Greek expresses exact parts in three related ways: μισός / μισή / μισό for “half,” nominalized ordinals such as το ένα τρίτο for fractions, and κόμμα for the decimal point. Percentages use the fixed phrase τοις εκατό. The arithmetic is familiar; agreement and Greek number punctuation are the parts that English speakers must relearn.
Half agrees with the noun
Μισός / μισή / μισό is an adjective, so it matches the gender, number, and case of the quantity it describes. The noun can be present—μισό κιλό, μισή ώρα—or understood from context.
| Gender | Form | Everyday phrase |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | μισός | μισός μήνας |
| feminine | μισή | μισή ώρα |
| neuter | μισό | μισό κιλό |
Θέλω μισό κιλό φέτα, παρακαλώ.
thélo misó kiló féta, parakaló
I'd like half a kilo of feta, please.
Μένει μισή ώρα μέχρι να κλείσει το μαγαζί.
méni misí óra méchri na klísi to maghazí
There is half an hour left until the shop closes.
Κόψε το καρπούζι στη μέση και δώσε μου το μισό.
kópse to karpúzi sti mési ke dhóse mu to misó
Cut the watermelon in half and give me one half.
English half never changes. Greek μισός behaves like an ordinary adjective; the form reveals the gender of the unit even when the unit has been omitted.
Fractions use neuter ordinals
For fractions such as one third or three quarters, Greek turns an ordinal number into a neuter noun. The denominator is singular when the numerator is one and plural when it is greater than one:
| Fraction | Greek | Structure |
|---|---|---|
| 1/3 | το ένα τρίτο | the one third |
| 2/3 | τα δύο τρίτα | the two thirds |
| 1/4 | το ένα τέταρτο | the one fourth |
| 3/4 | τα τρία τέταρτα | the three fourths |
The article is used when you mean a specific fraction of a whole. The whole commonly follows in the genitive: το ένα τρίτο της πίτσας, literally “the one third of the pizza.” This makes the internal logic more visible than English a third of the pizza.
When the numerator is one, ένα can be left understood: το τέταρτο της πίτσας and το ένα τέταρτο της πίτσας both mean “one quarter of the pizza.” Keeping ένα makes the numerator explicit; omitting it is especially natural when the fraction is already clear from context.
Έφαγα το ένα τρίτο της πίτσας και φύλαξα το υπόλοιπο.
éfagha to éna tríto tis pítsas ke fílaksa to ipólipo
I ate one third of the pizza and saved the rest.
Τα δύο τρίτα των κατοίκων ψήφισαν υπέρ της πρότασης.
ta dhío tríta ton katíkon psífisan ipér tis prótasis
Two thirds of the residents voted for the proposal.
Χρειάζομαι μόνο το ένα τέταρτο της ποσότητας.
chriázome móno to éna tétarto tis posótitas
I only need one quarter of the amount.
The definite article marks a fraction as a particular share: έφαγα το ένα τρίτο “I ate the one-third share.” In calculations or labels, the fraction can be named without that discourse function: ένα τρίτο, δύο τρίτα. The ordinal still stays neuter. The whole, when stated, takes the genitive whether it is masculine, feminine, or neuter: το μισό του χρόνου, το ένα τρίτο της πίτσας, τα δύο τρίτα των χρημάτων. English uses of; Greek expresses the same part–whole relationship through genitive case.
Αν προσθέσεις ένα τρίτο και ένα τρίτο, έχεις δύο τρίτα.
an prosthésis éna tríto ke éna tríto, échis dhío tríta
If you add one third and one third, you have two thirds.
One and a half: three gender forms
“One and a half” is compacted into an irregular-looking form. There is no completely transparent shortcut here; memorize it with a noun of each gender:
| Gender | Nominative model |
|---|---|
| masculine | ενάμισης μήνας |
| feminine | μιάμιση ώρα |
| neuter | ενάμισι κιλό |
Case still matters: accusative masculine is ενάμιση μήνα, while feminine forms decline like μιάμιση / μιάμισης. The striking form is μιάμιση, not a mechanically built ×μίαμιση.
Περίμενα μιάμιση ώρα στην ουρά και τελικά έφυγα.
perímena miámisi óra stin urá ke teliká éfigha
I waited in line for an hour and a half and eventually left.
Πήρα ενάμισι κιλό πατάτες για το τραπέζι.
píra enámisi kiló patátes ya to trapézi
I bought a kilo and a half of potatoes for the meal.
Decimals: comma, not point
Standard Greek notation uses a comma as the decimal separator. Thus English 3.5 is Greek 3,5, and Greek 3.500 normally means three thousand five hundred. Read the comma aloud as κόμμα in mathematics, measurements, and careful dictation: τρία κόμμα πέντε.
Η απόσταση είναι τρία κόμμα πέντε χιλιόμετρα.
i apóstasi íne tría kóma pénde chiliómetra
The distance is three point five kilometres.
Το μπουκάλι χωράει ένα κόμμα πέντε λίτρα.
to bukáli chorái éna kóma pénde lítra
The bottle holds one point five litres.
In prices, speakers usually say the currency units instead: δύο ευρώ και πενήντα λεπτά, often shortened to δύο και πενήντα. See prices and money.
The separator is partly a writing convention and partly a reading cue. When copying a measurement, preserve the comma even if your English keyboard suggests a point. When reading it aloud, κόμμα tells the listener exactly where the whole-number part ends. A price is different because ευρώ and λεπτά already name the two units, allowing natural και instead of a spoken separator.
Percentages and the fossilized dative
The ordinary expression is number + τοις εκατό: δέκα τοις εκατό “ten percent.” Τοις is an ancient dative plural article preserved inside this fixed phrase. Modern Greek no longer has a productive dative, so learn τοις εκατό as one unchanging block; do not try to decline it or copy its ending into new phrases.
Η τιμή μειώθηκε κατά δέκα τοις εκατό.
i timí mióthike katá dhéka tis ekató
The price fell by ten percent.
Η έκπτωση είναι είκοσι τοις εκατό μέχρι το Σάββατο.
i ékptosi íne íkosi tis ekató méchri to Sávato
The discount is twenty percent until Saturday.
The symbol % is read τοις εκατό. The fuller επί τοις εκατό is (formal) and appears in technical definitions; everyday speech normally omits επί. The history of the form is covered under fossilized dative expressions.
Common Mistakes
❌ Θέλω μισή κιλό φέτα.
Incorrect—κιλό is neuter, so half is μισό.
✅ Θέλω μισό κιλό φέτα.
thélo misó kiló féta
I'd like half a kilo of feta.
❌ Περίμενα ενάμισι ώρα.
Incorrect—ώρα is feminine, so use μιάμιση.
✅ Περίμενα μιάμιση ώρα.
perímena miámisi óra
I waited for an hour and a half.
❌ Η έκπτωση είναι δέκα τις εκατό.
Incorrect—the fixed written phrase preserves the dative spelling τοις.
✅ Η έκπτωση είναι δέκα τοις εκατό.
i ékptosi íne dhéka tis ekató
The discount is ten percent.
Key Takeaways
- Make μισός / μισή / μισό agree: μισή ώρα but μισό κιλό.
- Fractions use neuter ordinals: το ένα τρίτο, τα δύο τρίτα.
- Memorize ενάμισης, μιάμιση, ενάμισι with masculine, feminine, and neuter nouns.
- Greek writes 3,5 and reads it τρία κόμμα πέντε.
- Τοις εκατό is a fixed dative relic meaning “percent,” not a productive case pattern.
Related Topics
- Ordinal NumbersA2 — Form and decline Greek ordinal adjectives from πρώτος to χιλιοστός, and use them naturally for order, floors, dates, chapters, and fractions.
- 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.
- Fossilized Dative ExpressionsC1 — The ancient dative endings still embedded in modern Greek phrases — εν ολίγοις, εν μέρει, εν γνώσει, τω όντι, εν προκειμένω and the whole εν-family — how to recognise a fossil by its ending, what register each one belongs to, and why you must never build a new one.
- Prices and MoneyA2 — Ask and answer questions about prices, understand the bare accusative of price, quote per-unit rates, and handle everyday payment language in Greek.