Prices in Greek
Good news for learners: το ευρώ and το λεπτό (the cent) are both neuter, so a price uses the same forms as counting. Three euros is τρία ευρώ.
| Price | Said in full |
|---|---|
| 1 € | ένα ευρώ |
| 3 € | τρία ευρώ |
| 4,50 € | τέσσερα ευρώ και πενήντα λεπτά |
| 21 € | είκοσι ένα ευρώ |
| 101 € | εκατόν ένα ευρώ |
| 350 € | τριακόσια πενήντα ευρώ |
| 1.000 € | χίλια ευρώ |
| 2.400 € | δύο χιλιάδες τετρακόσια ευρώ |
| 13.000 € | δεκατρείς χιλιάδες ευρώ |
Writing prices the Greek way
Greece writes a decimal comma and a thousands point, the reverse of British and American use: 3,50 € is three euros fifty, and 1.250 € is one thousand two hundred and fifty euros. Read in a shop, that is χίλια διακόσια πενήντα ευρώ. The worksheets on this site print figures the English way, 1,250, because they are made for English-medium classrooms.
In the shop
- Πόσο κάνει; How much is it?
- Πόσο κάνουν; How much are they?
- Κάνει δύο ευρώ και ογδόντα λεπτά. It is 2,80 €.
- Τρία και πενήντα. Three fifty: the short way, with ευρώ and λεπτά left out.
Before the euro: the drachma
Until the euro notes and coins arrived in 2002, prices were in drachmas, η δραχμή, a feminine noun. That meant the feminine numbers in every price: τρεις δραχμές, χίλιες δραχμές (the dictionary's example). Older books, films and songs are full of them, which is one more reason the gender page is worth a look.
Questions teachers and learners ask
How do you say prices in Greek?
The number of euros, then ευρώ, then the cents with και and λεπτά: 4,50 € is τέσσερα ευρώ και πενήντα λεπτά. In shops people often drop λεπτά, or even ευρώ: τέσσερα και πενήντα. ευρώ keeps the same ending whatever the amount.
Why is it τρία ευρώ and not τρεις ευρώ?
Because ευρώ is a neuter noun, and the number agrees with it: τρία, τέσσερα, εκατόν ένα ευρώ. The neuter is also the counting form, so the numbers you learned first are the right ones for prices. The cent, το λεπτό, is neuter too.
How are prices written in Greece?
With a decimal comma and a point between thousands: 3,50 € and 1.250 €. The euro sign usually follows the amount after a space. A price of 0,99 € is read ενενήντα εννιά λεπτά.
How do you ask how much something costs?
Πόσο κάνει; (How much does it make?) or Πόσο κοστίζει; (How much does it cost?). For more than one thing, Πόσο κάνουν; The reply is the price on its own, or Κάνει τρία ευρώ.
Sources: Λεξικό της κοινής νεοελληνικής (Triantafyllidis Foundation), entries χίλιοι (“Χίλιες δραχμές”) and χιλιάδα; the Bank of Greece on the euro changeover (euro banknotes and coins in circulation in Greece from 1 January 2002); Holton, Mackridge, Philippaki-Warburton and Spyropoulos, Greek: A Comprehensive Grammar (2nd ed., 2012), agreement of the numerals.