Ναι
“Ναι” (ne) — yes in Greek. Particle, level A0, topic — basic words. often said with a quick downward nod; in Greece an upward nod means no. In a live sentence: “Ναι, μιλάω ελληνικά” — Yes, I speak Greek. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters Ν, α, ι. One of 303 words in the set “basic words” in the Greek course.
In short
| Written in Greek | Ναι |
| Read in Latin letters | ne |
| Translation | yes |
| Part of speech | particle |
| Level | A0 |
- Ναιneyes
How to pronounce it
often said with a quick downward nod; in Greece an upward nod means no
Why it looks that way
said as ne — the classic false friend, it means yes, while no is ókhi. The αι pair reads as a short e
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.
- Ναι, μιλάω ελληνικάne, miláo elinikáYes, I speak Greek
Nearby words: basic words
Yes, no, good, bad, very. The small change of a language — and no sentence assembles without it.
- Όχιókhinostress at the front: O-khi. October 28 is a Greek public holiday named after this single word — the day the country said no in 1940
- Καλάkalágoodboth 'good' and the agreement 'alright, fine'. The adjective of the same root changes ending with gender: kalós fílos — a good friend
- Άσχημαáskhimabadthe partner of kalá, but it sounds strong; in conversation Greeks often soften it to étsi ki étsi — so-so
- Πολύ καλάpolí kalávery goodpolý means 'very' and sits before the word; it also means 'a lot': polý neró — plenty of water
- το μισόto misóhalfas an adjective — misó kiló, half a kilo. The same word hides in mesiméri, noon
- Άλλο έναálo énaone moreálo means other, another. Akóma éna is just as correct and heard more often in the north
- αρκετάarketáenoughboth 'enough' and 'rather' as a degree: arketá kalá — rather good
- συνολικάsinolikáin totalfrom síntolo, the sum, the whole. On receipts it says síntolo — total
- περισσότεροperisóteromoreabout amount. About size: pio megálo
- λιγότεροligóterolessfrom lígo, little. The partner of perisótero
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “basic words”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “yes” in Greek?
said as ne — the classic false friend, it means yes, while no is ókhi. The αι pair reads as a short e
- How do you say “enough” in Greek?
both 'enough' and 'rather' as a degree: arketá kalá — rather good
- How do you say “bad” in Greek?
the partner of kalá, but it sounds strong; in conversation Greeks often soften it to étsi ki étsi — so-so
- How do you say “less” in Greek?
from lígo, little. The partner of perisótero
- How do you say “one more” in Greek?
álo means other, another. Akóma éna is just as correct and heard more often in the north
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 “yes” in Greek?
«Ναι», read “ne”. often said with a quick downward nod; in Greece an upward nod means no. In a live sentence: “Ναι, μιλάω ελληνικά” — Yes, I speak Greek. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Particle, level A0, from the set “basic words”; written with the characters Ν, α, ι.
How is “Ναι” written in Latin letters?
ne. 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?
said as ne — the classic false friend, it means yes, while no is ókhi. The αι pair reads as a short e. 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.