Asking the way in Greek
18 words Greek words on the topic “asking the way”: Πού είναι; — where is?, δεξιά — right, αριστερά — left, ευθεία — straight ahead. 18 words can be played from recordings.
18 words on the topic
- Πού είναι;pu íne?where is?literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning
- δεξιάdeksiárightan adverb in Greek, not a noun: deksiá covers both 'to the right' and 'on the right', with no second word needed
- αριστεράaristeráleftthe partner of deksiá and it behaves the same: one word for 'to the left' and 'on the left'
- ευθείαefthíastraight aheadev before the th reads ef. Literally along the straight; on the street you will most often hear pighénete efthía — go straight
- κοντάkondáclosethe inner nt is nd: kon-DA. Close to something demands se: kondá sto metró
- μακριάmakriáfarfrom makrýs, long — the same root as 'macro-'. The partner of kondá
- εδώedóhereboth 'here' and 'to here': direction gets no separate word. The partner of ekí, there
- εκείekítherethe final ei reads ee: e-KEE. Like edó it works for both place and direction
- πώς πάωpos páohow do I get there?literally 'how do I walk': Greeks ask the way in the present tense. What follows is se with an article
- καταφθάνωkatafthánoget tothe reinforced brother of ftáno, which the course knows: not just to arrive but to make it after a journey. The fth spells ft
- στην απέναντι μεριάstin apénandi meriáacross the waymeriá is the conversational side; the bookish plevrá is already familiar. Apenandi means opposite
- δυο βήματα από εδώdio vímata apó edótwo steps awayGreeks measure closeness in steps just as English speakers do. Dyo without the accent is the casual twin of dío
- μετά τη στροφήmetá ti strofíaround the cornermetá here is not 'after' in time but 'further' in space. Strofí the course knows as a turn
- αριστερά απόaristerá apóto the left ofthe adverb aristerá is familiar; it becomes a preposition once apó is added
- δεξιά απόdeksiá apóto the right ofthe partner of aristerá apó. The ξ says ks in one letter
- στη μέσηsti mésiin the middlethe course knows sti mési tu with a continuation; without one it is simply in the middle
- η επόμενη στροφήi epómeni strofíthe next turnepómenos is familiar as next; the feminine comes from strofí
- στον δρόμο μουston drómo muon my wayliterally 'on my road'. The pronoun follows the speaker: ston drómo su, ston drómo tu
How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
- Πού είναι το μετρό;pu íne to metró?Where is the metro?
- Στρίψτε δεξιάstrípste deksiáTurn right
- Το φαρμακείο είναι αριστεράto farmakío íne aristeráThe pharmacy is on the left
- Πηγαίνετε ευθείαpiyénete efthíaGo straight ahead
- Το ξενοδοχείο είναι κοντάto ksenodokhío íne kondáThe hotel is close
- Η αγορά δεν είναι μακριάi agorá den íne makriáThe market is not far
What is worth knowing about these words
Πού είναι; (pu íne?) — where is?. literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning
δεξιά (deksiá) — right. an adverb in Greek, not a noun: deksiá covers both 'to the right' and 'on the right', with no second word needed
αριστερά (aristerá) — left. the partner of deksiá and it behaves the same: one word for 'to the left' and 'on the left'
ευθεία (efthía) — straight ahead. ev before the th reads ef. Literally along the straight; on the street you will most often hear pighénete efthía — go straight
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is Πού είναι; (pu íne?) — where is?.
- What is this word?
It is εκεί (ekí) — there.
- What is this word?
It is δεξιά από (deksiá apó) — to the right of.
- What is this word?
It is ευθεία (efthía) — straight ahead.
- What is this word?
It is στην απέναντι μεριά (stin apénandi meriá) — across the way.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is?” in Greek?
literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning
- How do you say “there” in Greek?
the final ei reads ee: e-KEE. Like edó it works for both place and direction
- How do you say “to the right of” in Greek?
the partner of aristerá apó. The ξ says ks in one letter
- How do you say “straight ahead” in Greek?
ev before the th reads ef. Literally along the straight; on the street you will most often hear pighénete efthía — go straight
- How do you say “across the way” in Greek?
meriá is the conversational side; the bookish plevrá is already familiar. Apenandi means opposite
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- Recalling beats re-reading. Covering the translation and trying to remember it does more than reading it ten more times.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · 188 experiments, 272 comparisons. g = 0.61; against plain re-reading 0.51, against passive review 0.93.
- This holds not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where is?” in Greek?
«Πού είναι;», read “pu íne?”. literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
A dozen is enough. The set of 18 words on this page covers nearly every everyday case on the topic — but it is best taken a few at a time, not all at once.
Is there audio?
Yes, 18 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.