This page lists 82 Greek words that start with the letter P, from “Paidi” to “Pisteuo”. The list covers everyday nouns like family members, food and nature, along with common verbs, adverbs, question words, numbers and useful phrases. You can use it to build basic vocabulary, prepare for a trip to Greece, or practice reading and pronunciation.
Greek words are the building blocks of one of the oldest written languages in Europe, which has been spoken for more than 3,000 years. Many English terms come straight from them, such as “psychology” from “psyche” and “politics” from “polis”. You will spot several of these links in the entries below.
Below you’ll find the table with the word, English translation, part of speech, example usage and description for each entry.
Word: The Greek word written in Latin letters, so you can read and pronounce it even if you don’t know the Greek alphabet.
English translation: The meaning of the word in English, with a few options when one word has several common senses, so you pick the right one.
Part of speech: Shows whether the entry is a noun, verb, adverb, adjective, pronoun, number or phrase, which helps you see how to use it in a sentence.
Example usage: A short Greek sentence with its English translation in brackets, so you can see how the word works in everyday speech.
Description: A brief note on the word’s meaning, related words, cultural background or origin, which helps you remember it and use it naturally.
Greek words
| Word | English translation | Part of speech | Example usage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paidi | child | noun | To paidi paizei sto parko. (The child is playing in the park.) |
| Pateras | father | noun | O pateras mou doulevei sto limani. (My father works at the port.) |
| Pappous | grandfather | noun | O pappous mou eimai poli sofos. (My grandfather is very wise.) |
| Parea | company, group of friends | noun | Vgainoume me tin parea mas. (We are going out with our group of friends.) |
| Prosopo | face, person | noun | Echei omorfo prosopo. (She has a beautiful face.) |
| Podi | foot | noun | Mou petheni to podi. (My foot hurts.) |
| Psomi | bread | noun | Agorasa fresko psomi. (I bought fresh bread.) |
| Psari | fish | noun | Tha fame psari simera. (We will eat fish today.) |
| Patata | potato | noun | Thelo patates tiganites. (I want fried potatoes.) |
| Portokali | orange | noun | Pino chymo portokali. (I drink orange juice.) |
| Pagoto | ice cream | noun | Thelo ena pagoto vanilia. (I want a vanilla ice cream.) |
| Pitsa | pizza | noun | Paragkeilame mia pitsa. (We ordered a pizza.) |
| Pepóni | melon | noun | To peponi ine poli glyko. (The melon is very sweet.) |
| Pagos | ice | noun | Valte pagos sto nero. (Put ice in the water.) |
| Potami | river | noun | To potami ine vathy. (The river is deep.) |
| Pelagos | sea, open sea | noun | To pelagos ine galazio. (The sea is blue.) |
| Paralia | beach, seashore | noun | Pame stin paralia. (Let’s go to the beach.) |
| Petra | stone, rock | noun | Echei mia megali petra edo. (There is a big stone here.) |
| Pyr | fire | noun | To pyr kaiei. (The fire is burning.) |
| Pigi | source, spring, fountain | noun | I pigi ine kathari. (The spring is clean.) |
| Pyrgos | tower | noun | O pyrgos ine poli psilos. (The tower is very tall.) |
| Planitis | planet | noun | O Dias ine o megalyteros planitis. (Jupiter is the largest planet.) |
| Plateia | square, plaza | noun | Synantithikame stin plateia. (We met in the square.) |
| Polis | city | noun | I Athina ine mia megali polis. (Athens is a big city.) |
| Poli | very, much, a lot | adverb | Ine poli omorfo. (It is very beautiful.) |
| Politiki | politics, policy | noun | Syzitisame gia tin politiki. (We talked about politics.) |
| Politismos | civilization, culture | noun | O ellinikos politismos ine archaios. (Greek civilization is ancient.) |
| Paradosi | tradition | noun | Ine mia palia paradosi. (It is an old tradition.) |
| Paradeisos | paradise | noun | To nisi ine ena paradeisos. (The island is a paradise.) |
| Pnevma | spirit, mind | noun | To pnevma tou anthropou ine dynato. (The human spirit is strong.) |
| Psyche | soul, mind | noun | I psyche mou ine eleftheri. (My soul is free.) |
| Pathos | passion, suffering | noun | Echei pathos gia tin moussiki. (He has a passion for music.) |
| Poiisi | poetry | noun | Agapo tin poiisi. (I love poetry.) |
| Poiitis | poet | noun | O Kavafis itan megalos poiitis. (Cavafy was a great poet.) |
| Peirama | experiment | noun | Kaname ena peirama sto ergastirio. (We did an experiment in the lab.) |
| Pinakas | painting, board, table | noun | O pinakas ine sto mouseio. (The painting is in the museum.) |
| Porta | door, gate | noun | Anixe tin porta, parakalo. (Open the door, please.) |
| Paratheiro | window | noun | Kleise to paratheiro. (Close the window.) |
| Papoutsi | shoe | noun | Agorasa kainourgia papoutsia. (I bought new shoes.) |
| Palto | coat, overcoat | noun | Forese to palto sou. (Put on your coat.) |
| Pantaloni | trousers, pants | noun | Ta pantaloni ine mple. (The trousers are blue.) |
| Poukamiso | shirt | noun | Forese ena aspro poukamiso. (Wear a white shirt.) |
| Pouli | bird | noun | Ena pouli tragoudaei. (A bird is singing.) |
| Pontiki | mouse, rat | noun | Eida ena pontiki sto spiti. (I saw a mouse in the house.) |
| Pethera | mother-in-law | noun | I pethera mou mageirevei ekplektika. (My mother-in-law cooks wonderfully.) |
| Panigiri | festival, village feast | noun | Tha pame sto panigiri tou chorio. (We will go to the village festival.) |
| Patrida | homeland, native country | noun | I Ellada ine i patrida mou. (Greece is my homeland.) |
| Pagkos | bench | noun | Kathisame se enan pagko sto parko. (We sat on a bench in the park.) |
| Perivolli | garden, orchard | noun | Echoume ena perivolli me lemonies. (We have an orchard with lemon trees.) |
| Proi | morning | noun | Ksypnao poli proi. (I wake up very early.) |
| Paraskevi | Friday | noun | Tin Paraskevi pame ekdromi. (On Friday we go on a trip.) |
| Pempti | Thursday | noun | Tin Pempti exo mathima. (On Thursday I have a class.) |
| Pente | five | number | Echo pente adelfia. (I have five siblings.) |
| Pos | how | adverb | Pos se lene? (What is your name?) |
| Pou | where | adverb | Pou ine to ksenodocheio? (Where is the hotel?) |
| Pote | when | adverb | Pote erchetai to leoforeio? (When does the bus come?) |
| Poso | how much | adverb | Poso kostizei? (How much does it cost?) |
| Pios | who, which | pronoun | Pios ine aftos? (Who is that?) |
| Pio | more, most | adverb | Thelo pio poli nero. (I want more water.) |
| Para poli | very much, a lot | phrase | Se efcharisto para poli. (Thank you very much.) |
| Parakalo | please, you are welcome | adverb | Ena kafe, parakalo. (A coffee, please.) |
| Pame | let’s go | verb | Pame sti thalassa! (Let’s go to the sea!) |
| Pano | up, above, on top | adverb | To vivlio ine pano sto trapezi. (The book is on the table.) |
| Pera | beyond, past | adverb | Pera apo to potami ine to chorio. (Beyond the river is the village.) |
| Pisw | behind, back | adverb | Kryftike pisw apo to dentro. (He hid behind the tree.) |
| Prin | before | adverb | Plyne ta cheria sou prin to fagito. (Wash your hands before the meal.) |
| Pantote | always | adverb | Pantote pino kafe to proi. (I always drink coffee in the morning.) |
| Perasmeno | past, last | adjective | To perasmeno Savvato pigame sinema. (Last Saturday we went to the cinema.) |
| Perierga | strange, curiously | adjective | Ine perierga auto pou leei. (What he says is strange.) |
| Pyretos | fever | noun | Echei pyreto kai vichei. (He has a fever and a cough.) |
| Ponos | pain | noun | Echo ponos sto kefali. (I have a headache.) |
| Pnevmonas | lung | noun | Oi pnevmones mou ine ugies. (My lungs are healthy.) |
| Pao | I go | verb | Pao sti douleia. (I am going to work.) |
| Pino | I drink | verb | Pino nero kathe mera. (I drink water every day.) |
| Pairno | I take, I get | verb | Pairno ena taxi. (I take a taxi.) |
| Paizo | I play | verb | Paizo mpasket me tous filous mou. (I play basketball with my friends.) |
| Pleno | I wash | verb | Pleno ta piata. (I wash the dishes.) |
| Poulo | I sell | verb | Poulame fresko psari. (We sell fresh fish.) |
| Perpato | I walk | verb | Perpato kathe proi sto parko. (I walk every morning in the park.) |
| Perimeno | I wait | verb | Se perimeno ekso. (I am waiting for you outside.) |
| Pethaino | I die | verb | Ta louloudia petheinoun choris nero. (The flowers die without water.) |
| Pisteuo | I believe | verb | Pisteuo sto kalo. (I believe in good.) |
Descriptions
Paidi
One of the first words learners pick up. It is neuter and the plural is paidia. It also works as a general term for kids and, informally, for a group of friends.
Pateras
The standard word for father. Greeks also say mpampas for dad. Pateras appears in Pater Hemon, the Greek name of the Lord’s Prayer, and in the English word paternal.
Pappous
Used for a grandfather on either side of the family. The female form is yiayia. Children are often named after their grandparents, so the word carries strong family ties.
Parea
Means both company in the sense of being together and a circle of friends. Greeks spend a lot of time in a parea, usually around food, coffee and long conversations.
Prosopo
The ordinary word for a face. It is also used for a person or character in a play, which is where the English word prosopopoeia comes from.
Podi
The body part at the end of the leg. The related word podilato means bicycle, literally foot-pedal. The root also appears in English words like podium and podiatrist.
Psomi
A staple at every Greek table. Bread is served with nearly every meal and used to mop up olive oil and sauces. Psomi is also used loosely to mean a living or livelihood.
Psari
A common food in a country with a long coastline. Grilled fish with lemon and olive oil is typical. The plural is psaria, and a fishmonger is a psarades.
Patata
Usually used in the plural, patates. Roast lemon potatoes are a classic side dish, and fried potatoes appear in many taverna meals, including souvlaki wraps.
Portokali
Both the fruit and the colour. The word is related to Portugal, from where sweet oranges were first imported. Orange groves are common in southern Greece.
Pagoto
From pagos, meaning ice. Greek kiosks and shops sell a wide range of flavours, and many people eat it by the sea in summer.
Pitsa
A borrowed word from Italian that has become fully Greek. Pizza is popular in Greek cities and often topped with local cheese, olives and vegetables.
Pepóni
A refreshing summer fruit, often eaten with feta cheese. Greeks buy it by the slice at markets and street stands during hot months.
Pagos
Used for frozen water and for any cold substance. Pagoto, ice cream, and paghoni, a frappe-style coffee drink, both come from the same root.
Potami
A general word for a river. The English word hippopotamus comes from Greek and literally means river horse, with potamos as the second part.
Pelagos
A literary and poetic word for the open sea. The English words archipelago and pelagic come from this root. In everyday speech, thalassa is more common.
Paralia
The usual word for a beach. Greece has thousands of them, from sandy bays to pebble coves, and summer weekends are often spent on a paralia.
Petra
A basic word for a rock. The name Petros (Peter) means stone, and the root appears in petroleum, which literally means rock oil.
Pyr
The classical word for fire, from which English gets pyre and pyromaniac. The modern everyday word is fotia, but pyr is used in compounds and official language.
Pigi
Used for a natural water spring and also for the source of information or an origin. Greek villages often have a pigi in the square where people fill bottles.
Pyrgos
A tower, from medieval castle towers to modern skyscrapers. It is also a common place name in Greece, including a large town in the western Peloponnese.
Planitis
From a Greek verb meaning to wander, because ancient observers saw planets move against the fixed stars. The English word planet comes directly from it.
Plateia
The main square of a Greek town or village, often with cafes, a church and plane trees. Syntagma Square in Athens is the most famous one.
Polis
The ancient Greek city-state and the modern word for a city. English words like politics, police and metropolis come from it. The common modern form is poli.
Poli
One of the most useful words in Greek. It works as a strengthener before adjectives and as a quantity word. Not to be confused with poli, a city, which shares the spelling.
Politiki
From polis, meaning city. The word was coined in ancient Greece for the art of managing a city-state. Greeks are known for lively political discussions at the dinner table.
Politismos
Used for civilization or a culture. Greeks are proud of their classical heritage, and the word shows up in museums, school lessons and tourism materials.
Paradosi
Describes customs passed down through generations, like Easter lamb roasts, name days and village festivals. The English word tradition has a similar sense, though paradosi also means delivery or handover.
Paradeisos
From an old Persian word for an enclosed garden. It came into Greek and then English. In Greek it is used both in a religious sense and for any beautiful place.
Pnevma
The root of English words like pneumatic and pneumonia. It means breath, spirit or intellect and also appears in religious language as the Holy Spirit.
Psyche
The ancient Greek word for soul or breath, from which psychology and psychiatry come. In modern Greek it is also a warm term of endearment: psychi mou means my dear.
Pathos
Used for intense feeling, both positive and negative. English borrowed it for emotional appeal, as in pathetic and sympathy.
Poiisi
The art of poetry, from a verb meaning to make. Greece has a strong poetry tradition, from Homer to Nobel winners Giorgos Seferis and Odysseas Elytis.
Poiitis
Literally a maker. The English word poet comes from the same root. Greek poets such as Cavafy, Seferis and Ritsos are widely read in translation.
Peirama
Used in science for a test or trial, and in daily life for an attempt. It shares a root with empirical and pirate, both from the idea of trying.
Pinakas
A flexible word that means a painting, a blackboard, a chart or a table of data. The Pinakothiki in Athens, a gallery, takes its name from it.
Porta
The common word for a door or gateway. It comes from Latin porta via Venetian and is used throughout Greece, together with thyra in some contexts.
Paratheiro
Literally something beside a door. In modern Greek this is the standard word for window, with thyris used for small openings in formal speech.
Papoutsi
Usually used in plural, papoutsia. The word came from Turkish into Greek. Traditional Greek folk shoes with pompoms are called tsarouchia.
Palto
A heavy winter jacket. The word comes from French paletot. Greeks use it in cold months, especially in northern regions like Thessaloniki and the mountains.
Pantaloni
Borrowed from Italian pantalone. Like in English, it is used in the plural form in everyday speech, and it applies to formal and casual trousers alike.
Poukamiso
From Italian and Venetian roots. A poukamiso is a button-up shirt, while a t-shirt is a fanela or t-sert.
Pouli
The common word for a bird. A diminutive, pouláki, is often used affectionately. The classical word ornis gives English ornithology.
Pontiki
Used for the rodent. In computing, pontiki is also the word for a computer mouse, which makes it handy for tech vocabulary.
Pethera
The usual term for a spouse’s mother. A father-in-law is a pethéros. Greek families are close, so these words come up often in conversation.
Panigiri
A traditional summer celebration, usually tied to a saint’s day, with live music, dancing, food and wine. It is one of the best ways to see Greek rural culture.
Patrida
From pater, father, so literally the land of one’s fathers. It is a strongly emotional word, often used by Greeks living abroad about their home country.
Pagkos
A bench for sitting, found in parks and squares. Also used for a counter or a work surface. A pagkos in a cafe is where you often see older men chatting.
Perivolli
A garden or enclosed plot, typically with fruit trees. Citrus orchards are common on islands and in the Peloponnese, and the word suggests a quiet, fertile place.
Proi
Used as a noun and an adverb. The greeting kalimera, good morning, is more common, but proi appears in phrases like to proi, in the morning.
Paraskevi
The Greek name for Friday, which is also a common female first name. It literally means preparation, referring to the day before the Sabbath.
Pempti
The word comes from pente, five, because Thursday was the fifth day in the early Christian count that began with Sunday as the first day.
Pente
The Greek number five. It is the source of English words like pentagon, pentathlon and Pentecost. Greek numbers appear in many scientific and architectural terms.
Pos
A question word that literally means how. Greeks use it in many everyday questions, including pos eisai, how are you.
Pou
One of the most useful words for travellers. Used for asking for directions and, with a different meaning, for linking clauses as that or which.
Pote
A basic question word. With the prefix den it becomes pote, meaning never, as in den pao pote, I never go.
Poso
The word travellers use for asking about prices. It can also work in many other contexts, such as poso kairo, how long.
Pios
Used to ask about a person or choose among options. The feminine form is poia and the neuter poio. These forms change by gender and case.
Pio
Used to form comparatives and superlatives, as in pio megalo, bigger. It also appears in the phrase pio kala, better.
Para poli
A common polite phrase for emphasis, most often heard in thanks. Para poli can also be used with adjectives, for example para poli omorfo.
Parakalo
One of the first words travellers learn. It means please, you’re welcome and pardon me, depending on tone, and it is also what a waiter says when serving you.
Pame
A short form of pame, we go. Greeks use it as an invitation or suggestion, and it often ends a meeting with a friendly finishing word.
Pano
A basic word for position or direction. Its opposite is kato, meaning below. Pano is also used in giving directions and in phrases like pano apo, more than.
Pera
Describes position past a point and appears in the common expression pera apo afto, besides that. It is also used for time, as in pera apo ta mesanychta.
Pisw
Used to talk about location behind something and also movement back. A common phrase is pisw se mia stigmi, back in a moment.
Prin
Used for time and sequence. It introduces a clause with na or apo, as in prin na fygo, before I leave.
Pantote
A frequency word for something that is constant. Its opposite is pote, never. It is useful for describing routines.
Perasmeno
Used to describe a past time, as in perasmeni evdomada, last week. As a noun it means the past.
Perierga
Describes something odd or surprising. It is also used as an interjection when something puzzles you. The related noun periergia means curiosity.
Pyretos
A medical word that is also used in everyday speech. The English word pyrexia has the same root, from the Greek word for fire.
Ponos
Used for any physical pain or distress. A headache is ponokefalos. The related verb ponao means to hurt, and it appears often at a doctor’s office.
Pnevmonas
The medical word for lung, usually in plural. It gives English pneumonia, an infection of the lungs, from the same Greek root meaning to breathe.
Pao
A very common irregular verb. Its forms are pao, pas, pai, pame, pate, pane. Learners should memorize it early because it is used constantly.
Pino
A regular present-tense verb for drinking. The past tense is ipia and the noun pota means drinks. It is used constantly in cafe and restaurant situations.
Pairno
One of the most flexible verbs in Greek, meaning to take, get or receive. It appears in phrases like pairno tilefono, I call, and pairno apofasi, I decide.
Paizo
Used for games, sports, music and acting. It comes from paidi, child, so it literally means to act like a child.
Pleno
A routine household verb. The washing machine is plyntirio, and the noun plysimo means washing. The root is related to the word plynomai, I wash myself.
Poulo
A common verb in shops and markets. The opposite verb is agorazo, I buy. The noun poulisi means sale.
Perpato
A regular verb for walking or strolling. A related noun is perpatima, a walk, and the word peripatetic in English comes from the same root.
Perimeno
Used for waiting for people, events or the bus. It is a very frequent verb at stops and stations, and also used for expectations.
Pethaino
The standard verb for dying, used for people, animals and plants. The noun thanatos is the word for death in more formal contexts.
Pisteuo
Used for belief, trust and faith. The noun pistis means faith, and the Greek Orthodox creed starts with Pisteuo, I believe.