The stress mark is a letter of the spelling
The dash over a vowel in Greek is not a learner's hint; it is an obligatory part of the written word. A word longer than one syllable written without it is written with a mistake — the way "island" would be wrong without its silent s. For example: “Πού είναι το σπίτι;” — Where is the house?. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The dash over a vowel in Greek is not a learner's hint; it is an obligatory part of the written word. A word longer than one syllable written without it is written with a mistake — the way "island" would be wrong without its silent s.
For the reader this is a gift. Stress in Greek wanders and cannot be predicted by ear, but in writing it is always shown, so there is nowhere to guess wrong.
And it separates words. The pair πού (where) and που (that, which) differs only by the dash; πώς (how) and πως (that) — likewise. One-syllable words carry no accent; these four are the exception, kept precisely so they will not be confused.
By example
- Πού είναι το σπίτι;pu íne to spíti?Where is the house?
- Το σπίτι που αγαπώto spíti pu agapóThe house that I love
- Πώς σε λένε;pos se léne?What is your name?
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The stress mark is a letter of the spelling: how does it work in Greek?
The dash over a vowel in Greek is not a learner's hint; it is an obligatory part of the written word. A word longer than one syllable written without it is written with a mistake — the way "island" would be wrong without its silent s.
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Πού είναι το σπίτι;” (pu íne to spíti?) — Where is the house?. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.