έχω
“έχω” (ékho) — have in Greek. Verb, level A1, topic — verbs. literally 'I have': no 'at my place' needed, the person sits in the ending. Negation: den écho. In a live sentence: “Έχω έναν φίλο εδώ” — I have a friend here. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters χ, ω. One of 20 words in the set “verbs” in the Greek course.
In short
| Written in Greek | έχω |
| Read in Latin letters | ékho |
| Translation | have |
| Part of speech | verb |
| Level | A1 |
- έχωékhohave
Why it looks that way
literally 'I have': no 'at my place' needed, the person sits in the ending. Negation: den écho
A word with a story stays in memory longer than one learned as a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
In a live sentence
A single word almost never appears alone in conversation. A sentence shows where it fits and what stands next to it.
- Έχω έναν φίλο εδώékho énan fílo edóI have a friend here
Nearby words: verbs
I want, I can, I am going, I know. Twenty verbs cover more everyday sentences than two hundred nouns.
- θέλωthéloI wantthe th is the th of 'think' — tongue between the teeth. The polite version is tha íthela — I would like
- πηγαίνωpiyénogoone verb for any motion away — on foot, by car, by plane. The short casual form is páo
- τρώωtróoeatthe two ω letters do not merge: tro-o. Don't confuse with 'there is' — that is ipárchei, a different verb
- πίνωpínodrinkone verb for water, coffee and wine alike
- διαβάζωdiavázoreadboth 'read' and 'study for an exam': a schoolkid says diavázo about schoolwork in general. The β is v, the ζ is z
- μιλάωmiláospeaksecond conjugation, stress on the ending: miláo, milás, milái. To say is a different verb, léo
- δουλεύωdulévoworkabout people and about things alike: den dulévi to asansér — the lift does not work
- μένωménoliveliterally 'I stay': it is this verb that speaks of where you live, while zó means to be alive
- αγαπώagapólovethe very agápi — love as acceptance, not passion. Second conjugation, with the stressed ending -ó
- υπάρχειipárkhithere isabout existence, not ownership: ipárchei neró? — is there water? In speech people usually just say échei
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “verbs”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “have” in Greek?
literally 'I have': no 'at my place' needed, the person sits in the ending. Negation: den écho
- How do you say “work” in Greek?
about people and about things alike: den dulévi to asansér — the lift does not work
- How do you say “eat” in Greek?
the two ω letters do not merge: tro-o. Don't confuse with 'there is' — that is ipárchei, a different verb
- How do you say “there is” in Greek?
about existence, not ownership: ipárchei neró? — is there water? In speech people usually just say échei
- How do you say “speak” in Greek?
second conjugation, stress on the ending: miláo, milás, milái. To say is a different verb, léo
How not to forget this word
Reading a word and remembering it are different jobs. A day later, little survives of a single reading — and that is not bad memory, that is how memory works.
- This has been tested on foreign words too. The difference shows up most when you test yourself a few days later rather than straight away.checked many timesKim & Webb, 2022, Language Learning 72(2) · 48 experiments, 3,411 participants, 98 comparisons.
- 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.
- An answer you worked out yourself sticks better than one handed to you.checked many timesBertsch et al., 2007, Memory & Cognition 35(2) · 86 studies, 445 comparisons, d = 0.40.
Frequently asked
How do you say “have” in Greek?
«έχω», read “ékho”. In a live sentence: “Έχω έναν φίλο εδώ” — I have a friend here. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Verb, level A1, from the set “verbs”; written with the characters χ, ω.
How is “έχω” written in Latin letters?
ékho. This is a practical spelling — you need it to read aloud and be understood, not to meet an academic standard.
Why does this word look the way it does?
literally 'I have': no 'at my place' needed, the person sits in the ending. Negation: den écho. A word with a story stays in memory longer than a “spelling — translation” pair: memory holds on to meaning, not to a string.
Can I hear how it sounds?
Yes, right on this page: click the word and it will play. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.