Greek has no single equivalent covering all uses of English each, two at a time, twice, and double. It distributes quantities with από, ανά, or repetition, counts occurrences with φορές, and compares multiples with adjectives such as διπλάσιος. Choosing the construction means deciding whether you are allocating items, arranging groups, counting events, or comparing amounts.
Από + number: a quantity for each person
The everyday way to allocate the same quantity to every member of a group is από + cardinal number. English often puts each at the end; Greek places από directly before the distributed quantity.
Δώσε στα παιδιά από ένα ποτήρι νερό.
dhóse sta pedhiá apó éna potíri neró
Give the children one glass of water each.
Πήραμε από δύο εισιτήρια για τη συναυλία.
pírame apó dhío isitíria ya ti sinavlía
We each got two tickets for the concert.
Μοίρασαν στα τραπέζια από τρία φυλλάδια.
mírasan sta trapézia apó tría filádhia
They handed out three leaflets to each table.
The noun phrase still has the case required by its role. In δώσε ... από έναν χυμό, “one juice” is a direct object and therefore masculine accusative έναν χυμό. Από supplies distribution; it does not cancel the agreement and case system.
Ανά + number: groups and intervals
Ανά is (formal) or administrative when it means “per” and is especially useful for grouping and regular intervals: ανά δύο άτομα “in groups of two / per two people,” ανά τρεις ώρες “every three hours.” Instructions and technical writing favor it; everyday speech often chooses repetition or a phrase with κάθε.
Οι επισκέπτες θα μπαίνουν ανά δύο στην αίθουσα.
i episképtes tha bénun aná dhío stin éthusa
Visitors will enter the room two at a time. (formal instruction)
Πάρτε ένα δισκίο ανά οχτώ ώρες.
párte éna dhiskío aná ochtó óres
Take one tablet every eight hours. (formal instruction)
For rates such as δώδεκα ευρώ ανά άτομο, ανά means “per.” The more conversational alternative δώδεκα ευρώ το άτομο is developed on distributive determiners.
Repetition: one by one, two by two
Repeating a number produces an ordinary distributive: ένας ένας “one by one,” δύο δύο “two by two.” This is neutral and natural in speech. The repeated words are written separately. With ένας, both copies agree with what is being distributed: masculine ένας ένας, feminine μία μία, neuter ένα ένα.
Μπείτε δύο δύο, για να μη στριμωχτούμε στην πόρτα.
bíte dhío dhío, ya na mi strimochtúme stin pórta
Come in two at a time so we don't crowd the doorway.
Οι πελάτες περνούσαν ένας ένας από το ταμείο.
i pelátes pernúsan énas énas apó to tamío
The customers went through the checkout one by one.
Τα παιδιά βγήκαν ένα ένα από το λεωφορείο.
ta pedhiá vyíkan éna éna apó to leoforío
The children got off the bus one by one.
The same pattern extends beyond numerals: λίγο λίγο “little by little,” βήμα βήμα “step by step.” Repetition presents the members or stages as separate units rather than as one undifferentiated group.
Διπλός and τριπλός: made of two or three
Διπλός / διπλή / διπλό and τριπλός / τριπλή / τριπλό are multiplicative adjectives. They describe something as double, triple, paired, or made in two or three layers. Like all adjectives, they agree with their noun.
Θέλουμε ένα διπλό δωμάτιο με δύο μονά κρεβάτια.
thélume éna dhipló dhomátio me dhío moná krevátia
We'd like a double room with two single beds.
Η πόρτα έχει τριπλή κλειδαριά για μεγαλύτερη ασφάλεια.
i pórta échi triplí klidhariá ya meghalíteri asfália
The door has a triple lock for greater security.
Μονός and ζυγός mean “odd” and “even” with numbers. Μονός also means “single,” as in μονό κρεβάτι. These are neutral everyday terms; formal mathematical terminology also uses περιττός “odd” and άρτιος “even.”
Ο αριθμός επτά είναι μονός, ενώ ο αριθμός οχτώ είναι ζυγός.
o arithmós eptá íne monós, enó o arithmós ochtó íne zighós
The number seven is odd, whereas eight is even.
Φορές counts occurrences
To say how many times an event happens, use the feminine noun φορά: μία φορά “once,” δύο φορές “twice,” τρεις φορές “three times.” Greek does not have a special everyday numeral equivalent to English twice; it simply says “two times.”
Σου τηλεφώνησα τρεις φορές, αλλά δεν απάντησες.
su tilefónisa tris forés, alá dhen apándises
I called you three times, but you didn't answer.
Έχω δει αυτή την ταινία δύο φορές.
écho dhi aftí tin tenía dhío forés
I've seen this film twice.
Do not confuse δύο φορές with δύο δύο. The first counts repeated events; the second arranges people or objects in groups of two.
-πλάσιος: proportional comparison
The adjectives διπλάσιος, τριπλάσιος, τετραπλάσιος say that one measurable quantity is two, three, or four times another. They agree in gender, number, and case: διπλάσια τιμή, τριπλάσιο βάρος, τετραπλάσιες πωλήσεις. The suffix can extend to other exact multiples, but these common forms cover most everyday needs.
The neuter with the article becomes a quantity noun: το διπλάσιο “twice as much,” το τριπλάσιο “three times as much.”
Φέτος πλήρωσα το διπλάσιο για ρεύμα.
fétos plírosa to dhiplásio ya révma
This year I paid twice as much for electricity.
Η καινούργια αίθουσα έχει τριπλάσια χωρητικότητα από την παλιά.
i kenúryia éthusa échi triplásia choritikótita apó tin paliá
The new hall has three times the capacity of the old one.
When the reference quantity is stated, neutral Greek commonly introduces it with από + accusative, as in από την παλιά above. This page owns the multiplicative form; case in comparisons owns the case and the alternative comparison complements.
A quick choice guide
Ask what is being multiplied. If every person receives a quantity, choose από δύο. If an instruction forms groups or fixes a repeating interval, choose ανά δύο, especially in (formal) writing. If people physically proceed in batches, δύο δύο is the most direct neutral expression. If an event happened repeatedly, count δύο φορές. Finally, if one measurable amount is compared with another, use το διπλάσιο or an agreeing -πλάσιος adjective. This decision prevents the common English-driven habit of translating every sense of twice or double with one Greek form.
Common Mistakes
❌ Δώσε στα παιδιά από ένας χυμός.
Incorrect—the distributed direct object must be accusative: από έναν χυμό.
✅ Δώσε στα παιδιά από έναν χυμό.
dhóse sta pedhiá apó énan chimó
Give the children one juice each.
❌ Κλείσαμε ένα διπλός δωμάτιο.
Incorrect—διπλός must agree with neuter δωμάτιο.
✅ Κλείσαμε ένα διπλό δωμάτιο.
klísame éna dhipló dhomátio
We booked a double room.
❌ Πλήρωσα ο διπλάσιος φέτος.
Incorrect—the quantity noun is neuter: το διπλάσιο.
✅ Πλήρωσα το διπλάσιο φέτος.
plírosa to dhiplásio fétos
I paid twice as much this year.
Key Takeaways
- Use από + number to allocate that number to each member: από δύο.
- Ανά δύο groups by two or sets an interval and is more (formal).
- Repetition gives neutral distributives: ένας ένας, δύο δύο.
- Δύο φορές counts occurrences; δύο δύο creates groups.
- Διπλός means double/two-part; διπλάσιος means twice as large or much; το διπλάσιο means twice as much.
Related Topics
- Distributives: ανά, ο καθέναςB2 — How Greek says per, apiece and one by one — the learned preposition ανά (ανά κιλό, ανά άτομο), the everyday accusative article that replaces it in speech (δύο ευρώ το κιλό), distributive από (πήραμε από δύο), the appositive ο καθένας, and reduplicated pairs like ένας ένας and λίγο λίγο. The point of the page is the register split: ανά and το κιλό say the same thing in two different worlds.
- Approximate and Collective NumbersB1 — Express ten or so, a couple, roughly, and dozens or thousands in natural Greek, with the right register and agreement.
- 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.
- Adjective AgreementA1 — The one reflex every Greek adjective demands — copy the noun's gender, number and case onto the adjective, in the attributive slot (ο μεγάλος κήπος → του μεγάλου κήπου) and in the predicative slot after είμαι (το σπίτι είναι μεγάλο) alike — and the two English-speaker errors, leaving the adjective bare and agreeing in gender but not case.
- Case in ComparisonsB1 — How to say 'than' in Greek and what case follows — everyday από + accusative with a nominal standard, the learned genitive of comparison (ψηλότερος του αδερφού του) in formal writing, απ' ό,τι before a clause, and the narrow job that παρά still does.