Hello, my beautiful Greek learners!
Have you ever heard Greeks say something and thought, “Wait… what does that even mean?” That’s usually an idiom at work. Greek idioms are full of personality — sometimes funny, sometimes dramatic, always revealing a bit about how Greeks see the world.
They pop up everywhere: in conversations, TV shows, even in songs. Learning them isn’t just about sounding more fluent — it’s a little peek into life in Greece.
So today, I’m sharing some of my favorite idioms, with a quick explanation, the pronunciation so you can say them like a local, and links if you want the full story behind each one.
Greek Idioms
1. Μπήκε το νερό στο αυλάκι
(Mpíke to neró sto avláki)
Literal: The water has entered the groove.
Meaning: Things are finally falling into place after some effort.
Read the full explanation
2. Κάθε κατεργάρης στον πάγκο του
(Káthe katergáris ston pángko tu)
Literal: Every rascal to his bench.
Meaning: Everyone must face the consequences of their actions or return to their duties.
Read more
3. Πλήρωσε τη νύφη
(Plírose ti nífi)
Literal: He paid for the bride.
Meaning: Someone innocent ends up paying for everyone else’s mistakes.
Full post
4. Τα έκανε θάλασσα
(Ta ékane thálassa)
Literal: He made it into the sea.
Meaning: He completely messed things up.
Learn the story behind it
5. Κάνω την πάπια
(Káno tin pápia)
Literal: I play the duck.
Meaning: To pretend you don’t know or notice something — to stay out of trouble.
Read the explanation
6. Όχι Γιάννης, Γιαννάκης
(Óchi Yiánnis, Yannákis)
Literal: Not Giannis, Giannakis.
Meaning: Used when something changes in name only — nothing really different.
Full article
7. Φάγαμε ψωμί κι αλάτι
(Fágame psomí ki aláti)
Literal: We ate bread and salt together.
Meaning: We’ve been through a lot together — good and bad. It shows closeness and shared experience.
See examples
8. Κακό σκυλί ψόφο δεν έχει
(Kakó skilí psófo den échi)
Literal: A bad dog never dies.
Meaning: Tough or annoying people seem impossible to get rid of.
Read more
9. Δεν υπάρχει σάλιο
(Den ipárchi sálio)
Literal: There’s no saliva.
Meaning: There’s absolutely no money — total financial drought.
Full explanation
10. Έχει καβούρια στις τσέπες
(Échi kavúria stis tsépes)
Literal: He’s got crabs in his pockets.
Meaning: He’s stingy — he hates spending money.
Read the idiom in context
11. Γίναμε μαλλιά κουβάρια
(Yíname maliá kuvária)
Literal: We became tangled like yarn.
Meaning: We had a big argument or got into a messy situation.
Full post
12. Βαράει μύγες
(Varái míyes)
Literal: He’s hitting flies.
Meaning: Business is slow — there are no customers or activity.
Read the meaning
13. Γίναμε από δυο χωριά χωριάτες
(Yíname apó dió choriá choriátes)
Literal: We became villagers from two different villages.
Meaning: We’ve fallen out — we’re no longer on good terms.
Find out how Greeks use it
That’s it for now!
I’ll keep updating this list as we discover more of these wonderfully expressive Greek idioms together.
If you enjoyed this post, have a look around the Greek Idioms category — each one has its own story, humor, and a bit of everyday Greek wisdom.
And if you haven’t yet, don’t forget to subscribe above so you’ll get the next idiom straight to your inbox.
