Γεια σας
“Γεια σας” (ya sas) — hello in Greek. Interjection, level A0, topic — greetings and goodbyes. sas means 'to you': one form for the polite you and for several people at once. To friends you say yia sou instead. In a live sentence: “Γεια σας, είμαι η Άννα” — Hello, I am Anna. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Γ, ε, ι, α, σ, α. One of 8 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” in the Greek course.
In short
| Written in Greek | Γεια σας |
| Read in Latin letters | ya sas |
| Translation | hello |
| Part of speech | interjection |
| Level | A0 |
- Γεια σαςya sashello
Why it looks that way
sas means 'to you': one form for the polite you and for several people at once. To friends you say yia sou instead
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.
- Γεια σας, είμαι η Άνναya sas, íme i ÁnaHello, I am Anna
Nearby words: greetings and goodbyes
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
- Γειαyahione stressed beat, on ya: short and light
- Καλημέραkaliméragood morningkalí (good) + méra (day) fused into one word — ka-lee-MEH-ra. Used until midday, and in casual speech often into the early afternoon
- Καλησπέραkalispéragood eveningthe same kalí + espéra, evening: ka-lee-SPE-ra. After midday kaliméra is out and kalispéra takes over
- Καληνύχταkaliníkhtagood nighta third greeting built the same way: kali + nýhta, good + night. Said only when parting for sleep, never as an evening hello
- Αντίοantíogoodbyeborrowed from Italian addio. Everyday farewells usually reuse the greeting — yia sou serves both directions
- Τι κάνεις;ti kánis?how are you?literally 'what do you do?'. The semicolon at the end is not a pause — it is the Greek question mark
- Τι κάνετε;ti kánete?how are you (formal)?the same question politely: the -ete ending instead of -is. Use it with strangers and elders
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “greetings and goodbyes”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hello” in Greek?
sas means 'to you': one form for the polite you and for several people at once. To friends you say yia sou instead
- How do you say “how are you (formal)?” in Greek?
the same question politely: the -ete ending instead of -is. Use it with strangers and elders
- How do you say “how are you?” in Greek?
literally 'what do you do?'. The semicolon at the end is not a pause — it is the Greek question mark
- How do you say “goodbye” in Greek?
borrowed from Italian addio. Everyday farewells usually reuse the greeting — yia sou serves both directions
- How do you say “good night” in Greek?
a third greeting built the same way: kali + nýhta, good + night. Said only when parting for sleep, never as an evening hello
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 “hello” in Greek?
«Γεια σας», read “ya sas”. In a live sentence: “Γεια σας, είμαι η Άννα” — Hello, I am Anna. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Interjection, level A0, from the set “greetings and goodbyes”; written with the characters Γ, ε, ι, α, σ, α.
How is “Γεια σας” written in Latin letters?
ya sas. 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?
sas means 'to you': one form for the polite you and for several people at once. To friends you say yia sou instead. 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.