Greek New Year Vocabulary Words

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With the New Year approaching, it’s time to get ready with some Greek vocabulary! Although we touched on some of these words in a previous article about the holidays, it wasn’t a complete list. This article goes into much greater detail. Here’s more information:

Greek Vocabulary for New Year’s

When it comes to celebrating the New Year in Greece, there are certainly plenty of traditions to enjoy. These are all the vocabulary words you’ll need in order to enjoy the festivities, starting with New Year’s Day:

• New Year’s Eve – παραμονή Πρωτοχρονιάς –
• New Year’s Day – Πρωτοχρονιά – protohronia 
• New Year’s Holiday – γιορτή της Πρωτοχρονιάς – yorti tis protohronias

How to Say Happy New Year in Greek

• Happy New Year! Καλή χρονιά! Kali hronia!
• Happy New Year! (another way to say it) Καλή Πρωτοχρονιά! Kali protohronia!

Vocabulary Words for Your Greek New Year’s Traditions

• pomegranate – ρόδι – rothi (Note that it is traditional to eat pomegranates this time of year. There is also a Greek New Year’s tradition of smashing the pomegranate).
• Smash the pomegranate! σπάω το ρόδι – spao to rothi!
• Greek New Year’s Cake – βασιλόπιτα – vasilopita (Note that there are many traditions surrounding this cake. For more information and a recipe, click here.)
• I found the coin! Βρήκα το φλουρί! Erika to flouri! (To use if you end up being the one to find the coin in your piece of vasilopita.)
• gold coin – φλουρί – flouri (Traditionally, it is a gold coin that is hidden in the vasilopita cake).
• New Year’s party – πρωτοχρονιάτικο ρεβεγιόν – protohroniatiko revision

Other New Year’s Vocabulary Words

• midnight – μεσάνυχτα – mesanikta 
• year – έτος – etos
• one calendar year – ένα ημερολογιακό έτος – enos imerologiako etos
• It is almost midnight. Είναι σχεδόν τα μεσάνυχτα. Eenai skethon to mesanikta.
• fireworks – πυροτέχνημα – purotehnima
• celebration – εορτασμός – eortasmos
• toast – πρόποση – proposi
• countdown – αντίστροφη μέτρηση – antisrofi metrisi
• confetti – κομφετί – koufeti
• champagne – σαμπάνια – sampania
• party – πάρτι – parti

New Year’s is a celebratory time all over Greece and there are many traditions associated with it. Visit this section of Greek Boston for more information!

The Learn Greek section on GreekBoston.com was written by Greeks to help people understand the conversational basics of the Greek language. This article is not a substitute for a professional Greek learning program, but a helpful resource for people wanting to learn simple communication in Greek.

Categorized in: Greek New Year Traditions

This post was written by Greek Boston