Greek Greetings and Goodbyes
Greetings and goodbyes play a big role in conversation - especially when it comes to small talk and first meetings. This page will help you expand your Greek vocabulary when it comes to saying hello and goodbye, so you're ready no matter what conversation you need to start up or end.
First up you will find various ways to say hello (including a common hello for answering the phone), then you will find some time-specific greetings like good morning, afternoon, evening, and night. After this you will find a list of goodbyes in Greek, before the final category containing a couple other useful greeting phrases.
Greetings in Greek:
Words in bold added during the last update. You can also view this list of greetings from English to Greek.
Hello in Greek
Hérete ➔ Hello (formal)
Ya! ➔ Hey!
Yia ➔ Hi
Yia sas ➔ Hello (formal)
Yia sou ➔ Hello (informal)
Kalo mina! ➔ Good month! (commonly said like hello on the first of the month)
Hronia ke zamania. ➔ Long time no see.
Kalós írthate. ➔ Welcome
Ne ➔ Yes (often used when answering the phone)
Time-Specific Greetings in Greek
Kalimera ➔ Good morning.
Kalispera ➔ Good afternoon / evening.
Kalinihta ➔ Good night.
Goodbye in Greek
Adío ➔ Goodbye
Ta leme! ➔ See you!
Yia ➔ Bye
Kalo apoyevma. ➔ Have a good afternoon. (often used like goodbye in the afternoon)
Kalo vradi. ➔ Have a good evening. (often used like goodbye in the evening)
Other Useful Greetings in Greek
Chaíro polý. ➔ Pleased to meet you.
Ti kanis? ➔ How are you?
This list of Greek greetings was last updated on March 25, 2025.
Next Up
Common Words and Phrases in Greek: Learn how to say common words and phrases in Greek.
Perhaps you want to learn greetings and goodbyes in these other languages?
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