), and can be used to test your current level. It’s broken down into 4 sections of the language (depending on the level), and requires a 60% to pass. Tests can be found here.
This Discord server has other Greek students and natives that are willing to speak and help you with Greek. Extremely useful Discord server which can be found here.
Learn words through context and cloze deletion. One of the more useful freemium apps. Website can be found here.
Audio course for learning the basics of Modern Greek, can be found here.
Type in any Greek word for pronunciations recorded by natives. Used throughout this document for pronunciation examples. Website can be found here.
Search up Greek words to find their definitions, usages, pronunciation and more. Greek website can be found here, whereas the English version can be found here.
