The numbers that decline: ένας, τρεις, τέσσερις
Good news: of all the Greek numerals exactly four change by gender and case. All the rest — δύο, πέντε, δέκα, είκοσι and onward — stand like posts. For example: “Έμεινα τρεις μέρες στο ξενοδοχείο” — I stayed three days at the hotel. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Good news: of all the Greek numerals exactly four change by gender and case. All the rest — δύο (dío), πέντε (pénde), δέκα (déka), είκοσι (íkosi) and onward — stand like posts.
The first — ένας (énas), μία (mía), ένα (éna). It doubles as the indefinite article, so it meets you at every step: ένας τουρίστας (énas turístas), μία απόφαση (mía apófasi), ένα έγγραφο (éna éngrafo). In the accusative the masculine loses its -ς: Είδα έναν αστυνομικό (ída énan astinomikó).
The second and the third — τρεις (tris) and τέσσερις (téseris): masculine and feminine share one shape, while the neuter has its own, τρία (tría) and τέσσερα (tésera). τρεις μέρες (tris méres), but τρία παιδιά (tría pediá). This is the most common slip in dates and bills.
The fourth, the one everybody forgets — the hundreds from two hundred up: διακόσιοι, διακόσιες, διακόσια (diakósia). Τριακόσια ευρώ (triakósia evró), but τριακόσιες σελίδες.
In money and counting the gender is taken from the noun even when it goes unspoken: Πόσο κάνει (póso káni); — Τρία (the understood word is ευρώ (evró), neuter). To ask "πόσα (pósa)" and answer "τρεις" is to promise three feminine things, and the listener will go looking for them.
Table
| masculine | feminine | neuter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| one | ένας | μία | ένα |
| three | τρεις | τρεις | τρία |
| four | τέσσερις | τέσσερις | τέσσερα |
| two hundred | διακόσιοι | διακόσιες | διακόσια |
| all the rest | δύο, πέντε, δέκα — they never change |
By example
- Έμεινα τρεις μέρες στο ξενοδοχείοémina tris méres sto ksenodokhíoI stayed three days at the hotel
- Πλήρωσα τριακόσια ευρώ για την ενοικίασηplírosa triakósia evró ya tin enikíasiI paid three hundred euros for the rental
- Είδα έναν αστυνομικό στη στροφήída énan astinomikó sti strofíI saw a police officer at the turn
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 numbers that decline: how does it work in Greek?
Good news: of all the Greek numerals exactly four change by gender and case. All the rest — δύο, πέντε, δέκα, είκοσι and onward — stand like posts.
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Έμεινα τρεις μέρες στο ξενοδοχείο” (émina tris méres sto ksenodokhío) — I stayed three days at the hotel. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.