το τσίρκο
“το τσίρκο” (to tsírko) — circus in Greek. Noun, level A1, topic — buildings and premises. neuter, stress on the first syllable. Borrowed through Italian — the same route English 'circus' took. In a live sentence: “Το τσίρκο ήρθε στην πόλη μας” — The circus came to our city. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters τ, ο, τ, σ, ρ, κ, ο. One of 20 words in the set “buildings and premises” in the Greek course.
In short
| Written in Greek | το τσίρκο |
| Read in Latin letters | to tsírko |
| Translation | circus |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A1 |
- το τσίρκοto tsírkocircus
Why it looks that way
neuter, stress on the first syllable. Borrowed through Italian — the same route English 'circus' took
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.
- Το τσίρκο ήρθε στην πόλη μαςto tsírko írthe stin póli masThe circus came to our city
Nearby words: buildings and premises
Where to go and what is done there. These words are read off a sign more often than they are spoken.
- το πάρκοto párkoparkthere is also the native o kípos, but the city park goes by the borrowing
- η βιβλιοθήκηi vivliothíkilibraryboth the library and the bookcase at home: vivlío plus thíki, a holder
- το μουσείοto musíomuseumliterally 'a place of the Muses'. The word returned to Greek from Latin
- το θέατροto théatrotheaterfrom theáome, I watch: the place where people watch
- ο κινηματογράφοςo kinimatográfoscinemain speech shorter — to sinemá: the long word lives on the posters
- η εκκλησίαi eklisíachurchoriginally 'an assembly of citizens': the church is named after the people, not the building
- το στάδιοto stádiostadiumoriginally a measure of length — about a hundred and eighty meters, the length of the running track
- η πρεσβείαi prezvíaembassyfrom présvís, an ambassador — originally 'an elder'
- το αστυνομικό τμήμαto astinomikó tmímapolice stationin speech it is cut down to to tmíma — the precinct
- το δημαρχείοto dimarkhíocity hallfrom dímarchos, the mayor: démos plus árcho, to rule the community
Test yourself
Five questions from the same set — “buildings and premises”. Recalling a spelling from meaning is harder than knowing a familiar word on sight, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “circus” in Greek?
neuter, stress on the first syllable. Borrowed through Italian — the same route English 'circus' took
- How do you say “stadium” in Greek?
originally a measure of length — about a hundred and eighty meters, the length of the running track
- How do you say “museum” in Greek?
literally 'a place of the Muses'. The word returned to Greek from Latin
- How do you say “city hall” in Greek?
from dímarchos, the mayor: démos plus árcho, to rule the community
- How do you say “church” in Greek?
originally 'an assembly of citizens': the church is named after the people, not the building
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 “circus” in Greek?
«το τσίρκο», read “to tsírko”. In a live sentence: “Το τσίρκο ήρθε στην πόλη μας” — The circus came to our city. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A1, from the set “buildings and premises”; written with the characters τ, ο, τ, σ, ρ, κ, ο.
How is “το τσίρκο” written in Latin letters?
to tsírko. 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?
neuter, stress on the first syllable. Borrowed through Italian — the same route English 'circus' took. 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.