η ξένη γλώσσα
“η ξένη γλώσσα” (i kséni glósa) — foreign language in Greek. Noun, level A2. Glóssa is the tongue in your mouth and the tongue of a people — English 'tongue' once did both jobs too. In a live sentence: “Μαθαίνω μια ξένη γλώσσα” — I'm learning a foreign language. You can hear how it sounds right here. Written with the characters η, ξ, ν, η, γ, λ, σ, σ, α. A word from the everyday Greek course, level A2.
In short
| Written in Greek | η ξένη γλώσσα |
| Read in Latin letters | i kséni glósa |
| Translation | foreign language |
| Part of speech | noun |
| Level | A2 |
- η ξένη γλώσσαi kséni glósaforeign language
Why it looks that way
Glóssa is the tongue in your mouth and the tongue of a people — English 'tongue' once did both jobs too
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.
- Μαθαίνω μια ξένη γλώσσαmathéno mia kséni glósaI'm learning a foreign language
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 “foreign language” in Greek?
«η ξένη γλώσσα», read “i kséni glósa”. In a live sentence: “Μαθαίνω μια ξένη γλώσσα” — I'm learning a foreign language. You can hear how it sounds right on this page. Noun, level A2; written with the characters η, ξ, ν, η, γ, λ, σ, σ, α.
How is “η ξένη γλώσσα” written in Latin letters?
i kséni glósa. 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?
Glóssa is the tongue in your mouth and the tongue of a people — English 'tongue' once did both jobs too. 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.