Asking Questions in Greek, and the Greek Question Mark

How Greek forms questions with intonation, the key question words, the semicolon-shaped question mark, and useful questions for travellers and learners.

Greek questions are easy to form: often, you keep the statement's word order and change only the intonation. And in writing, there's a surprise: the Greek question mark looks like an English semicolon.

The Greek question mark

In Greek, the question mark is ; (the same shape as an English semicolon):

Μιλάτε αγγλικά; — Do you speak English?

What English calls a semicolon is written in Greek as a raised dot (·), called the άνω τελεία (ano teleia).

Yes/no questions

There's no auxiliary verb ("do") and usually no inversion. Rising intonation at the end marks the question:

Είσαι Έλληνας; — Are you Greek?
Έχεις αδέλφια; — Do you have siblings?
Θέλεις καφέ; — Do you want coffee?
Μιλάς ελληνικά; — Do you speak Greek?

Answers: Ναι or Όχι.

Question words

τι — what: Τι κάνεις; Τι είναι αυτό;
ποιος / ποια / ποιο — who, which: Ποιος είναι αυτός; Ποιο βιβλίο;
πού — where: Πού είναι η τουαλέτα;
από πού — where from: Από πού είσαι;
πότε — when: Πότε έρχεσαι;
γιατί — why: Γιατί αργείς;
πώς — how: Πώς πάω στο κέντρο;
πόσο — how much: Πόσο κάνει;
πόσοι / πόσες / πόσα — how many: Πόσα παιδιά έχεις;
ποιανού — whose: Ποιανού είναι αυτό;

Notice accents: πότε (when?) versus ποτέ (never), and πού (where?) versus που (that).

Answering γιατί

Γιατί means "why", and its answer is often επειδή (because): Γιατί αργείς; — Επειδή είχα δουλειά.

Common questions

Πώς σε λένε; — What's your name?
Πώς είσαι; — How are you?
Πόσο χρονών είσαι; — How old are you?
Από πού είσαι; — Where are you from?
Πού μένεις; — Where do you live?
Τι δουλειά κάνεις; — What do you do for work?
Τι ώρα είναι; — What time is it?
Πόσο κάνει; — How much does it cost?
Πού είναι ...; — Where is...?
Πώς πάω ...; — How do I get to...?
Μιλάτε αγγλικά; — Do you speak English?
Τι σημαίνει αυτό; — What does this mean?
Μπορείτε να με βοηθήσετε; — Can you help me?

Polite forms

Με συγχωρείτε, πού είναι η στάση; — Excuse me, where is the stop?
Θα μπορούσατε να μου πείτε ...; — Could you tell me...?
Συγγνώμη, δεν κατάλαβα. — Sorry, I didn't understand.
Μπορείτε να το επαναλάβετε; — Can you repeat that?
Πιο αργά, παρακαλώ. — More slowly, please.

Tag questions

..., έτσι δεν είναι; — ..., isn't it?
..., ναι; — ..., yes?
..., σωστά; — ..., right?

Indirect questions

Use αν (if, whether) and the question words: Δεν ξέρω αν θα έρθει. — I don't know if he'll come. Ρώτησε πού είναι. — He asked where it is.

"Ορίστε?"

Ορίστε; said with a rising tone means "Pardon?" or "Yes?"; said with a falling tone while handing something it means "Here you are".

Learning tips

Learn the question words with their accents.
Practise intonation: rise at the end.
Learn set phrases for travel.
Note the Greek question mark (;) when reading.

Common mistakes

Using a rising tone but no question mark, or English inversion.
Forgetting accents on πότε, πού.
Confusing γιατί (why) and επειδή (because).

Look up Greek question words with English Greek Dictionary →