How to Ask Questions in Greek

Modern language learning methods increasingly rely on conversational practice rather than rote memorization of rules. We learn a language to communicate, to engage in dialogue — and that means we can’t avoid mastering question formation. “What’s your name?”, “How are you?”, “Where are you from?” — these questions start any acquaintance. If you’re just beginning to learn Greek and want to understand how to build interrogative sentences, this article is for you.

Despite its millennia-old history, the Greek language remains surprisingly vibrant and free-spirited. It is characterized by flexible word order and, like Russian, intonation plays an important role: often it’s intonation that tells us whether a sentence is a statement or a question.

Question Mark

You might be surprised, but Greeks do not use the question mark “?” that we are used to. Instead, a semicolon “;” is written at the end of a question.

For example:
Πού είναι η στάση του λεωφορείου; — "Where is the bus stop?"

It takes some time to get used to this peculiarity. Interestingly, in messaging apps and social media, Greeks increasingly use the standard question mark “?”, but in literary, academic, and official writing, only the semicolon “;” remains standard.

What Types of Questions Are There?

In Greek, questions are generally divided into several types. The first type is general questions (γενικές ερωτήσεις) or yes/no questions. These questions do not use a question word and differ from statements only by intonation. No auxiliary verbs are needed, and often even the subject expressed by a pronoun is omitted.

For example:
Πας στο σπίτι; — "Are you going home?"
Πεινάς; — "Are you hungry?"

If we want to learn more specific details like “where,” “when,” or “why,” we need the second type — informational or specific questions (πληροφοριακές ερωτήσεις). These begin with a question word, usually followed by a verb.

For example:
Πού πας; — "Where are you going?"
Πότε φεύγεις; — "When are you leaving?"
Γιατί γελάς; — "Why are you laughing?"

To form such questions, you need to learn the main question words: Ποιος; Ποια; Ποιο; — "Who?"

Surprise! In Greek, the word “who” changes according to gender, number, and case: Ποιος — masculine, ποια — feminine, ποιο — neuter.

The word “whose” — ποιανού, ποιανής — also changes gender depending on the gender of the owner.

Τι; — "What?". The question “Τι κάνεις;” is often heard at the start of conversations. Literally it means “what are you doing?” but more commonly it means “how are you? how’s it going?”

Other common question words include:

Question words can combine with prepositions:

When a question word refers to a noun or adverb, together they form “question phrases” that function grammatically as a single unit.

For example:
πόσο μακριά — "how far?"
πόσον καιρό — "how long?"

In such cases, this whole phrase is placed at the beginning of the question, and the verb immediately follows, for example:

Πόσο μακριά είναι η παραλία; — "How far is the beach?"
Πόσον καιρό μένεις εδώ; — "How long have you been living here?"

These constructions add detail and precision to questions, which is very important in natural speech.

There are also alternative questions (διαζευκτικές ερωτήσεις) that use the conjunction ή (or), offering a choice to the interlocutor:

Θέλεις τσάι ή καφέ; — "Do you want tea or coffee?"
Να πάμε με το αυτοκίνητο ή με τα πόδια; — "Shall we go by car or on foot?"

And then there are confirmation questions (ερωτήσεις επιβεβαίωσης), similar to Russian tag questions like “You’re coming, right?”, “It’s expensive, isn’t it?” In Greek, these “tails” can be phrases like: έτσι δεν είναι; — “Isn’t it so?”, σωστά; — “Right?”, ναι; — “Yes?”

Examples:
Είναι ωραία εδώ, έτσι δεν είναι; — "It’s nice here, isn’t it?"
Θα έρθεις, ναι; — "You will come, right?"
Μένεις στην Αθήνα, σωστά; — "You live in Athens, correct?"

Finally, there are rhetorical questions (ρητορικές ερωτήσεις) in Greek, which convey emotion or irony without expecting a direct answer:

Και ποιος δεν θέλει λίγη ξεκούραση; — "And who doesn’t want some rest?!"
Μα τι λες τώρα; — "What are you saying now?!"

Why Are Questions Difficult?

One of the first challenges for beginners is the unfamiliar question mark — the semicolon (“;”). The eye doesn’t immediately recognize it as a question, so a sentence initially reads as a statement and you have to reread it with the proper questioning intonation.

Another common obstacle is the question words. They decline, combine with prepositions, and require attention to gender and case: when to use ποιος, ποιανού, or με ποιον — you need to learn to recognize them on the fly.

Finally, pronouns are often omitted in Greek, so to understand who is being referred to, you must confidently know verb conjugations.

The best way to overcome these difficulties is regular practice. Start with simple, basic questions. When reading a text, try to ask a question for every word — what? who? where? why? This develops mental flexibility and reinforces vocabulary. Listen to natural speech, repeat after native speakers, copy their intonation — this helps you quickly develop a feel for the language.

Practice in a “question–answer” format: with a teacher, a partner, or even AI. One asks, the other answers, then switch. This not only consolidates grammar but also builds the language reflex — the ability to speak without pauses or mental translation.

Bonus: 14 Universal Questions in Greek

If you’re just starting to learn Greek, begin with simple but useful questions you’ll need in many situations:

In Conclusion

Being able to ask questions in Greek is key not only to grammar but also to real communication. At first, you simply repeat after your conversation partner or teacher, but then suddenly you find yourself asking any questions without needing to translate in your head.

This progress is possible when you practice regularly, get feedback, and communicate in real-life situations. That’s exactly how lessons work at the online school Skype-Language.com — you work on intonation, ask dozens of questions, interact, and learn to sound confident and natural.

Greeks are an open, friendly, and remarkably curious people. They genuinely rejoice when a foreigner speaks their language. So don’t delay — start chatting with them in Greek today, even if it’s just using the simple questions from this article.