How much Greek do we need to know for a visit to Greece?

You can get by without any Greek but it's best if you at least learn the basics - greetings (hello, good morning, etc), the niceties (please, thank you, excuse me), and the necessities (how much? where's the toilet? etc).

Foreigh folks have been going to Greece for centuries. English has been well spoken within the tourist industry for a very, very long time.

The Greeks know the alphabet presents a hurdle for many non-Greeks, so a lot of basics (street names and destination signs on buses, etc.) are rendered in the Latin alphabet as well as Greek. Of course, virtually every menu will include English.

If you learn the alphabet, it may help if you want to read product names in grocery stores.

Thank you all! That's very helpful! We will focus on the good old travel basics and the alphabet. Thanks again. Cheers.

I only knew a few basic words of Greek when I visited. I was surpised at how many people spoke English. I went to all of the places you mentioned and never had a problem.

A few basic words and simple sentences in Greek are always appreciated, even if you switch to English after 20 seconds.

“you are welcome” is Parakalo and not Parikalo and “thank you” is pronounced Efkaristo (Efra-risto) but not Effaristo.

If you want to be able to say and understand a few words and expressions in Greek I recommend this video from "Easy Greek" which will teach you 100% of what you will need (or even 200%)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYtqqfJdeIs

Don't hesitate to say it out loud...And If I can do it, you can do it too. :-))

As for the Greek alphabet, don't worry, many things are written in the Latin alphabet and in English.

That being said, if you have some memories from your studies in mathematics and physics with its Lambda λ, Omega Ω, Micro μ, Delta Δ, this will help you a lot to convert what you read into the Latin alphabet.

For example to understand that ΚΥΚΛΑΔΕΣ means CYCLADES

Thanks for all the helpful responses! The Rick Steves forum rocks!

I have been in Greece for the last 3 weeks (first time visitor) and I completely agree with all of the above comments. We have had no problems speaking English, and my attempts at a few polite words in Greek have been graciously received.
One new trick I found was the Google Translate function that translates from Greek to English within a picture you have taken. This was helpful in grocery stores for example, where I knew what the item was but wanted to read the ingredients or preparation instructions on the label.

I made myself a card with a number of requests, words, phrases that I knew I would need. Most every time I used them I would get a smile or a positive recognition…..it went a long way. I wrote them out phonetically. After a day or two of use, I knew them all by heart. We had a couple of days in Italy and I did the same……that was easier since I know Spanish and French

Learn the Greek alphabet as it will help you translate signage.

We have been in Greece for two weeks thus far (Athens, Delphi, and Crete) We have yet to come across anyone that does not speak English. It is the second language here. But I agree it is polite to learn a handful of standard words/phrases before you leave. I also highly recommend the Google Translate app. I have used it when English speaking humans were not around…. to read the directions on the washing machine, finding laundry detergent in the convenience store (we bought Tide the first time only to discover it was NOT for the washing machine), understand the options on the dishwasher, reading the fuse box after a short power outage, etc. We have also used it for menus in smaller towns in Italy. One indiscreet snap and the entire menu is in English. I also like that when I want to learn a new word or phrase on the fly, the app provides an audible pronunciation.

My tact for Greece is to learn enough basic phrases that they take the time to constantly correct you on the pronunciation. So once you have Hello, Good Bye, Your Welcome, and Please mastered, throw in something else.

Hi there
I just got back from Greece and I did not need any Greece but did know hello, good morning, good evening and thank you.
PS get a GPS you may find yourself with out sell signal if you are planning on using google maps. We got one and they set it up in English. We had no problems at all.
Enjoy!!

I spent 13 nights in Greece in 2018. Before I left, I taught myself some words and phrases; I can pronounce written Greek although I have no clue what it means. I had an advantage because I had a phonology class in college. The class was super enlightening. I learned that there are a variety of sounds in other languages that are not in my variation of English. I suppose that other people pronounce foreign words with the nearest sounds and sound pattern of their first language. The hostel and hotel employees at the desks seemed to know English. I try not to talk English to non-English speakers in other countries, unless the other person detects that I am an English speaker and they insist on talking English. I didn't attempt to talk English when I bought bus tickets; I have no clue whether the employees knew English. Try to get the pronunciation right and not just say a distorted version using the nearest sounds in your variation of English.

Be sure to write down or print out your hotel's name and address to give the cab driver at the airport. I tried to pronounce the H in Hotel Hera but it is apparently Hotel EErah. Once you get there pick up a business card at the front desk in case you ever need to find your way back.

Have to learn? None. Learning won't make tge trip any more possible.

There's a great travel blog written by a couple - she's Greek and he's a Brit, and they have an article on the Greek language and at the end are 20 useful words in Greek with pronunciation. I just returned from 5 weeks in Greece and although most service providers and shop owners speak some, or a lot, of English, not all did as we got off the beaten path. It is always welcome to at least try to say please and thank you and know a few words of the local language. Look at the blog: https://realgreekexperiences.com/greek-alphabet

Please and you're welcome is "parakalo", emphasis on the last "o"
Thank you is "efharisto", with the H pronounced as more of a soft K sound, emphasis on the last "o".
Thank you very much is "efharisto poli", (Po-lee) again emphasis on the final letters in each
These will be appreciated.

Most road signs have Greek and Latin (English) for the names. The capital letters aren't hard, think back to math class. It's the lower case letters that are harder to get. You'll find menus in Greek and English, even way down the Peloponnese peninsula. They're used to tourists.

ENJOY!!

My rule of thumb when going to any country:
Learn as much of the language as possible. You probably won't get very far, but a little goes a long way

You don't really need to learn many Greek words for a short visit.
Most places you'll go to, especially tourist areas, people can communicate in English.
If you want to learn a simple 'thank you' or 'hello' just for courtesy, you can say 'efharisto' for thank you and 'yassou' for hello.

Thanks to the many, many helpful replies to this my question. Cheers.