The one word for "which": που
English "which/who/that" is already invariable — but Greek που goes further still: it never changes and never moves. One form serves masculine, feminine and neuter, singular and plural: ο φίλος που τηλεφωνεί, η αδελφή που τηλεφωνεί, τα παιδιά που τηλεφωνούν. Only the verb after it changes. For example: “Αυτό είναι το μήνυμα που σου έστειλα” — This is the message I sent you. A rule from the Greek course: worked out…
How it works
English "which/who/that" is already invariable — but Greek που (pu) goes further still: it never changes and never moves. One form serves masculine, feminine and neuter, singular and plural: ο φίλος που τηλεφωνεί, η αδελφή που τηλεφωνεί, τα παιδιά που τηλεφωνούν. Only the verb after it changes.
It is the most frequent connective in the language, and it costs more to learn than it seems: a comma before it is optional in Greek — if the clause pinpoints exactly which object is meant, there is no comma.
One catch, and an important one. The question word "where" is also που — but stressed: πού (pu). The accent here marks meaning, not sound: Πού είναι ο φορτιστής (pu íne o fortistís); — where is the charger, ο φορτιστής που αγόρασα (o fortistís pu agórasa) — the charger that I bought. The same pair: πώς (how) and πως (that). A lost accent turns a question into a link, and back.
The second thing English never needs. Since που does not decline, the case has to be shown separately — by a little pronoun inside the clause: ο φίλος που του έστειλα μήνυμα (o fílos pu tu éstila mínima) — the friend I sent a message to, word for word "the friend that to-him I-sent". In the nominative and the accusative nothing extra is needed; there που copes alone.
There is also a bookish, declining variant — ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο. It lives in contracts and newspapers; in conversation you will almost never hear it, and you should not imitate it.
And close by sits a third job of που — "that" after verbs of feeling: Χαίρομαι που ήρθες (khérome pu írthes) — glad that you came. It is not "which", but the word is the same.
Table
| in English | in Greek | what can be seen |
|---|---|---|
| the friend who is calling | ο φίλος που τηλεφωνεί | που does not change |
| the sister who is calling | η αδελφή που τηλεφωνεί | the form is the same |
| the children who are calling | τα παιδιά που τηλεφωνούν | only the verb changes |
| the message I received | το μήνυμα που έλαβα | the accusative stays invisible |
| the friend I wrote to | ο φίλος που του έγραψα | the case was shown by του |
| Where is the phone? | Πού είναι το τηλέφωνο; | a question — with the accent |
By example
- Αυτό είναι το μήνυμα που σου έστειλαaftó íne to mínima pu su éstilaThis is the message I sent you
- Πού είναι ο φορτιστής που αγόρασα;pu íne o fortistís pu agórasa?Where is the charger that I bought?
- Ο φίλος που του τηλεφώνησα δεν απάντησεo fílos pu tu tilefónisa den apándiseThe friend I called didn't answer
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
Που or πού: where the accent goes?
English "which/who/that" is already invariable — but Greek που goes further still: it never changes and never moves. One form serves masculine, feminine and neuter, singular and plural: ο φίλος που τηλεφωνεί, η αδελφή που τηλεφωνεί, τα παιδιά που τηλεφωνούν. Only the verb after it changes.
Που vs πού?
It is the most frequent connective in the language, and it costs more to learn than it seems: a comma before it is optional in Greek — if the clause pinpoints exactly which object is meant, there is no comma.
How to say which in Greek?
One catch, and an important one. The question word "where" is also που — but stressed: πού. The accent here marks meaning, not sound: Πού είναι ο φορτιστής; — where is the charger, ο φορτιστής που αγόρασα — the charger that I bought. The same pair: πώς (how) and πως (that). A lost accent turns a…
How to say the friend I wrote to in Greek?
The second thing English never needs. Since που does not decline, the case has to be shown separately — by a little pronoun inside the clause: ο φίλος που του έστειλα μήνυμα — the friend I sent a message to, word for word "the friend that to-him I-sent". In the nominative and the accusative nothing…
What ο οποίος is and where you meet it?
There is also a bookish, declining variant — ο οποίος, η οποία, το οποίο. It lives in contracts and newspapers; in conversation you will almost never hear it, and you should not imitate it.
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Αυτό είναι το μήνυμα που σου έστειλα” (aftó íne to mínima pu su éstila) — This is the message I sent you. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.