Fixed, thank you!
Hi, unfortunately adding context for 5000 words would be a gargantuan task, which I sadly don’t have time for. Wordreference is good for context sentences if the nuance of certain words is unclear.
Many thanks for this and apologies for the extremely belated reply. I’ve made changes in most cases - unfortunately I don’t have time to check the audio for all ‘αω’ verbs - in most cases I believe both versions are accepted as answers, even if the listed version doesn’t always correspond with the audio.
Hello, I know it’s late but thought I’d respond in case anyone else looks at this. Thank you @SilentShuffle for making this! It has been incredibly helpful for getting me out of the beginner phase.
For reading, the Routledge Greek Reader is expensive (but can be found on zLibrary) and lacks translations, but it is a good reader for intermediate learners. most of the hard or rare words are at the bottom of each page in a glossary. I’d also recommend looking for Harry Potter, Agatha Christie, or John Grisham books, all of which are translated into Greek.
For listening, definitely use the Language Reactor browser extension, and watch season 6 of Masterchef Greece on Youtube (You can watch all seasons, but only S6 has subtitles). It’s about 200hrs of listening content, the judges and contestants are the same throughout the season, the premise is the same for every episode, and it has accurate Greek subtitles.
Otherwise, I’d recommend Easy Greek videos and their podcast. ertflix DOT gr, megatv DOT com, and star DOT gr also has some greek shows with accurate subtitles. Also, try checking out unogs DOT com, which is a netflix global search engine, so you can search for all shows with greek audio/subtitles (and it shows availability in all countries, not just where you live). You may need a VPN to access a lot of this content (except youtube), but it is very much worth it.
I’d start with Easy Greek videos and binge watching Masterchef, alternating between intensive and free-flow listening practice. Don’t use subtitles when free-flow listening, but they are invaluable as a beginner when doing intensive studying so you can get some form of feedback.
Also, on Spotify there is an SBS Greek (Australian news in Greek) podcast with short news bits that are good for intermediate learners. You can find lots of random Greek podcasts on Spotify.
Small note: στέλεχος is marked as a masculine noun in the course when it is actually neutral.
Just saw this - setting for email notifications was off, now fixed.
That Masterchef Greece season is a great find! Hard to find anything with good Greek subtitles so will definitely give it a shot, though not sure even the worthy goal of language learning will get me through 200 hours of Greek TV cringe…
I also stumbled across the SBS Greek podcast - it’s pretty good, but found it a little bizarre listening to Australian news in Greek.
Thanks for the recommendations - hopefully some other learners come across them. Book suggestions are excellent! Actually read a bit of an Agatha Christie novel in Greek this summer. Certainly a good deal more accessible than the likes of Kazantzakis.
*Have fixed the article for στέλεχος. Let me know if you find any similar errors - I still need to fully review the last third of the course.
Hi there, do you have a link available where I can watch Masterchef Greece S6 with Greek subtitles? Would be much appreciated!
Besides that many thanks to SilentShuffle for this great course and all the work involved 
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Should anyone check the forum wondering about disappearing words in this course, I am currently in the process of reviewing the second half (levels 145-250), purging it of any less relevant words.
These will be moved to the Advanced (multiple-choice) course:
Once this is done, I will plug the gaps with more useful words from the original subtitle-based frequency list.
Unfortunately I just looked on Youtube, and every single episode from every season has been deleted. They’re all geoblocked. Even using nordVPN on a greek server doesn’t work. I should have downloaded them. Sorry. This pisses me off so much since there is barely any good material for Greek online. I honestly hate studying greek I just do it because it’s a heritage language. It just makes you want to quit at every turn when stuff like this happens.
Something similar happened a few weeks ago: I found literally the perfect book for introducing the modern greek advance learner to greek literature. But i checked online and it is completely out of print and only accessible via the Stanford library, which I don’t have access to. It’s so depressing.
If you like the last airbender, there is a greek dub of it but again, no subtitles: tenies-online DOT best/load/5-1-0-16316. I’ve already downloaded every episode in case it goes down. When my listening comprehension is good enough to understand 100% of this show I’m going to create a transcript and publish it online or make a torrent so all learners can benefit from it. Finding English-language content that I already love translated into Greek is golden.
If I get around to intensively watching it I’ll download them all and create a transcript so all learners can benefit from it.
I’d say take a look at ertflix or megatv, some of their shows have accurate subtitles but I need to find a way to extract them. Hopefully when I achieve a high level of proficiency I will be able to take a bunch of programs and create accurate transcripts so learners after me can use them.
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Thanks again for making these courses! The advanced one looks like it will be useful. What were the types of television sources used? Was it just from various shows you’ve watched?
I noticed that the word παρανομή should be changed to παραμονή = eve, stay, residency
I feel like lots of people in the language learning sphere criticize this sort of format (pre-made deck; single words no context) for various reasons, but I have found this deck extremely helpful in getting me from the beginner level to a solid intermediate level. I think 5000 words is good, because after 5000 it may be better to just mine new words and expressions from whatever content you’re watching, so I think this is ideal.
People often make the argument that learning vocabulary without context is bad or useless, but honestly I don’t need a context to know how to use the word χελώνα = turtle. Same goes for most nouns. Only verbs and grammatical words like prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, articles, etc. need lots of examples to be properly learned. Of course, you can’t get the full depth and plethora of meanings of a noun from memorizing one flash card, but ultimately the way I see it, it is priming me to understand these words when they are in a context, such as a book or television show. This way, I don’t have to look so many words up and I can clarify minor details about the proper usage of different words as I see them. It has helped me get to a level where I can start watching television and at least be able to follow the plot somewhat after only 10-30hrs of extensive/active listening.
@mcpolo Cheers for the feedback, always enjoy hearing from learners on this course - it’s a fairly rare event!
παραμονή is now changed, thanks for that.
Totally agree with your thoughts here. Actually tempted to think 3000-4000 would be a better size - personally find revising 5000 words a little overwhelming. There definitely comes a point when you need to assimilate vocab from other sources. I’m trying to do that with the advanced course - it’s a work in progress, more intended for my own use, but thought I’d publish it anyway (also as a new home for more obscure/film-related words that I’ve been removing from this course). I like the multiple-choice format because it’s less arduous than manual entry and you don’t get punished for putting the stress in the wrong place etc - the idea is just to occasionally remind myself of words and phrases I’ve heard. I’ll probably expand it to around 2000 words longterm.
I was sourcing words from life in Greece/a bland TV series called ‘Ilios’, but I can’t face Greek TV anymore. Instead I’ve started getting into radio, which is a revelation - should have tried it in the past. Using an app called ‘E-radio’ to listen to ‘Sto Kokkino’ - music is a mixed bag, but there’s a good ratio of discussion programmes on it.
Anyway glad to hear this course has helped you build a strong vocab foundation. It definitely did for me - I find that I have a much richer vocabulary than friends who have been living in Greece for years, even if I’m less fluent. I sometimes get the stress wrong given a lot of it is passive knowledge, but it’s definitely a confidence booster having a little mental dictionary to draw from.
Καλή δουλειά! I hope you push on to advanced level - I’m trying to do so myself - it’s an upward slog, but really rewarding to finally convince Greeks that they don’t need to switch to English!
Yeah I feel like the 4000-5000 most common words are words that every learner should know, so why not knock them out systematically. Sure, I might not understand all the nuances of the word, but many times it has happened that I will hear a word I learned from the Memrise deck in a TV programme and think, “Ah, so that’s how you use that”. Since it is connected to an audiovisual memory of something I was interested in it usually sticks pretty well.
Radio, and definitely podcasts, are a more intellectually stimulating way to practice Greek. There’s actually quite a few gems on Spotify (1=easiest; 5=hardest):
- True Crime αλά ελληνικά has true crime stories. She speaks very clearly and slower and the topics are genuinelly interesting, so this is gold for beginners
- Easy Greek podcasts (which has paid transcripts that are worth the price)
- Greg Audiobooks (on Spotify) has full-length audiobooks in Greek (ηχητικά βιβλία)
- SBS Greek like you mentioned has some good news segment
- 3 στον αέρα is a good podcast if you’re into the tech industry
Of course none of these have transcripts, so only recommended for intermediate/advanced learners. YouTube also has lots of great resources (1=easiest; 4=hardest):
- Οι Εικόνες με τον Τάσο Δούση is a great travel show. He only says 1-2 sentences at a time, so it’s easier for beginners
- Masterchef Greece. This has been removed (geoblocked) from Youtube, and while it says it is unblocked in Greece and Cyprus, I couldn’t access it with a VPN. What sets this one apart is that S6 has accurate subtitles.
- Happy Traveller is similar to Εικόνες (Personally, I prefer Happy Traveller but both are good). Great if you’re into travel. He speaks faster and more than Τάσο, so if you’re having trouble with this one, start with Εικόνες, then when it’s easier to understand switch to Happy Traveller, which will get your Greek to a much higher level. This show is great because Ευτύχη (Ο παρουσιαστής) uses lots of common expressions and words that are good to know.
- Εφιάλτης στην Κουζίνα is similar to Kitchen Nightmares with Gordon Ramsay, but no Ramsay, but the Greek restaurateurs give us enough drama to compensate! This one is significantly more difficult to understand, so if you can’t understand Happy Traveller I would save this for later.
I think it’s important we share resources because there are so few of them, especially for beginners/intermediate learners.
Edit: Found another little thing. The τόνος in απογοητεύση should be written απογοήτευση. Thanks again @SilentShuffle! Also, maybe for the word αίτηση = application, maybe we could specify something like “job application” to distinguish it from εφαρμογή = application (as in application of knowledge or a phone app). If only Memrise has a way built-into the courses to report errors or suggestions without having to access the forum.
@mcpolo Apologies for the slow reply! Usual case of the notification going to my spam folder.
Those are all excellent resource recommendations, let’s hope some other learners stumble on them! It might be worth sharing them on the reddit Greek learners forum, which isn’t particularly dynamic either, but certainly more active than here.
I’ve changed απογοήτευση - good spot. I’ve also added “application form” for αίτηση - you’re right, it needed clarification, though maybe “job application” is too specific since it can also be for mortgages etc.
Let me know if you stumble across anything else! I want this course to be as accurate as possible.
I have now completed a revision of this course, purging less relevant words and replacing them with more useful terms.
The following have been eliminated:
έι
εν
γαμώτο
σκάτα
κάθαρμα
σκύλα
κατόπιν
επί
περί
παράτα
αστυφύλακας
εξής
τις προάλλες
γαμημένος
μούτρα
ποινή
το κελί
χριστουγεννιατικός
συγχώνευση
λάγος
αξιωματικός
σκασμός
το καθίκι
το μητρώο
δια
εντός
οι ένορκοι
η σουίτα
η κατάθεση
το σύνταγμα
το νυφικό
η κρυψώνα
ο τηλεφωνητής
η προκαταβολή
το διαστημόπλοιο
το ορφανοτροφείο
η υποτροφία
το πανδοχείο
το ψευδώνυμο
το μποξ
το ρούμι
η εξομολόγηση
δεκαπέντε
η δίνη
το πούρο
το μπικίνι
εξομολογούμαι
δεκαεπτά
αρετή (repeat)
ευάλωτος (repeat)
χαρτονόμισμα (repeat)
And the following added:
961 - τα αγγλικά
1141 - μέτριος
1501 - φιλάκια
1641 - το φροντιστήριο
- απαγορεύω
1661 - το μπιφτέκι
1901 - αράζω
2201 - εφευρίσκω
2341 - η Τουρκία
2441 - στρογγυλός
2481 - τυλίγω
2541 - το μπαχαρικό
2581 - ψωνίζω
2601 - μακροπρόθεσμα
2641 - ενθουσιώδης
2681 - φιλοξενώ
- το μπάχαλο
2801 - οι μπούρδες
2821 - κατοικώ
- ο νησιώτης
2861 - γιατρεύω
- ο Θεσσαλονικιός
2881 - ο ζήλος
2921 - αντίστοιχος
2941 - μεσογειακός
2981 - χαλαρωτικός
- φιλόξενος
3041 - ο Μεσόγειος
3141 - αδιάκριτος
3161 - μορφωμένος
3181 - επιτυγχάνω
3201 - ιδρύω
3321 - η φινέτσα
4361 - η εκτύπωση
3481 - ψιθυρίζω
3581 - η μπάντα
3681 - οι χαζομάρες
3861 - ενθαρρύνω
3881 - καλυτερεύω
3921 - λιωμένος
- διευκολύνω
3941 - η βαφή
- ο διαλογισμός
- αλμυρός
- τρυφερά
4001 - καθαρτήριος
- ο ακόλουθος
4021 - ο εκτυπωτής
4041 - ανταλλάζω
4061 - η πεδιάδα
4141 - θρηνώ
άκυρος
4261 - πρωτόγονος
- συχνάζω
4301 - εκπληρώνω
4321 - ασυγχώρητος
4361 - επιφανειακός
4381 - η πυκνότητα
4461 - ο χρήστης
4681 - το φόντο
4841 - αναζωογονητικός
4881 - το Αιγαίο
4921 - ο δήμος
4961 - πηγάζω
- τερματίζω
Most of the removed words have been added to the advanced, no-typing course:
Audio will be added as soon as possible for the new words.
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It looks like this will be a good next course to do while I’m reading daily to lessen unknown words. I’m reading Η Διαθήκη (The Testament by John Grisham) in Greek alongside the English version with about 98% comprehension so far, but there are hundreds of new words to learn still! I’ve been lazy but I only have another 1500 cards until I’m done with the top 5000 words deck. Pretty good for having started it more than 8 years ago 
Small nitpick but for the noun Αμερικάνος, can the card be changed to accept both Αμερικάνος and Αμερικανός, as they’re both valid forms? Wiktionary says its a more formal variant [1].
Also, if anyone has watched The Last Airbender before, I have a decent Greek dub of the show that I can torrent to anyone who wants it. Just reply for a link.
Thanks again for your work on the course! It’s been improving a lot over the years.
[1]: https://en.wiktionary DOT org/wiki/Αμερικανός
Αμερικάνος already has ο Αμερικανός listed as an alt (along with η Αμερικάνα and η Αμερικανίδα!).
But I see αμερικάνικος didn’t have the alt, so have added αμερικανικός.
Makes sense that it’s the more formal variant - as far as I’m aware, in colloquial speech I’ve only heard Αμερικάνος etc.
Did I really start this 8 years ago?! Time has shot by and my Greek definitely hasn’t made the leaps I would’ve hoped for in that time! Great to hear that you’ve persisted with the course for so long.
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Just a minor remark. In level 198 lesson 3941 - 3960 the sound of the word η εστία is a bell ring 
Hi @SilentShuffle,
During Speed Review there are two identical solutions, but only one is being accepted. Maybe you can check at some time 
Thanks!
This course is exactly what I was searching for. I really like the included audio. Unfortunately, I dont like to use Memrise, mainly because I prefer to incorporate examples, make additions, and translate some of the more complex English words into my native language. Is there a way to provide me with a word list that includes audio, or perhaps make it available for download? I appreciate your efforts and hard work!
Hi @XaverFleischmann9f and welcome to the forums!
Read my posting here:
There’s other ways too. I’ve described one of them here: