How to Learn Greek: 6 Effective Ways to Learn Greek Quickly
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Are you trying to build a comprehensive study routine to learn Greek but having trouble finding the right resources?
In this guide, I’ll share with you the different ways to learn Greek and the resources that can keep you engaged in your studies. I have listed the best apps, books, online courses, YouTube channels, and podcasts available for Greek learners of all levels. If you’re looking for personalized lessons, I have also included reliable platforms you can visit to find an online Greek tutor.
The Langoly team has over 5 decades of combined teaching experience. We follow a strict methodology when testing and reviewing products. As part of our mission, we have reviewed over 600 products and helped hundreds of language learners find high-quality resources. With this guide, you’ll be able to find the right Greek resources for your learning style and goals!
Best Greek App
Try PimsleurBest Greek Course
Try The Greek Online SchoolBest Greek Tutors
Try italkiTable of Contents
How to Learn Greek: Follow These Steps to Become Fluent Fast!
The best way to learn Greek quickly is to use a variety of tools. No single method can cover every topic necessary to learn a language and using more than one will help to fill in any gaps. For example, you could use a language app to learn basic grammar and vocabulary. On the other hand, taking an online class can help with speaking. By combining resources, you can make sure that you’re developing all the skills you need to become fluent.
To pick the best resources to learn Greek, we used the same methodology we applied for all the products tested on the Langoly website. We determined which tools and materials were the most helpful to Greek learners, and looked for a variety of engaging resources. Then, we reviewed each method, app, course, book, YouTube channel, and podcast to ensure they were effective and offered high-quality content. All the resources you’ll find in this guide can build and improve your Greek skills to take you to the next level of language.
Use the Best Greek Apps
Apps are a convenient way to start your Greek studies because they tend to have quick lessons and you can practice on the go. There’s a wide variety of apps, and you can choose one that fits your level and what you want to practice. With apps, you can learn Greek pronunciation, acquire useful vocabulary, and tackle essential grammar topics. The 3 apps listed below, Pimsleur, Mondly, and Drops, are quality options you can use to develop your Greek skills and become conversational quickly.
Commitment: Low
Price: Low-Medium
Convenience: High
Pimsleur
Pimsleur is the best overall app for learning Greek because it teaches you the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation you need to become conversational quickly. All lessons are audio-based, and you listen to Greek native speakers hold a conversation. Then, they break down each line so you can hear how to pronounce each sound correctly. What makes Pimsleur one of my favorite apps is that by the end of each lesson, you can fully understand the dialogue even if you’re a complete beginner. You can try Pimsleur for free for 7 days or read more about it in this Pimsleur review.
Mondly
Mondly is the best app for beginner Greek learners because it teaches you the most important vocabulary and grammar through short and interactive lessons. This app has unique and modern tools that can help you practice using your skills, like a chatbot that mimics a conversation with a Greek native speaker and AR lessons. Mondly is quite flexible, so you can choose what topic you study next or what features you use for review. I recommend Mondly to beginners that want to build a foundation in Greek. Mondly offers a 7-day free trial, and you can read more about it in this Mondly review.
Drops
Drops is the best app to study Greek vocabulary because it includes word lists for topics most apps ignore. You can learn useful words to talk about holidays, sports, and natural disasters, so you can be ready to navigate all sorts of possible scenarios. One of the reasons why I recommend Drops, though, is how easy and fun it is to complete each lesson. Each word includes a fun graphic to help you associate it with its meaning, which makes the experience more engaging. You can use Drops for free for 5 minutes every day, or take advantage of the 7-day free trial. You can also read more about it in this Drops app review.
Take an Online Greek Course
If you prefer a more structured way to learn, an online Greek course might be a good option for you. Online Greek courses allow you to follow a set lesson plan so you’re always building on what you already learned. This way, you can study the most essential knowledge, like the Greek alphabet, before tackling more complicated topics. The Greek Online School, LingoHut, and Language Transfer are easy-to-follow options you can add to your Greek study routine.
Commitment: High
Price: Medium-High
Convenience: Medium
The Greek Online School
The Greek Online School is an online platform that offers classes for both children and adults. All tutors are native speakers, which allows you to learn natural-sounding Greek and can improve your conversational skills. You can choose between private, semi-private, or group classes depending on your learning needs. Besides their Greek language lessons, they also have Business Greek, Creative Writing, and Greek Immersion courses, so there are plenty of options. You can take a free trial lesson to see if The Greek Online School is right for you.
LingoHut
With LingoHut, you can complete a self-taught Greek course that focuses on vocabulary. There are currently 125 lessons available. You can study vocabulary for the classroom, farm animals, beach activities, and much more. LingoHut has many interactive features like flashcards and games that reinforce the words you just learned. To me, this makes it an effective resource for complete beginner Greek learners. If your goal is to increase your Greek vocabulary but you don’t feel ready for live lessons yet, this can be a great place to start. Best of all, it’s completely free!
Language Transfer
Language Transfer is a Greek audio course that is part of a non-profit language project designed to share languages with the world. The lessons are taught in English, so you can learn important Greek vocabulary and grammar without feeling overwhelmed. What makes Language Transfer a great option is that there are 120 episodes you can listen to develop your Greek skills, and you can stop, continue, and repeat whenever you like. You can listen on the Language Transfer website or SoundCloud.
Find an Online Greek Tutor
To become fluent in Greek, you need to be able to communicate yourself with ease. But, due to the differences between English and Greek, this can be hard to achieve if you don’t have someone to practice speaking with. Luckily, online language learning has greatly increased in the past few years. Now, it’s possible to learn Greek from anywhere in the world. italki, Preply, and The Online Greek Tutor are three safe platforms that can connect you with a Greek tutor for online lessons regardless of where you live or where you are in your Greek language journey.
Commitment: Medium
Price: Medium-High
Convenience: Medium
italki
italki is a platform that connects Greek language learners and teachers for 1-1 online classes. I enjoy using italki because you can use its filters to quickly find a teacher based on their availability, the languages they speak, and price. You can personalize your lessons, and buy as many or as few classes as you need. Currently, there are over 100 Greek teachers available for lessons. Most teachers offer a discounted trial class so you can see if they are a good fit for you. You can read more about the platform in this italki review.
Preply
Preply is another platform that can help you find an experienced Greek tutor. There are almost 200 Greek teachers available on Preply, so you can easily find a tutor that matches your learning style. Each teacher creates their own curriculum, which allows you to personalize your lessons. You can tell your tutor what you’d like to practice and focus on that skill. If interested, you can try a discounted trial class or read more about it in this Preply review.
The Online Greek Tutor
The Online Greek tutor was created specifically for Greek learners. You have the option to take group classes, semi-private, or private lessons, so you can choose the environment you’re most comfortable with. You can take live video lessons, follow a personalized lesson plan to focus on your weaknesses and get additional homework to keep you practicing between lessons. I included this resource on this list because of the variety of lessons it offers. There are 6 different types of lessons, like Greek for Tourists, Conversational Greek, or General Greek. You can get a free trial lesson and evaluation to see if you like The Online Greek Tutor method.
Study with High-Quality Greek Books
Books are always a good option for learning a new subject, Greek included. If you want to learn to write in the Greek alphabet, books can provide you with clear examples and explanations to ensure you can write each letter. Most learners struggle to understand Greek grammar, but books tend to have extensive explanations to help you overcome grammar doubts. Complete Greek, Master the Greek Alphabet, and Greek Frequency Dictionary are 3 popular choices you can use in combination with other resources to polish your Greek skills. You can find even more options in our Greek book guide.
Commitment: Low
Price: Medium
Convenience: Medium
Complete Greek
Complete Greek has 24 chapters that break down different grammar topics for self-study learners. What’s great about this book is that it presents conversational Greek through real-life dialogues and scenarios. Each chapter also includes cultural notes about Greek society, so you can familiarize yourself with how the language is connected to the culture. This audio also comes with audio tracks and an app you can use to practice listening and speaking. You can learn more about the book here.
Master the Greek Alphabet
Master the Greek Alphabet is a book that focuses on teaching you how to write the Greek alphabet. It includes examples that show you the correct stroke order for each letter, and there are tracing exercises you can complete to build muscle memory. The examples show different font sizes and style variations, so you can also practice reading all types of texts and signs. For its price, I think this can be an essential tool for Greek learners who want to improve their written skills. Find out if this book is right for you here.
Greek Frequency Dictionary
With the Greek Frequency Dictionary, you can learn the 2,500 most commonly used words instead of studying random vocabulary. Each word has an English translation and example sentences to help you understand the word. This way, you can easily study and start using the new vocabulary you acquire. While this book is most useful for beginners, it’s a handy tool if you’re planning to visit Greece and want to refresh your knowledge. Learn more about the book here.
Watch Greek YouTube Videos
Watching YouTube videos is entertaining, but it can also be a great way to improve your Greek skills from the comfort of your home. YouTube allows you to listen to native Greek speakers, but it can also provide study tips, cultural insight, and effective grammar explanations. If you want to immerse in the Greek language but can’t travel at the moment, YouTube is a solid alternative. The channels below all offer comprehensive content you can use to improve your Greek vocabulary, grammar, listening, and speaking abilities.
Commitment: Low
Price: Low
Convenience: High
Easy Greek
Easy Greek is part of the Easy Languages project, designed to bring languages to everyone in the world. The hosts of the videos interview people on the streets of Athens so you can listen to native speakers talk about different topics. This is a great way to discover ancient Greek phrases or Greek people’s thoughts on modern politics. I thought it was a helpful way to test my conversational skills while I learned about the culture. All videos have Greek and English subtitles, which makes the content accessible to learners of all levels. There are 138 videos for you to enjoy, and they post a new one every week.
Learn Greek with Lina
Lina is a teacher from Greece who has useful videos you can watch to learn the basics of the language. She has a very organized channel, and you can study an ordered list of lessons for beginners, starting with topics like the Greek alphabet, pronunciation examples, and vowel and consonant combinations. I like that she has several playlists, so you can choose the content that’s most helpful to you. You can find all the videos on the Learn Greek with Lina channel.
Do You Speak Greek?
Alexandra is a Greek language teacher who focuses on teaching the vocabulary and grammar topics you need to navigate all scenarios. She has different video series, such as Greek for Beginners and Greek Grammar. On her channel, you can learn Greek to talk about holidays, clothes, travel, or simply watch her vlogs to practice listening to spoken Greek. Her explanations are clear and engaging, which is why I included her in this list. She posts a new video every Monday.
Listen to Greek Podcasts
Podcasts are another excellent way to hear how Greek is spoken. Because they consist of audio lessons, you can use podcasts to practice listening while you learn more about Greece. You can stop and continue whenever you like, study in your free time, or while you’re doing something else so you can study regardless of what kind of schedule you have. Many podcasts have free content, which makes them an accessible and flexible resource for Greek learners. GreekPod101, WeeGreek, and Learn Greek with LinguaBoost are all podcasts that have hundreds of episodes you can listen to start studying Greek at your convenience.
Commitment: Low
Price: Low
Convenience: High
GreekPod101
GreekPod101 is both an app and online platform that features hundreds of Greek podcast lessons that can take you from the beginner to the advanced level. Each lesson has extensive lesson notes and includes transcripts to ensure you understand the content. Each lesson includes vocabulary and grammar notes, which I found were the most helpful to learn how to apply Greek in real life. You can try GreekPod101 for free for 7 days, or read more about it in this review.
WeeGreek
The WeeGreek podcast has news and short stories in slow Greek. There are two levels so you can choose if you are a beginner or more advanced. The podcasts are around 15 minutes long and are in Greek with English translations so beginner levels can also listen and enjoy. You can listen to all of the episodes for free, but if you truly like using podcasts to study Greek, I recommend you support Alcibiades (the podcast creator) on Patreon to receive transcripts, audio files, vocabulary lists, quizzes, and more.
Learn Greek with LinguaBoost
Learn Greek with LinguaBoost is a comprehensive audio course that helps you learn the basics of conversational Greek. It focuses on speaking and not on learning isolated words and phrases, which means you learn sentence structure, context, and word interaction. To me, this makes this option a much more comprehensive resource if your goal is to become conversational in Greek. There are two courses for beginners, each with 30 lessons and several review lessons. You can listen to the first lesson in the series for free or you can download the course for an inexpensive price.
How to Learn Greek: Final Thoughts
Learning Greek doesn’t have to be a herculean effort. In this article, I hope we left no stone unturned, and helped you navigate the labyrinth of choices out there (did you catch all those references to Greek mythology?). Using the right tool(s) to study can make learning an enjoyable journey. With dedication and motivation, you’ll be speaking Greek before you know it!
Want to learn more? Check out our Greek resource page.
How to Learn Greek: FAQ
According to the US Department of State, it takes 1100 class hours (or 44 weeks) to learn Greek to a proficient level. But this number can vary depending on certain factors such as your natural ability to learn a language, or if you already speak a language similar to Greek, such as Armenian or another Indo-Iranian language.
To see how long it will take you to learn Greek, check out this fluency calculator.
To learn Greek quickly, you can use a variety of study tools and resources. Each one develops certain language skills like reading, writing, listening, and speaking, more than others, so using a variety will help you to develop all areas of language learning quickly.
There are many ways to learn Greek at home, such as taking an online course or using a book. One of the most popular ways is to use a language app. There are many choices available, but Pimsleur, Mondly, or Drops are some of the best options available for learning Greek.
Greek is considered a hard language for native English speakers to learn. This is because there are significant linguistic differences between the two languages, including the alphabet used. But with dedication and persistence, you should be able to learn conversational Greek.
The best way to become fluent in Greek is by taking classes with a teacher. Using language apps and books is a great way to start learning, but once you reach a certain point, you might need an experienced tutor to get you to a higher level, especially when it comes to conversation.
Another way to learn Greek fluently is to use authentic Greek materials. You can read Greek newspapers, watch the news, or listen to podcasts in Greek to hear how the language is truly spoken.
There are many ways to learn Greek for free. One of the most popular ways is by using a language app. Duolingo offers its Greek course entirely for free, whereas other apps like Drops and GreekPod101 offer a limited amount of content for free. You can also watch YouTube videos or listen to podcasts in Greek.
5 Comments
Maricel Anyayahan Garejo says:
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Timothy Carroll says:
I’m interested in attending a Greek Orthodox Church and want to better understand the liturgy.
Rajan says:
Will to learn
Жанагуль Жаугашкановна Сеитова says:
This resource of learning Greek helped me to reach my aim in doing tasks of my teacher
Kelsey Wetherbee says:
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