LingoflyGreetings and goodbyes in Greek
8 words in Greek on the topic “greetings and goodbyes”: Γεια (ya) — hi, Γεια σας (ya sas) — hello, Καλημέρα (kaliméra) — good morning, Καλησπέρα (kalispéra) — good evening. 8 words can be played from recordings.
8 words on the topic
- Γειαyahione stressed beat, on ya: short and light
- Γεια σαςya sashellosas means 'to you': one form for the polite you and for several people at once. To friends you say yia sou instead
- Καλημέραkaliméragood morningkalí (good) + méra (day) fused into one word — ka-lee-MEH-ra. Used until midday, and in casual speech often into the early afternoon
- Καλησπέραkalispéragood eveningthe same kalí + espéra, evening: ka-lee-SPE-ra. After midday kaliméra is out and kalispéra takes over
- Καληνύχταkaliníkhtagood nighta third greeting built the same way: kali + nýhta, good + night. Said only when parting for sleep, never as an evening hello
- Αντίοantíogoodbyeborrowed from Italian addio. Everyday farewells usually reuse the greeting — yia sou serves both directions
- Τι κάνεις;ti kánis?how are you?literally 'what do you do?'. The semicolon at the end is not a pause — it is the Greek question mark
- Τι κάνετε;ti kánete?how are you (formal)?the same question politely: the -ete ending instead of -is. Use it with strangers and elders
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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
Γεια (ya) — hi. Short for Yia sou, literally 'your health' — the everyday hello. Written with gamma + epsilon but said ya: before e and i the gamma softens to a y sound. It serves as goodbye too — there is no separate 'bye'.
Γεια σας (ya sas) — hello. Sas means 'to you': one form for the polite you and for several people at once. To friends you say yia sou instead.
Καλημέρα (kaliméra) — good morning. Kalí (good) + méra (day) fused into one word — ka-lee-MEH-ra. Used until midday, and in casual speech often into the early afternoon.
Καλησπέρα (kalispéra) — good evening. The same kalí + espéra, evening: ka-lee-SPE-ra. After midday kaliméra is out and kalispéra takes over.
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 Γεια (ya) — hi.
- What is this word?
It is Τι κάνετε; (ti kánete?) — how are you (formal)?
- What is this word?
It is Τι κάνεις; (ti kánis?) — how are you?
- What is this word?
It is Αντίο (antío) — goodbye.
- What is this word?
It is Καληνύχτα (kaliníkhta) — good night.
Now the other way around: recall the spelling from the meaning. That is harder, and therefore more useful.
- How do you say “hi” in Greek?
short for Yia sou, literally 'your health' — the everyday hello. Written with gamma + epsilon but said ya: before e and i the gamma softens to a y sound. It serves as goodbye too — there is no separate 'bye'
- How do you say “how are you (formal)?” in Greek?
the same question politely: the -ete ending instead of -is. Use it with strangers and elders
- How do you say “how are you?” in Greek?
literally 'what do you do?'. The semicolon at the end is not a pause — it is the Greek question mark
- How do you say “goodbye” in Greek?
borrowed from Italian addio. Everyday farewells usually reuse the greeting — yia sou serves both directions
- How do you say “good night” in Greek?
a third greeting built the same way: kali + nýhta, good + night. Said only when parting for sleep, never as an evening hello
How to learn the set instead of just reading it
Every conversation starts here, and so does every first impression: say hello in the local language and you stop being a stranger in about a second.
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 “hi” in Greek?
«Γεια» (ya), read “ya”. One stressed beat, on ya: short and light. It is one of 8 words in the set “greetings and goodbyes” — the rest are in the table above.
How many greetings do you need to start?
The whole set on this page is 8 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, 8 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.