Greek, the oldest living language, has existed for 3400 years and is part of the Indo-European language family. Spoken by more than 13 million people worldwide, Greek is the official language of Greece, Cyprus, and the European Union, and a minority language in Albania, Armenia, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Ukraine. The Greek alphabet has 24 uppercase and lowercase letters. Greek is one of the most important and influential languages, making a huge impact on science (Hippocrates), math (Euclid), philosophy (Socrates & Plato), literature (Homer), history (Alexander the Great), and religion (as the language of the New Testament). Greek, of course, went through many transformations over the centuries, and Modern Greek came into being after the fall of the Byzantine Empire in the 15th century.
Modern Greek is a fantastic language to learn, as it offers a unique insight into and access to the beauty, history, culture, and people of Greece. Since over a quarter of English words are of Greek origin, students may discover that Greek can even feel quite familiar.
We have compiled the most comprehensive list of high-quality FREE language resources to help you to learn GREEK. Check them out below:
Free Resources to Learn Greek
Free Learning/Studying Apps
Duolingo – iTunes – Google Play – Duolingo has become a leader in the language learning world and for good reason. It’s fast, fun, well designed, suitable for all ages, and turns learning a foreign language into a challenging and pretty addictive game.
Memrise – iTunes – Google Play – Memrise is a really fast, fun, and free language learning app/website that is sure to get you hooked. There is a visual flashcard component that also incorporates audio from a community of native speakers. Memrise uses spaced repetition and is really effective at drilling vocabulary and phrases into your memory.
Clozemaster – iTunes – Google Play – This popular app uses gamification and is a great addition to your language learning regimen, no matter what your level. It is very effective for vocabulary acquisition and billed as a great app to use after Duolingo.
Modern Greek on the Go – iTunes – This app was created by the Hellenic American Union for beginner Modern Greek language learners. Through audio and video lessons, users will learn survival vocabulary and high-frequency phrases to facilitate everyday conversations.
Phrasebook – iTunes – Google Play – A handy little app to have on hand when traveling to Greek-speaking countries, which helps you to easily access basic phrases and vocabulary.
Learn Greek by 50 Languages – iTunes – Google Play – This app is great for beginners (A1-A2) to increase practical vocabulary which is useful for managing everyday situations (at a store, restaurant, bank, doctor, etc). With the free version, you will have access to 30 complete lessons.
HelloTalk – iTunes – Google Play – HelloTalk is a global language learning social network that connects you with native speakers of other languages so that you can practice your speaking and listening skills with native speakers via text/audio messages and free audio and video calls. The free version allows you to choose one native language and one target language.
Internet Polyglot – iTunes – Google Play – This free app uses lessons, games, and pictures to teach foreign languages to beginners. Although Internet Polyglot is far from a standalone language learning tool, it is a useful supplement to help you to learn and retain vocabulary.
Beginner Greek – Google Play – This app is based on the “learn a word a day” concept and uses a simple and direct approach to teaching Greek to beginners.
Start From Zero Greek – Google Play – This app will boost your vocabulary skills by helping you learn thousands of the most commonly used Greek words and phrases. It also offers quiz and flashcard functionality to test your progress.
Learn 10,000 Greek Words and Phrases – iTunes – Google Play – Although this app won’t help you learn grammar, it will teach you a ton of vocabulary. The Greek language lessons include 10,000 key words and phrases for all levels Beginner A1 (500 words), Elementary A2 (501-1250), Lower Intermediate B1 (1251-2250), Upper Intermediate B2 (2251-3500), and Advanced C1 (3501-5000).
6000 Words – Learn Greek Language for Free – iTunes – Google Play – This app will teach you more than 6000 Greek words with images, phonetic transcriptions, and pronunciations recorded by native speakers. The vocabulary words are organized into 15 themes with 140 subtopics.
Simply Learn Greek – iTunes – Google Play – This app will teach you over 300 common Greek words and phrases using images and high-quality audio recordings by a native speaker from Greece. Spaced repetition is used for better vocabulary retention. You can track your progress, take quizzes, and save words and phrases to a favorites list. The free version covers phrases and vocabulary for the following topics which are essential when visiting Greece: Numbers, Time and Date, Basic Conversation, Greetings, Getting Directions, Eating at Restaurants, Sightseeing, Shopping, Emergency, and Accommodations.
Learn Greek with WordPower – iTunes – Google Play – WordPower is another app that relies heavily on the “freemium” model, but the free version will teach you 100 of the most common Greek words and phrases.
Learn Greek, Speak Greek Language Guide By Iliescu Tudor – iTunes – This practical app makes learning Greek easy and fun with 140 lessons that teach key vocabulary and grammar elements. Over the course of 10 modules, which are 60 minutes in duration, you will learn 2000 essential Greek words and phrases.
Greek by Nemo – iTunes – Google Play – This app teaches Greek to absolute beginners by helping students learn the most essential words and phrases of the language, accompanied by audio recordings from native speakers. The app also includes a voice recording feature to help you perfect your accent and all audio is accessible offline.
Learn Greek – iTunes – This app uses an audio-visual flashcard approach to teach Greek to beginners. With audio by native speakers in English and Greek, the app aims to teach 1000 of the most common Greek words.
Greek Letters and Alphabet – From Alpha to Omega – Google Play – This app teaches the letters of the Greek alphabet.
3Strike Greek Alphabet – iTunes – This quiz game teaches the Greek Alphabet lowercase and uppercase letters, and is completely free without in-app purchases.
Tandem Language Exchange – iTunes – Google Play – This app matches you with language exchange partners from all over the world, providing the opportunity to practice those essential conversation skills that are necessary to take your language skills to the next level.
Free Greek Dictionary/Translation Apps
Greek English Dictionary & Translator – iTunes – Google Play – This free app works offline and provides detailed definitions, example sentences, and pronunciation guidance for Greek & English words, as well as flashcards for learning.
Dictionary Linguee – iTunes – Google Play – This fast and free Greek translation app works offline, is accurate and trusted by millions of people.
Google Translate – iTunes – Google Play – Google Translate offers online text translation between 103 languages by typing, offline translation for 59 languages, camera translation for 38 languages, image translation for 37 languages, conversation translation in 32 languages, and translation of handwritten characters in 93 languages. The app also has a phrasebook that allows you to save translated words and phrases for future reference in all languages.
Word Reference – iTunes – Google Play – The Word Reference app allows you access to the world’s most popular and powerful dictionary translation website, including forum discussions.
Dict.CC – iTunes – Google Play – Dict.CC is a bidirectional dictionary offering 51 language combinations. The app can be used offline and vocabulary lists can be downloaded.
iTranslate – iTunes – Google Play – iTranslate is a leading free translator and dictionary app that provides translations for text in over 100 languages. Other functionality includes transliteration, sharing, favorites, history, and audio in both male and female voices. Voice to voice translations and the use of the offline mode is not available with the free version.
The Free Dictionary By Farlex – iTunes – Google Play – This dictionary and thesaurus app provides millions of precise definitions, drawn from the most trusted industry publications and sources, including idioms, slang, and etymology of words. The Free Dictionary works offline and offers additional functionality like voice search, sharing, games, word of the day, and more.
QuizKlip Chrome Extension – This chrome extension allows you to translate foreign language words on the web while also building a vocabulary list for Quizlet, Anki, or other flashcard apps. When you come across a word you don’t understand you can first translate it and then clip it to add to your vocabulary study list.
Learn Greek with GreekPod101.com – This is a fun and helpful set of videos to add to your regular Greek language learning regimen.
Travel Linguist Greek 101 Video Lessons – This series of 20 short videos covers basic introductory vocabulary.
Easy Greek – These YouTube videos are the work of a non-profit project which uses lighthearted street interviews as a method to teach languages. Each video has a topic and the host asks questions to native Greek speakers on the street based on the theme. Each video contains subtitles in both Greek and English.
LangMedia – LangMedia provides language learning resources, including videos, audio, study guides, etc. LangMedia is run by the Five College Center for the Study of World Languages and their mission is to share examples of linguistic and cultural diversity with language learners. In the “Language by Country” section of the LangMedia website they provide videos which focus on practical aspects of everyday life (For Ex: Basic Communication, Shopping, Transportation, Culture and Social Life). The conversations often include colloquial language and all videos are accompanied by translations and transcripts.
Online Greek Tutor Video Lessons – YouTube – Greek teacher Valentinos Filippou creates 2-3 minute video lessons every week which explain most difficult Greek words and phrases and provide usage examples. He speaks entirely in Greek, but Greek and English subtitles are provided.
Learning Greek Videos by The Hellenic American Union – YouTube – Each of these 10 videos focuses on teaching basic Greek. Transcripts and videos are available for each lesson and the videos are available with either English or Greek subtitles.
NativLang Greek Alphabet Tutorials – YouTube – Learn to write the letters of the Ancient & Modern Greek alphabet and see script forms throughout history over the course of 5 videos.
Learn Greek with Lina – YouTube – Lina has created numerous beginner lessons for students of Modern Greek, focusing on grammar, vocabulary, and dialogues.
Greek Lessons with Miss Ruby – YouTube – Miss Ruby covers a lot of material, including Beginner Greek Lessons, Intermediate Greek Lessons, and Greek Verb Conjugations.
Learn Modern Greek with Christos – YouTube – Christos provides an introduction to Modern Greek with 8 beginner lessons.
Learn Greek Fast and Easy – YouTube – Teacher Irene Karagiorgos teaches Modern Greek for beginners and tourists in a simple and friendly way.
Learn Greek with GreekPod101.com – iTunes – This is a fun and informative podcast to add to your regular Greek language learning regimen. Every lesson is free for a period of time; each new audio and video lesson (3-5 lessons are published per week) is free to access for 3 weeks before being locked into their library, which can be accessed only with paid membership.
Learning Modern Greek From The Hellenic American Union – iTunes – This podcast by the Hellenic American Union offers 80 lessons with accompanying transcripts that can be downloaded from their website. The content is in Greek, so it is not for complete beginners.
The lessons center around a group of young people and their daily activities and provide insight into Modern Greek culture in addition to language instruction.
Introduction to Greek Course by Language Transfer – YouTube – This free beginner Greek audio class uses an unconventional approach called language transfer, which they refer to as “the thinking method“. Rather than focusing heavily on grammar, vocabulary, and memorization, this course teaches the structure of the Greek in an exploratory, interactive and conscious way.
Greek SurvivalPhrases – iTunes – These fun and innovative audio lessons teach basic Greek and are accompanied by PDF guides.
Learn Greek by Complete Language Lessons – Spotify – 12 free Greek lessons on Spotify.
Greek Vocabulary Builder on Spotify – These lessons on Spotify teach basic thematic vocabulary for beginners.
- Greek Vocabulary Builder Volume 1: Family and Friends on Spotify
- Greek Vocabulary Builder Volume 2: Healthy Living on Spotify
- Greek Vocabulary Builder Volume 3: Home and Neighborhood on Spotify
Colloquial Greek: The Complete Course for Beginners Book – This collection of audio files, each a few minutes in length, provides concise and clear Greek language instruction for beginners. These free audio lessons were made to accompany the Colloquial Greek: The Complete Course for Beginners textbook, which is aimed at teaching Greek to beginners in a practical way to prepare them to effectively communicate with confidence in everyday situations.
Learn Greek Vocabulary By Language Addicts – iTunes – 9 short podcasts help listeners to memorize modern Greek vocabulary
Foreign Service Institute (FSI) Greek Basic Course – The Foreign Service Institute (U.S. Department of State) originally created this and many other language learning courses to train government employees and members of the foreign service in preparation for a post abroad. This course was designed to train participants to speak Greek naturally with native speakers while exuding confidence and using an accurate accent. It focuses heavily on pronunciation and preparing students for real-life conversations. 75 units are encompassed over the three volumes and include textbooks in PDF format and audio lessons as MP3s.
- FSI Greek Basic Course Volume 1 – This course is accompanied by an e-textbook with 344 pages and 30 audio files with a running time of 11 hours and 23 minutes.
- FSI Greek Basic Course Volume 2 – This course is accompanied by an e-textbook with 207 pages and 26 audio files with a running time of 9 hours and 24 minutes.
- FSI Greek Basic Course Volume 3 – This course is accompanied by an e-textbook with 210 pages and 26 audio files with a running time of 2 hours and 18 minutes.
Talk Greek by the BBC – YouTube – This great introductory Greek course features well-produced video lessons that show Greek speakers in their local environment. The website is full of information and activities which enrich the course, including a 10 part Greek Tutorial. Transcripts are available for each episode.
Learn Greek Online Courses – The Learn Greek Online learning system is a comprehensive set of free courses for every level. All lessons consist of high-quality audio and learning tools. Students also have access to a Greek Dictionary and Greek Spell Checker.
- Greek 101 Course – Beginner Greek Lessons 1-15
- Greek 102 Course – Beginner Greek Lessons 16-30
- Greek 201 Course – Intermediate Greek Lessons 31-45
- Greek 202 Course – Intermediate Greek Lessons 46-60
- Greek 203 Course – Intermediate Greek Lessons 61-75
- Greek 301 Course – Advanced Greek Lessons 76-90
- Greek 301 Course – Advanced Greek Lessons 91-105
- Ancient Greek 101 Course
Filoglossia Learning Greek as a Foreign Language – This 15 chapter Beginner Greek Course is the web version of the Filoglossia CD-ROM learning program, which is free and abridged. Each of the 15 chapters consists of four core sections: dialogue, basic vocabulary, grammar and useful phrases with exercises for practicing learned skills and audio and video.
LanguageGuide.org – Explore the world of Greek by learning an abundance of vocabulary in a sound integrated, animated guide. After learning the vocabulary you can take part in games to test your comprehension.
Babadum – A free language learning website that features fun flashcard games to help you brush up on your vocabulary.
Learn101 – This website features free beginner lessons to guide you through learning Greek, step by step, starting with the Alphabet, moving on to grammar, vocabulary, and phrases, and finally offering simple quizzes to test your progress. These lessons are a basic introduction to the language and have images, text, and audio.
CoolJugator – CoolJugator is a verb conjugator website that makes conjugation easy and straightforward.
Ilanguages – This site is designed to teach Greek with free vocabulary, phrases, grammar, and flashcards while focusing on highly used words and phrases necessary for everyday living.
Greek Stories by BookBox – Cartoons have always been a wonderful asset to language learning, particularity for children. These animated children’s stories are great because the viewer can read along with the narration, which is shown on-screen as “Same Language Subtitles (SLS).” Each word is highlighted in time with the audio, which helps with comprehension and retention.
Omniglot – This site specializes in providing information about languages and their alphabets and writing systems.
Digital Dialects – This website makes learning vocabulary fun with interactive games.
Hello World – Hello World has created hundreds of free language learning games and activities that cater to the way children learn best. The goal is to teach languages using cognitive immersion and to keep the process fun in order to increase learning potential. Approximately 1,300 vocabulary words are introduced over 70 different categories.
Goethe Verlag – This website offers 100 Greek lessons for beginners, each with words, phrases and corresponding audio files.
Loecsen – Loecson offers a free mini-course consisting of fun lessons that provide a basic introduction to Greek with the help of text, audio, simple illustrations, and quizzes to test your progress. You will learn high-frequency vocabulary words and commonly used phrases relating to 17 themes which are relevant to everyday life.
I Love Languages Greek Lessons – This site provides 17 beginner Greek lessons designed to help you improve your speaking, reading, and writing skills. Supplementary resources include vocabulary, grammar tips, and phrases.
NativLang Modern Greek Lessons – This site features a handy guide to the pronunciation and writing of Modern Greek.
An Introduction to Modern Greek by LangIntro – This Introduction to Modern Greek was created by J. David Eisenberg, a computer programmer, software developer and college teacher with a background in language learning. This comprehensive Greek tutorial includes instruction and audio about the Greek Alphabet, Greek Numbers, Greek Grammar and Verb Conjugations.
LingvoSoft Greek Phrasebook – This site offers a basic phrasebook format with text and audio to help you learn essential Greek vocabulary.
Surface Languages – This website helps you to learn words, phrases, and expressions in many different languages using audio, flashcards, language learning games and mini-courses
Magic Typer Greek Keyboard – This website application allows users to type in Greek using the standard Greek keyboard layout.
University of Crete Greek Learning Resources – The Ediamme project from the Center of Intercultural and migration studies at the University of Crete is funded by the EU and the Ministry of Education. It aims to preserve, cultivate and promote Greek language and culture for students of Greek origin who live and study abroad, as well as non-Greek speaking students seeking to learn the Greek language and culture. There are extensive resources available to help students learn and practice Greek, including a huge selection of textbooks. Check out the Greek as a Second Language and Greek as a Foreign Language sections.
Online Greek Tutorials by Panagiotis Georgalas – This website outlines the basics of Modern Greek for absolute beginners but can be used by more advanced learners, as well.
Study Stack Flashcards – This website hosts plenty of flashcard sets for studying both Modern and Ancient Greek.
Transliterate – This free tool provides online Greek transliteration from Logos Bible Software.
Ask Greek – This cool Q&A platform allows users to ask any questions relating to the Greek language and have them answered by Greek teacher Vasiliki Baskos.
Lang-8 – This free network is a nice tool to support your language learning. Native speakers are available to make corrections to your text and provide feedback. In return, you provide help to others.
HiNative – iTunes – Google Play – HiNative is an app brought to you by the creators of Lang-8 that allows you to ask questions to native speakers from around the world using your smartphone. HiNative was created to be used alongside Lang-8 and is different from Lang-8 in that it focuses on a Q&A type of learning while Lang-8 is a journal writing experience.
RhinoSpike – RhinoSpike is an interesting website that connects language learners from all over the world allowing them to exchange audio files to help improve pronunciation skills. It allows you to submit text that you would like to hear read aloud by a native speaker, and in turn, you receive the audio file. In exchange, and to speed up the process you can, in turn, provide audio files in your native language for other learners.
MyLanguageExchange.com – This online language learning community connects you with other learners so that you can practice speaking in your second language with a native speaker and vice-versa.
Italki – A community of over 2 million language learners that facilitates free language practice with native speakers. You simply exchange time teaching your native language for time learning a foreign language, making it mutually beneficial and free.
EuroNews – EuroNews is a news media company that features news from a European perspective and offers content in 12 different languages online.
Deutsche Welle – German broadcasting company DW provides news in Greek.
Google News – Read the world news in Greek with Google News.
SBS Radio Greek Program – iTunes – SBS is an Australian broadcasting company that targets non-native English speakers and creates programming in many languages. This podcast allows you to listen to interviews, features and community stories from the SBS Radio Greek program, including Australian and world news.
VOA News – Podcast – Voice of America is an American broadcasting company that creates radio and television news in Greek.
IN.GR – This is a popular Greek online news website.
Kathimerini – This is the online version of the longstanding Greek print newspaper which also features an English edition.
Tovima – This is the online version of a prominent Greek newspaper which also has an English edition.
Eleftherotypia – This is a well respected online news source in Greece.
WordReference – There is no need for a Greek-English dictionary if you have WordReference. Featuring good translations of words and solid definitions, this site also has helpful forums where Greek speakers from around the world contribute to explaining subtle nuances or more obscure words.
Forvo – This crowd-sourced site is a great tool to help with pronunciation as it allows you to listen to words and phrases spoken by native speakers.
Dict.cc – A go-to Greek dictionary and translation website which also offers crowd-sourced recordings by native speakers.
Bab.La – This “language portal” boasts 44 dictionaries for 28 languages, as well as a wealth of other language learning resources, such as helpful articles, games and quizzes, verb conjugations and phrase books.
Tatoeba – Tatoeba is a large, crowdsourced database of sentences and translations. This free resource allows you to search for a word and get results showing that word in sentences with translations.
Talkify – This free, multilingual website is a very interesting and valuable resource that allows you to listen to text in foreign languages. Simply insert a URL into the search field on Talkify and it will automatically detect the language and read the text of that website aloud in a natural sounding voice.
LearnWithOliver – In addition to a dictionary, this site offers games and flashcards to support your Greek Language learning.
Kypros – This online Greek English dictionary allows you to search using Roman transliteration if you don’t have a Greek keyboard and Greek words are printed in both the Greek and the Roman alphabets. Ancient Greek searches are possible as well.
Greek Ministry of Education Ebook Portal – This is the official website of the Ministry of Education for the distribution of ebooks to students. Books for Primary, Secondary and High School in Greece are available in a variety of digital formats, including interactive enriched HTML books, and all current editions are in a printable pdf format.
Teach Yourself Modern Greek – This book by S.A. Sofroniou with a Phonetic Introduction by J.T.Pring provides a solid overview of the Greek language making it perfect for self-study.
A Short and Easy Modern Greek Grammar – This textbook from the late 19th century by Mary Gardner includes Grammatical and Conversational Exercises, Idiomatic, Proverbial Phrases, and Full Vocabulary.
Cactus Language – This UK based language study abroad organization offers free online language level testing.
Language Trainers – This language training company offers free online language level testing.
Goethe Verlag – Free tests in 25 languages and 600 language combinations. You will find 200 Greek vocabulary tests and 20 Greek crossword puzzles.
Hellenic American Union Placement Test – Once logged in you can access a list of online tests to evaluate your level of Modern Greek.
Listen and learn Online Greek Level Test – This private language school offers a Greek language level test with 50 questions.
Lexis Greek Language and Culture Center – This website offers a concise Greek language test.
What Are Your Favorite Free Greek Language Learning Resources?
We have done a lot of research to bring you the best, free resources that the internet has to offer and we want to make sure our list is always comprehensive. Please share your favorites in the comments below.