As in many languages, there are two basic types of question in Greek – those with an interrogative, or ‘question word’, like Τι; Πως; or Πού; and those which can be answered with yes/no (ναι/όχι), like ‘Is it far?’.
Word order
In English, we must change the word order for these types of question. Instead of ‘It is far?’ we ask ‘Is it far?’
Asking a ναι/όχι question in Greek is simple. There is no need to change the order of words.
Ιn speech, simply use rising intonation.
The Greek question mark
In writing, simply add a Greek question mark, the semi-colon;
Είναι μακριά; (Is it far?, literally ‘It is far?’)
This question could be answered with either:
Ναι, είναι μακριά (Yes, it is far) or
Όχι, δεν είναι μακριά (No, it is not far).
Ναι (Ne)
‘Yes’ in Greek is ναι. Don’t confuse it with ‘no’, even though it also starts with ‘n’! And remember that the combination αι is pronounced ‘e’. Ναι is the name of a 2007 single by Irini Merkouri. Listen carefully to how she rhymes many words ending with an ‘e’ sound with ‘ναι‘ (ne):
Όχι (Ohi)
‘No’ in Greek is όχι. You may have heard of ‘Ohi Day’, which is celebrated throughout Greece and Cyprus. It commemorates Greek prime minister and dictator Metaxas’ 1940 rejection of Mussolini’s ultimatum on October 28. Listen carefully to GreekPod101’s explanation of this holiday, to discover whether Metaxas really did just say ‘όχι’ – and whether he was speaking Greek at all!
You can practice these, and many other important vocab, in One Day Greek.
Now, read the short text and try the activities on page 25 of Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1+1. You might be able to guess the answer to question 8 – if not, leave it for now, or check this post for a hint.
Ναι and Όχι are two of the most basic words you’ll learn in Greek, and they might feel familiar as we’ve seen them a few times already. But because they’re so fundamental, they’re also worth paying attention to.
The Online Greek Tutor has a great deep-dive into the basics of Ναι and Όχι:
Just as in English, these words are often accompanied by (or even replaced by) body language. Think about all of the different ways you can express ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in English. You might shake your head, or nod, or even give a thumbs up.
The Omilio team has a great video showing how they each express ναι and όχι without words:
If you have a language exchange partner, try discussing the questions at the bottom of the page 25 Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1+1. (And if you don’t just answer them yourself out loud!)
Finally, you should now be able to complete the rest of the exercises (Β-Δ) on page 7 of the Ελληνικά Τώρα (Greek Now) 1 workbook.
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