LingoflyAsking the way in Greek
18 words in Greek on the topic “asking the way”: Πού είναι; (pu íne) — where is?, δεξιά (deksiá) — right, αριστερά (aristerá) — left, ευθεία (efthía) — straight ahead. 18 words can be played from recordings.
18 words on the topic
- Πού είναι;pu íne?where is?literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning
- δεξιάdeksiárightan adverb in Greek, not a noun: deksiá covers both 'to the right' and 'on the right', with no second word needed
- αριστεράaristeráleftthe partner of deksiá and it behaves the same: one word for 'to the left' and 'on the left'
- ευθείαefthíastraight aheadev before the th reads ef. Literally along the straight; on the street you will most often hear pighénete efthía — go straight
- κοντάkondáclosethe inner nt is nd: kon-DA. Close to something demands se: kondá sto metró
- μακριάmakriáfarfrom makrýs, long — the same root as 'macro-'. The partner of kondá
- εδώedóhereboth 'here' and 'to here': direction gets no separate word. The partner of ekí, there
- εκείekítherethe final ei reads ee: e-KEE. Like edó it works for both place and direction
- πώς πάωpos páohow do I get there?literally 'how do I walk': Greeks ask the way in the present tense. What follows is se with an article
- καταφθάνωkatafthánoget tothe reinforced brother of ftáno: not just to arrive but to make it after a journey. The fth spells ft
- στην απέναντι μεριάstin apénandi meriáacross the waymeriá is the conversational side; plevrá says the same in a bookish way. Apénandi means opposite
- δυο βήματα από εδώdio vímata apó edótwo steps awayGreeks measure closeness in steps just as English speakers do. Dyo without the accent is the casual twin of dío
- μετά τη στροφήmetá ti strofíaround the cornermetá here is not 'after' in time but 'further' in space. Strofí is a turn
- αριστερά απόaristerá apóto the left ofthe adverb aristerá means on the left; it becomes a preposition once apó is added
- δεξιά απόdeksiá apóto the right ofthe partner of aristerá apó. The ξ says ks in one letter
- στη μέσηsti mésiin the middlewith a continuation it is sti mési tu drómu, in the middle of the road; without one it is simply in the middle
- η επόμενη στροφήi epómeni strofíthe next turnepómenos means next; the feminine comes from strofí
- στον δρόμο μουston drómo muon my wayliterally 'on my road'. The pronoun follows the speaker: ston drómo su, ston drómo tu
Download the word set (CSV) · Open the printable sheet
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How it sounds in a sentence
A word list is a blank. Conversation is made of sentences, and these are the ones the words fit into most often.
What is worth knowing about these words
Πού είναι; (pu íne?) — where is? Literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning.
δεξιά (deksiá) — right. An adverb in Greek, not a noun: deksiá covers both 'to the right' and 'on the right', with no second word needed.
αριστερά (aristerá) — left. The partner of deksiá and it behaves the same: one word for 'to the left' and 'on the left'.
ευθεία (efthía) — straight ahead. Ev before the th reads ef. Literally along the straight; on the street you will most often hear pighénete efthía — go straight.
Test yourself
First by ear — the way you will meet the word in conversation. Click the speaker and pick the translation.
- What is this word?
It is Πού είναι; (pu íne?) — where is?
- What is this word?
It is εκεί (ekí) — there.
- What is this word?
It is δεξιά από (deksiá apó) — to the right of.
- What is this word?
It is ευθεία (efthía) — straight ahead.
- What is this word?
It is στην απέναντι μεριά (stin apénandi meriá) — across the way.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “where is?” in Greek?
literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning
- How do you say “there” in Greek?
the final ei reads ee: e-KEE. Like edó it works for both place and direction
- How do you say “to the right of” in Greek?
the partner of aristerá apó. The ξ says ks in one letter
- How do you say “straight ahead” in Greek?
ev before the th reads ef. Literally along the straight; on the street you will most often hear pighénete efthía — go straight
- How do you say “across the way” in Greek?
meriá is the conversational side; plevrá says the same in a bookish way. Apénandi means opposite
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Right, left, straight on, how far. You ask the way rarely — and always at the moment when there is no time to work it out.
A list is read in a minute and forgotten in a day. What works: hide the translation, try to recall, get it wrong — and come back to the same words tomorrow.
- 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.
- Study spread over days wins not only in experiments but in ordinary classrooms, with real students.checked many timesMawson & Kang, 2025, Behavioral Sciences 15(6):771 · 22 studies, d = 0.54 (confidence interval 0.31–0.77). The authors warn that individual studies disagree widely.
Frequently asked
How do you say “where is?” in Greek?
«Πού είναι;» (pu íne), read “pu íne?” Literally 'where is': the linking verb is obligatory. Poú with the accent asks; pou without it means 'that' — one little stroke flips the meaning. It is one of 18 words in the set “asking the way” — the rest are in the table above.
How many direction words do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 18 words, but there is no need to start with all of it: the words you will need in the next few days are enough. Take them a few at a time — five to seven new ones per session.
Is there audio?
Yes, 18 words on this page can be played — click the speaker next to the word. The sound works on any phone, and nothing needs to be installed.