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.

A quick example with Airi

My brother goes to an idiotic school, is more expensive from the public one, but the teachers are very sympathetic.

Three Greek-to-English classics! Try: "My brother goes to a private school — it's more expensive than the public one, but the teachers are really nice."

My brother goes to a private school, it's more expensive than the public one, but the teachers are really nice.

Perfect — 'private', 'it's', 'than', 'nice'. Now 'ship' — round your lips: sh-sh-ship.

Try a conversation like this, free600 free credits, about 8 minutes of speaking. No card.

Greek verbs and set phrases that come out wrong word for word

Greek often has one everyday verb where English has two, and some fixed phrases are built on a different verb altogether. Learn each row as a pair.

Greek speakers often say	Natural English	The Greek behind it
I lost the bus.	I missed the bus.	"Χάνω" covers both "lose" and "miss".
My aunt learned me to swim.	My aunt taught me to swim.	"Μαθαίνω" means both "learn" and "teach".
I knew my wife at a wedding.	I met my wife at a wedding.	"Γνωρίζω" is both "know" and "meet".
I'm giving exams in June.	I'm taking exams in June.	"Δίνω εξετάσεις": the student "gives" the exam.
You have right.	You're right.	"Έχεις δίκιο" is built with "have".
We passed very nice.	We had a great time.	"Περάσαμε πολύ ωραία", literally "we passed very nicely".
I'm bored to cook tonight.	I don't feel like cooking tonight.	"Βαριέμαι να" means "I can't be bothered to".

Greek grammar habits that reshape English sentences

Two negatives in one sentence. Greek needs both: "Δεν είδα τίποτα" is literally "I didn't see nothing." English allows one: "I didn't see anything."
Plurals that English keeps singular. "Πληροφορίες", "συμβουλές", "τα μαλλιά" and "τα νέα" are all plural. English says "some information", "a piece of advice", "Her hair is wet" and "The news is good."
One preposition for four. "Σε" covers "in", "at", "on" and "to", which gives "I'm to the office" and "a movie to the TV". Say "at the office" and "on TV". Also memorize "married to" (not "with", from "με") and "it depends on" (not "from", from "από").
Questions without "do". Greek makes a question with intonation alone, so "You like fish?" and "Where you live?" feel complete. English wants the helper verb: "Do you like fish?", "Where do you live?"
"Too much" for "very much". "Πάρα πολύ" is simply strong, but English "too" means more than is good. "I like it too much" sounds like a problem. Say "I really like it."

English sounds that Greek reshapes, and how to produce each one

Greek has a small vowel set with no long and short pairs, and its p, t and k carry no puff of air. It already has both "th" sounds, in θ and δ, so "think" and "this" need no work. A tapped "r" is accent, not error; the points below change the word a listener hears.

Sound	Practice words	How to make it
"s" before m	small, smile, smoke	Greek σ becomes "z" before μ, as in "κόσμος", so "smile" comes out as "zmile". Hold a long voiceless hiss, then add the m.
p, t, k at the start of a word	pear / bear, tie / die, coat / goat	Without a puff of air, listeners may hear b, d, g. Hold your palm in front of your lips and feel the breath on "pear".
b and p next to m	able, simple, computer	Greek spells "b" as μπ, so an extra m slips in ("amble" for "able") or "mp" drifts toward "mb" ("combuter"). Start "able" with no hum, and keep the p in "computer" crisp.
The vowels in "cap" and "cup"	cap / cup, match / much, ran / run	Both land on Greek α. For "cap", drop the jaw and spread the lips. For "cup", relax the mouth and keep it short.
Words that came from Greek	psychology, chaos, architect	They follow English rules now. The p in "ps" is silent ("sy-KOL-uh-jee") and "ch" is a plain k, never χ: "KAY-oss".

Greek look-alike words that mislead, from "graphic" villages to "a parking"

Greek word	Looks like	What you usually mean
γραφικός	graphic	picturesque: "We stayed in a picturesque village."
εθνικός	ethnic	national: "He plays for the national team."
φαντασία	fantasy	imagination: "Kids have a vivid imagination."
παθολόγος	pathologist	your regular doctor or an internist: "I saw my doctor about the cough."
μηχανή	machine	motorcycle, engine or camera: "I came on my motorcycle."

Greek has also borrowed English words and given them jobs of their own. "A parking" is a parking lot or a parking space, "a camping" is a campground, "basket" is basketball, and "the air condition" is the air conditioner.

A speaking drill with Airi for Greek-to-English habits

A rule you can recite still slips at speaking speed. Airi answers out loud and shows one small fix at a time, so the natural sentence reaches you while yours is still fresh. She does not grade your accent, so treat whether she understood you as the test. The free credits last about eight minutes, enough for one round.

Open with: "Greek is my first language. Please point out when I use two negatives, skip 'do' in a question, or say 'lost' when I mean 'missed'."
Tell her about a morning when everything went wrong: the bus you missed, the keys you lost, the meeting nobody told you anything about.
Ask her five questions, each starting with "Do you", "Did you" or "Where do you".
Say "small", "smile" and "pear" inside full sentences. If her reply shows she heard "bear", repeat it with more breath on the p.
When she shows a small fix, say her version out loud once and keep going. Next time, pick three other rows.

How to get the most from it

'Than', never 'from'

Bigger than, better than, older than.

'It' before 'is'

It's raining. It's good. Greek drops it; English can't.

Round your lips for 'sh'

Ship, shop, she — not 'sip'. Airi hears it.

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Frequently asked questions

Why do Greek speakers say "bigger from"?

Because Greek builds comparisons with "από", which usually translates as "from": "πιο μεγάλο από". English compares with "than": "bigger than", "more expensive than". It is transfer from Greek, not carelessness, and the fix is to say the correct form out loud until it comes without thinking.

What is the most embarrassing Greek-English false friend?

"Idiotic". "Ιδιωτικό" means private, so "an idiotic school" is meant as a private school, but in English it means a stupid one. "Empathy" and "sympathetic" come next: "εμπάθεια" is hostility and "συμπαθητικός" is likable. If one slips into your sentence, Airi can show a small fix and carry on with the conversation.

Which English sounds are hardest for Greek speakers?

The ones Greek does not keep apart: "s" and "sh", "ch" and "j", a soft "h", and vowel pairs such as "ship" and "sheep" or "cap" and "cup". Greek also turns "s" into "z" before m, and its p, t and k have no puff of air. The "th" sounds are not a problem, because Greek has both.

Do Greek speakers have any advantage when learning English?

Yes. Greek already has both "th" sounds (θ and δ), which many other learners struggle with, and a lot of English medical, scientific and academic vocabulary is built from Greek roots, so long words often look familiar. The catch is that their pronunciation, and sometimes their meaning, has changed on the way into English.

Is Airi available in Greece and Cyprus?

Yes. Airi runs in a web browser on a phone or laptop, in Greece, Cyprus or anywhere else, with nothing to install. You start with 600 free credits when you sign up with Google, about eight minutes of speaking, and no credit card is needed. After that there are one-off credit packs with no subscription. Airi speaks English only.

Last updated: 2026-10-03