Greek for Expats: The 50 Words You'll Actually Use Every Day

By Joaquim Queiroz

When I started learning Greek, I did what most people do. I downloaded the apps. Pimsleur helped with pronunciation, that part is true, but half the phrases came out in a formal register nobody actually speaks. I still remember a phrase about owing someone money that sounded like I was addressing a court. Duolingo was the other half of my routine, throwing dozens of similar-looking words at me, many of which I have never once needed in real life.

Then I moved here, and the gap became obvious fast. The words I needed at the bakery, with my neighbors, at the post office, were almost never the words the apps had taught me. So this is the list I wish someone had handed me on day one. Fifty words and short phrases you will actually use, grouped by where you will hear them. Real Greek, the kind you pick up living in Greece, not the kind you memorize for a test.

If you are learning Greek with a longer goal in mind, like the citizenship exam, I wrote a separate piece on how long it realistically takes to go from A1 to B1. This post is the opposite end of that: the everyday survival vocabulary that makes daily life smoother from week one.

At the Market and the Supermarket

This is where I spent most of my early Greek. Pointing and smiling only gets you so far.

• ψωμί (psomi) — bread
• νερό (nero) — water
• γάλα (gala) — milk
• καφές (kafes) — coffee
• λογαριασμός (logariastmos) — the bill
• πόσο κάνει; (poso kanei?) — how much is it?
• μια σακούλα (mia sakoula) — a bag
• φρέσκο (fresko) — fresh
• τίποτα άλλο; (tipota allo?) — anything else? (you will hear this every single time)
• φτάνει (ftanei) — that is enough

On the Street and in Shops

The words that get you through a normal errand without freezing up.

• εντάξει (entaxei) — okay. I learned this on day one and I still could not tell you if it means yes, fine, sure, or whatever. It depends entirely on the tone.
• συγγνώμη (signomi) — sorry / excuse me
• παρακαλώ (parakalo) — please / you are welcome
• ευχαριστώ (efharisto) — thank you
• πού είναι; (pou einai?) — where is?
• ανοιχτά (anihta) — open
• κλειστά (klista) — closed
• αριστερά (aristera) — left
• δεξιά (dexia) — right
• ευθεία (efthia) — straight ahead

With Neighbors and People You See Every Day

These are the words that turn a stranger into a familiar face. Greeks notice when you make the effort, and it changes how they treat you.

• γεια σου (ya sou) — hi / bye (informal)
• καλημέρα (kalimera) — good morning
• καλησπέρα (kalispera) — good evening
• τι κάνεις; (ti kanis?) — how are you?
• καλά (kala) — good / fine
• γείτονας (yitonas) — neighbor
• περαστικά (perastika) — get well soon (you will use this more than you expect)
• καλή όρεξη (kali orexi) — enjoy your meal
• στην υγειά μας (stin iyia mas) — cheers / to our health
• τα λέμε (ta leme) — see you / talk soon

At the Doctor, the Bank, and the Public Office

Nobody warns you how much of expat life is paperwork. This vocabulary saved me more than once.

• ραντεβού (randevou) — appointment
• χαρτιά (hartia) — documents / papers
• ουρά (oura) — queue
• αριθμός (arithmos) — number
• γιατρός (yatros) — doctor
• φάρμακο (farmako) — medicine
• φαρμακείο (farmakio) — pharmacy
• τράπεζα (trapeza) — bank
• υπογραφή (ipografi) — signature
• δεν καταλαβαίνω (den katalaveno) — I don't understand (your most honest and most useful phrase)

The Words the Apps Never Teach You

This is the section I really wish I had. These are the words and fillers Greeks actually use, the ones that do not show up in any course because they are not "proper", but you will hear them within an hour of arriving.

One of these caused my favorite early mistake. I joined a group course a little late, so I barely knew my classmates yet. The teacher kept saying λοιπόν (loipon), which is just a filler, like "so" or "well then." For the first few days I was convinced it was one of my classmates' names. I kept waiting for this Loipon person to say something. When it finally clicked that she was just using a speech connector, I laughed at myself for a solid minute.

• λοιπόν (loipon) — so / well then (the connector that fooled me)
• τι λέει; (ti leei?) — literally "what does it say?" but used as "what's up?"
• άντε γεια (ante ya) — a casual, slightly playful way to say bye, no direct translation
• έλα (ela) — literally "come," but used for "hello?" on the phone, "come on," "let's go," and a dozen other things
• ώπα (opa) — oops / whoa / easy there, all in one
• ρε (re) — an untranslatable particle that adds emphasis or familiarity. Use it carefully at first.
• σιγά σιγά (siga siga) — slowly slowly, the unofficial national philosophy
• μάλιστα (malista) — I see / right / indeed
• κάτσε (katse) — hold on / wait a second
• τέλεια (teleia) — perfect / great

A quick note on a few of these. Eleni teaches the way Greeks actually speak, and the version of the language I hear day to day, in a small town in northern Greece, is warmer and more relaxed than what you find in textbooks. Words like ti leei and ante ya are exactly the kind of thing you learn from living with the language, not studying it. That is the difference this list is trying to capture.

How to Actually Make These Stick

Memorizing a list is the easy part. The words stick when you attach them to a real moment: the first time you understand the cashier without panicking, the day a neighbor smiles because you said perastika. That is why immersion beats apps for everyday vocabulary, and why a real teacher who corrects the way you actually speak makes such a difference.

If you want to move past survival words and build real conversational Greek, that is exactly what we do at Speak Greekly. Start with these fifty, use them out loud this week, and you will feel the shift faster than you would think.

Καλή επιτυχία, and good luck. You'll be saying loipon like a local before you know it.