Stress in Greek: how to read the accent mark ´
In Greek words of two or more syllables, the mark ´ sits over the stressed vowel. It tells you which syllable to say louder.
Say the stressed syllable louder and a little longer than the rest: καφές is [kah-FEHS], coffee. Words of one syllable usually get no mark. In the respellings on this site, the stressed syllable is in CAPITALS.
How this differs from English
English never marks stress in writing: you learn it word by word, and it can even move inside one family of words, as in “PHOtograph” and “phoTOgraphy”. Greek always marks it, and the mark is part of the spelling. Leaving it out counts as a mistake.
There is a second difference that English speakers should keep in mind. In English, unstressed vowels fade to a weak “uh”: “banana” is really “buh-NAH-nuh”. In Greek, unstressed vowels keep their full sound: an unstressed ο is still [o]. So τηλέφωνο ends in a clear “fo-no”, not “fuh-nuh”.
And watch out for words you think you know. Greek stress often falls somewhere other than in the English word: τηλέφωνο is [tee-LEH-fo-no], not “TEL-e-phone”, and ταξί is [tah-KSEE], not “TAX-i”. Trust the mark, not your English.
Where the stress can fall
In a Greek word, the stress falls on one of the last three syllables: the last, the second from the end, or the third from the end. The mark ´ always sits over the vowel of that syllable.
Examples
In the first two words the stress is on the last syllable, in the next two on the second from the end, and in the last two on the third from the end.
- καφέςkah-FEHS · coffee
- κρασίkrah-SEE · wine
- βιβλίοvee-VLEE-o · book
- πίταPEE-tah · pitta bread
- τηλέφωνοtee-LEH-fo-no · telephone
- αυτοκίνητοaf-to-KEE-nee-to · car
Where the mark goes
- Over the vowel of the stressed syllable: ά, έ, ή, ί, ό, ύ, ώ.
- In vowel pairs, over the second letter: αί, εί, οί, αύ, ού. If the mark is over the first letter (άι, όι), the two letters are read separately; more on the pages about αι and οι.
- On a capital letter, the mark goes in front of it: Άννα [AH-nah]. In words written all in capitals the mark is usually left out: ΑΘΗΝΑ.
- The mark tells words apart: ή (“or”) and η (“the”) sound the same, [ee], but are spelt differently. And νόμος [NO-mos] (law) and νομός [no-MOS] (region) differ only in where the stress falls.
Words only the mark tells apart
One-syllable words are usually written without a mark, but a few get one so they aren’t confused with another word. These two sound the same and differ only in writing.
- πούpoo · where?
- πουpoo · that, which
Check yourself
Which word is stressed on the last syllable?
Show the answer
νερό is [neh-RO]: the mark sits over the last vowel. μέλι is stressed on the second syllable from the end, θάλασσα on the third.
In τηλεόραση (television) the mark is over ό. Which syllable from the end is stressed?
Show the answer
Counting from the end, the syllables of τηλεόραση are ση, ρα, ό. The mark is over ό, so the stress is on the third syllable from the end: [tee-leh-O-rah-see].
How do you say σοκολάτα (chocolate): which syllable is stressed?
Show the answer
In σοκολάτα the mark is over α in the syllable λά, so the stress falls on the second syllable from the end.