το σύκο
“το σύκο” (to síko) — fig in Greek. Noun, level A1, topic — food and drink. the υ reads ee: SEE-ko. 'Sycophant' began as a fig informer — and the word made it into English. In a live sentence: “Τα σύκα ωριμάζουν τον Αύγουστο” — Figs ripen in August. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters τ, ο, σ, κ, ο. One of 174 words in the set “food and drink” in the Greek course.
In short
| Written in Greek | το σύκο |
| Read in Latin letters | to síko |
| Translation | fig |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- το σύκοto síkofig
Why it looks that way
the υ reads ee: SEE-ko. 'Sycophant' began as a fig informer — and the word made it into English
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.
- Τα σύκα ωριμάζουν τον Αύγουστοta síka orimázun ton ávgustoFigs ripen in August
Nearby words: food and drink
A menu, a market, a shop sign, the question “what is this?”. Food is the most frequent subject of the first weeks and the safest excuse to start talking.
- καφέςkaféscoffeemasculine: o kafés. Greek coffee is ordered by sweetness: skétos — plain, métrios — medium, glikós — sweet
- τσάιtsáiteathe ts is one sound, like the ts in cats. Neuter: to tsái. Mountain tea — tsái tu vunoú — is drunk in Greece even more than the regular kind
- νερόnerówaterneuter: to neró. The ancient hýdor survives only in prefixes like 'hydro-', and this word took over everyday speech
- ψωμίpsomíbreadthe letter ψ says ps in one stroke, as at the end of lips. Neuter: to psomí
- τυρίtirícheesethe υ here is the ee sound: tee-RÍ. Féta is not a variety but a protected name: only Greek cheese may be called that
- κρέαςkréasmeatneuter despite the -as ending: to kréas. There are few words like this, but they are all frequent
- ψάριpsárifishfrom the ancient ópson — 'what goes with bread': fish played that role so often it took over the word
- φρούταfrútafruitou gives oo. Neuter plural: éna frúto becomes frúta. The word is Italian; the native Greek rival is karpóí
- μήλοmíloapplethe η reads ee: MEE-lo. Don't confuse with miló — I speak — where the i carries the stress at the end
- ντομάταdomátatomatont at the start of a word is a plain d: do-MA-ta. It is written as two letters because Greek has no single letter for d
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “food and drink”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “fig” in Greek?
the υ reads ee: SEE-ko. 'Sycophant' began as a fig informer — and the word made it into English
- How do you say “fish” in Greek?
from the ancient ópson — 'what goes with bread': fish played that role so often it took over the word
- How do you say “water” in Greek?
neuter: to neró. The ancient hýdor survives only in prefixes like 'hydro-', and this word took over everyday speech
- How do you say “tomato” in Greek?
nt at the start of a word is a plain d: do-MA-ta. It is written as two letters because Greek has no single letter for d
- How do you say “meat” in Greek?
neuter despite the -as ending: to kréas. There are few words like this, but they are all frequent
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 “fig” in Greek?
«το σύκο», read “to síko”. In a live sentence: “Τα σύκα ωριμάζουν τον Αύγουστο” — Figs ripen in August. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “food and drink”; written with the characters τ, ο, σ, κ, ο.
How is “το σύκο” written in Latin letters?
to síko. 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?
the υ reads ee: SEE-ko. 'Sycophant' began as a fig informer — and the word made it into English. 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.