Everyday quantities are rarely exact. Greek speakers say καμιά δεκαριά “ten or so,” κάνα δυο “a couple,” and δεκάδες or χιλιάδες “dozens” or “thousands” constantly. These expressions are not interchangeable: some are inflected nouns, some are fixed approximators, and some carry a strong conversational register.
The approximate suffix -αριά
The suffix -αριά forms feminine collective nouns from round cardinal numbers. A δεκαριά is a group of roughly ten, not exactly ten; an εικοσαριά is roughly twenty. The reliable everyday series includes δεκαριά, εικοσαριά, τριανταριά, πενηνταριά, and κατοσταριά / εκατοσταριά. Other suitable round numbers can form the same pattern, but speakers do not coin every mathematically possible form with equal frequency.
| Approximation | Typical phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| δεκαριά | καμιά δεκαριά άτομα | ten people or so |
| εικοσαριά | μια εικοσαριά σελίδες | roughly twenty pages |
| πενηνταριά | καμιά πενηνταριά ευρώ | fifty euros or so |
| κατοσταριά / εκατοσταριά | μια εκατοσταριά θέσεις | about a hundred seats |
Because the derived noun is feminine singular, it normally follows feminine καμιά or μια, regardless of the gender of what is being counted. An ordinary count noun normally stays plural: μια εικοσαριά σελίδες, καμιά δεκαριά άνθρωποι; collective κόσμος is the important singular exception discussed below. This is word formation, not ordinary cardinal agreement; see cardinal declension for the exact-number system.
Στην αίθουσα περίμεναν καμιά δεκαριά άτομα.
stin éthusa perímenan kamiá dhekariá átoma
There were ten or so people waiting in the room.
Διάβασα μια εικοσαριά σελίδες πριν κοιμηθώ.
dhiávasa mia ikosariá selídhes prin kimithó
I read about twenty pages before going to sleep.
Η μικρή αίθουσα έχει μια εκατοσταριά θέσεις.
i mikrí éthusa échi mia ekatostariá thésis
The small hall has about a hundred seats.
Καμιά does not mean “none” here
This is the page's crucial contrast. With verbal negation, καμιά can mean “no one / none.” Before an -αριά approximate noun in a positive clause, the same form acts like “some” and helps produce the meaning “about.” The sentence polarity and the following word resolve the ambiguity.
Δεν ήρθε καμιά από τις φίλες μου.
dhen írthe kamiá apó tis fíles mu
None of my female friends came.
Ήρθαν καμιά δεκαριά από τη γειτονιά.
írthan kamiá dhekariá apó ti yitoniá
About ten people from the neighbourhood came.
The second καμιά is not secretly negative: there is no δεν, and δεκαριά supplies the approximation. English uses unrelated words (none versus about); Greek lets one indefinite form do both jobs in different environments. The wider contrast belongs to μερικοί and κάποιοι.
Other ways to say “about”
These choices differ mainly in register and shape:
- κάνα δυο “a couple” is markedly (informal) and conversational;
- μια-δυο “one or two” is neutral and often implies a small number;
- γύρω στα + number is neutral and very common;
- περίπου + number is neutral and safe in speech, formal writing, and (academic) prose;
- πάνω κάτω + number is (informal) “more or less / roughly.”
Θα λείψω κάνα δυο μέρες, όχι περισσότερο.
tha lípso kána dhío méres, óchi perisótero
I'll be away for a couple of days, no longer. (informal)
Πάρε μια-δυο πετσέτες μαζί σου για την παραλία.
páre mia-dhío petsétes mazí su ya tin paralía
Take one or two towels with you to the beach.
Ήμασταν γύρω στα τριάντα άτομα στο τραπέζι.
ímastan yíro sta triánda átoma sto trapézi
There were around thirty of us at the meal.
Η επισκευή θα κοστίσει περίπου εκατό ευρώ.
i episkeví tha kostísi perípu ekató evró
The repair will cost approximately one hundred euros.
Κάμποσος / κάμποση / κάμποσο means “a fair amount / quite a few” and is conversational. The variant καμπόσος is (informal) and more colloquial or folk-sounding; both forms agree with the noun.
Μαζεύτηκαν καμπόσοι στην πλατεία πριν αρχίσει η συναυλία.
mazéftikan kambósi stin platía prin archísi i sinavlía
A fair few people gathered in the square before the concert started. (informal)
The speaker's chosen scale matters. Μια-δυο deliberately keeps the estimate small. Καμιά δεκαριά presents the quantity as a rough cluster centered on a round number. Γύρω στα τριάντα and περίπου τριάντα estimate an independently relevant number without packaging it as a group. Κάμποσοι avoids naming a number at all and only says that the amount is noticeable. This difference explains why περίπου is best for a statistical estimate, while κάνα δυο belongs naturally in an invitation or quick errand.
Dozens, hundreds, and thousands
Δεκάδες, εκατοντάδες, χιλιάδες are feminine plural collective nouns. Their modifiers are therefore feminine plural, and as subjects they normally take plural verbs: πολλές δεκάδες περίμεναν, not a masculine agreement copied from άνθρωποι.
The people or things counted may be a bare plural—δεκάδες άνθρωποι—or a genitive plural, especially in (formal) writing—εκατοντάδες κατοίκων.
Δεκάδες άνθρωποι περίμεναν έξω από το ταμείο.
dhekádhes ánthropi perímenan ékso apó to tamío
Dozens of people were waiting outside the ticket office.
Εκατοντάδες κατοίκων υπέγραψαν την αίτηση.
ekatondádhes katíkon ipéghrapsan tin étisi
Hundreds of residents signed the petition. (formal)
Κόσμος, meaning “people / crowd,” remains grammatically singular after a large collective: χιλιάδες κόσμος or genitive χιλιάδες κόσμου. Its plural κόσμοι normally means “worlds” or distinct social worlds, not simply many people.
Χιλιάδες κόσμος μαζεύτηκε στην πλατεία για τη συναυλία.
chiliádhes kózmos mazéftike stin platía ya ti sinavlía
Thousands of people gathered in the square for the concert.
With collective ο κόσμος, both grammatical singular agreement and meaning-based plural agreement are licensed: Ο κόσμος έφυγε and Ο κόσμος έφυγαν. The plural is common in speech when the speaker foregrounds the individuals. Neither pattern is an error.
A practical choice sequence is therefore: use μια-δυο / κάνα δυο for a very small count, an -αριά noun for a conversational round cluster, γύρω στα / περίπου before a stated estimate, and δεκάδες / εκατοντάδες / χιλιάδες when the scale itself matters more than any exact figure. These constructions all express vagueness, but they do not give the listener the same kind of estimate.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ήρθαν καμιά δεκαριά ανθρώπους.
Incorrect—the people are the subject, so use nominative άνθρωποι.
✅ Ήρθαν καμιά δεκαριά άνθρωποι.
írthan kamiá dhekariá ánthropi
Ten or so people came.
❌ Πολλοί δεκάδες άνθρωποι περίμεναν.
Incorrect—δεκάδες is feminine plural, so its modifier is πολλές.
✅ Πολλές δεκάδες άνθρωποι περίμεναν.
polés dhekádhes ánthropi perímenan
Many dozens of people were waiting.
❌ Περπατήσαμε καμπόσες δρόμο ώσπου να βρούμε ταξί.
Incorrect—δρόμο is masculine accusative, so καμπόσος must be καμπόσο.
✅ Περπατήσαμε καμπόσο δρόμο ώσπου να βρούμε ταξί.
perpatísame kambóso dhrómo óspu na vrúme taksí
We walked quite a way before we found a taxi. (informal)
Key Takeaways
- Καμιά δεκαριά is “ten or so”; here καμιά approximates and is not negative.
- Productive -αριά gives forms such as δεκαριά, εικοσαριά, πενηνταριά, κατοσταριά / εκατοσταριά.
- Κάνα δυο is markedly (informal); γύρω στα is neutral; περίπου works everywhere.
- Δεκάδες, εκατοντάδες, χιλιάδες are feminine plural collective nouns.
- In the people sense, κόσμος stays singular in form and licenses singular or meaning-based plural verb agreement.
Related Topics
- Tens, Hundreds, ThousandsA1 — Build Greek cardinals with tens, hundreds, thousands, and millions while applying εκατόν and the gender agreement of hundreds and χίλιοι.
- Which Cardinals DeclineA2 — See exactly which Greek cardinal components agree for gender and case, from 1, 3, and 4 through the hundreds, χίλιοι, and the noun χιλιάδα.
- Quantifiers: πολύς, λίγος, αρκετόςA2 — Greek's graded quantifiers — πολύς (much/many), λίγος (little/few), αρκετός (enough and 'quite a lot'), plus informal κάμποσος — all of which agree with their noun, so that a single word covers both English 'much' and 'many': πολύ νερό but πολλά παιδιά, λίγη ζέστη but λίγες μέρες. Includes the question word πόσος and the zero-quantity καθόλου.
- Some: μερικοί, κάποιος, κάτιB1 — The three ways Greek says 'some' — plural-only μερικοί/μερικές/μερικά for a handful of countable things, the fully declined κάποιος for a single unidentified one ('some man or other'), and invariable κάτι, which is 'something' but also, in speech, a vague plural quantifier (κάτι παιδιά) — plus why κάτι and κάποιος must become τίποτα and κανένας under negation.
- SuffixesB1 — Use recurring Greek suffixes to identify likely word class and meaning while treating each derived word as a lexeme with its own stress and behavior.