Common English mistakes Greek speakers make, and how to fix them

If your first language is Greek, your English mistakes follow Greek grammar, a few sounds Greek lacks, and false friends that look almost identical to Greek words — and mean something else. Transfer, not carelessness, and each one has a clear fix.

The big ones. 1) "Bigger from" (πιο μεγάλο από) → "bigger than". 2) "Close the light", "open the TV" (κλείνω/ανοίγω) → "turn off", "turn on". 3) "The" with names and general ideas: "the John said", "the life is hard" → "John said", "life is hard". 4) Dropped subjects: "Is raining", "Is very good" → "It's raining", "It's very good". 5) "Since" with the present (από): "I live here since 2018" → "I've lived here since 2018". 6) "Make" for "do" (κάνω): "make sport", "make a party" → "do sport", "have a party". 7) False friends: "idiotic" (ιδιωτικό = private — "idiotic school"!), "sympathetic" (συμπαθητικός = nice), "empathy" (εμπάθεια = malice), "pathetic" (παθητικός = passive), "agony" (αγωνία = anxiety), "sycophant" (συκοφάντης = slanderer), "gymnasium" (= middle school), "lyceum" (= high school). 8) "Explain me", "discuss about" → "explain to me", "discuss". 9) Sounds Greek lacks: /ʃ/, /tʃ/, /dʒ/ — "sip" for "ship", "tsip" for "chip", "dzob" for "job" — round the lips and pull the tongue back for "sh"; and a dropped "h" ("I 'ave") or a hard /x/. 10) Vowel length and the missing /w/: "ship/sheep", "full/fool" merged, and /w/ as /v/ or /gw/ — stretch the long vowels, round the lips for /w/.

A list won't fix these; making them out loud and being corrected in the moment will. Airi is built for that: she hears the pattern, fixes the one mistake that matters in her reply, and keeps the conversation going. Speak with her daily and these stop being habits within a few weeks. Free to start, no card.

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