Fractions, multiples and percents: τα δύο τρίτα, διπλάσιος, τοις εκατό
Half — το μισό — is an adjective: μισό κιλό, μισή ώρα, μισός μισθός. As a word of its own it takes the neuter article: Το μισό πήγε στο νοίκι — half went to the rent. For example: “Τα δύο τρίτα του μισθού πάνε στο νοίκι” — Two thirds of the salary go to the rent. A rule from the Greek course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Half — το μισό (to misó) — is an adjective: μισό κιλό (misó kiló), μισή ώρα (misí óra), μισός μισθός. As a word of its own it takes the neuter article: Το μισό πήγε στο νοίκι (to misó píye sto níki) — half went to the rent.
The other fractions are built alike: the numerator is a cardinal in the neuter, the denominator an ordinal. Το ένα τρίτο (to éna tríto), τα δύο τρίτα (ta dío tríta), το ένα τέταρτο (to éna tétarto), τα τρία τέταρτα. The article is obligatory, and it shows the number: one share — το (to), several — τα (ta).
A fraction of what — the genitive: το ένα τρίτο του μισθού (to éna tríto tu misthú), τα δύο τρίτα των κατοίκων. The verb agrees with the numerator: τα δύο τρίτα των κατοίκων ζουν στην πρωτεύουσα — plural, because the shares are two.
Multiples are a separate adjective, not an adverb: διπλάσιος (double), τριπλάσιος (triple), τετραπλάσιος (quadruple). It declines like any adjective — διπλάσιο κέρδος (diplásio kérdos), διπλάσια ζημιά — and the thing compared with goes through από (apó): Το νοίκι είναι διπλάσιο από πέρσι (to níki íne diplásio apó pérsi).
The percent — τοις εκατό (tis ekató) — is a frozen phrase of the old language, literally "to the hundred". One says είκοσι τοις εκατό (íkosi tis ekató), writes it with a figure and a sign: 20%. The word itself never declines and never changes.
And the spot where readers of the news most often stumble. Αυξήθηκε κατά (afksíthike katá) 20% — grew by twenty percent, that is, the growth was a fifth. Αυξήθηκε στο (afksíthike sto) 20% — grew to twenty percent, that is, the figure itself now stands at twenty. Unemployment "κατά (katá) 20%" and unemployment "στο (sto) 20%" are two entirely different news items, separated by one preposition.
Table
| how much | in Greek | in English |
|---|---|---|
| 1/2 | το μισό | one half |
| 1/3 | το ένα τρίτο | one third |
| 2/3 | τα δύο τρίτα | two thirds |
| ×2 | διπλάσιος | twice as much |
| ×3 | τριπλάσιος | three times as much |
| 20% | είκοσι τοις εκατό | twenty percent |
By example
- Τα δύο τρίτα του μισθού πάνε στο νοίκιta dío tríta tu misthú páne sto níkiTwo thirds of the salary go to the rent
- Ο πληθωρισμός αυξήθηκε κατά τρία τοις εκατόo plithorizmós afksíthike katá tría tis ekatóInflation rose by three percent
- Το κέρδος ήταν διπλάσιο από πέρσιto kérdos ítan diplásio apó pérsiThe profit turned out twice last year's
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
Fractions, multiples and percents: how does it work in Greek?
Half — το μισό — is an adjective: μισό κιλό, μισή ώρα, μισός μισθός. As a word of its own it takes the neuter article: Το μισό πήγε στο νοίκι — half went to the rent.
What does it look like in an example sentence Greek?
“Τα δύο τρίτα του μισθού πάνε στο νοίκι” (ta dío tríta tu misthú páne sto níki) — Two thirds of the salary go to the rent. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.