Greek uses cardinal numbers to count—ένα, δύο, τρία “one, two, three”—and ordinal numbers to rank things—πρώτος, δεύτερος, τρίτος “first, second, third.” The arithmetic is familiar; the new challenge for an English speaker is agreement. A few cardinals change with the noun's gender and case, while ordinals behave like ordinary adjectives and agree fully.
Cardinals count people and things
Cardinals answer πόσοι; / πόσες; / πόσα; “how many?” Their basic job is quantity.
Θέλω δύο καφέδες και ένα νερό, παρακαλώ.
thélo dhío kafédhes ke éna neró, parakaló
I'd like two coffees and one water, please.
Έχουμε πέντε λεπτά μέχρι να φύγει το λεωφορείο.
échume pénde leptá méchri na fíyi to leoforío
We have five minutes until the bus leaves.
Most cardinals have one fixed form. Δύο, the numbers 5–12 and 15–20, and the whole tens through εκατό do not change for masculine, feminine, or neuter nouns: πέντε άντρες, πέντε γυναίκες, πέντε παιδιά. The gender is visible on the noun, not on πέντε. Compounds ending in 1, 3, or 4 keep the agreement of that final element: for example, δεκατρείς φίλοι but δεκατρία παιδιά.
Στο τραπέζι κάθονται πέντε άντρες και πέντε γυναίκες.
sto trapézi káthonde pénde ándres ke pénde yinékes
Five men and five women are sitting at the table.
The three low numbers that agree
The important low cardinals are ένας / μία / ένα “one,” τρεις / τρία “three,” and τέσσερις / τέσσερα “four.” Their form follows the gender of the noun being counted.
| Number | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ένας καφές | μία ώρα | ένα εισιτήριο |
| 3 | τρεις φίλοι | τρεις φίλες | τρία παιδιά |
| 4 | τέσσερις μήνες | τέσσερις μέρες | τέσσερα λεπτά |
Ένας φίλος μου μένει σε αυτόν τον δρόμο.
énas fílos mu méni se aftón ton dhrómo
A friend of mine lives on this street.
Περίμενα μία ώρα για τρία εισιτήρια.
perímena mía óra ya tría isitíria
I waited one hour for three tickets.
Το ταξίδι διαρκεί τέσσερις μέρες και τρία βράδια.
to taksídhi dhiarkí téseris méres ke tría vrádhia
The trip lasts four days and three nights.
English says one, three, and four before every noun. Greek makes you identify the noun's grammatical gender first. The masculine and feminine forms of 3 and 4 are identical, so the real choice is τρεις versus τρία and τέσσερις versus τέσσερα.
These cardinals also have case forms: compare ένας with accusative έναν, and nominative τρεις with genitive τριών. The complete small paradigms belong to one, three, and four, while cardinal declension brings the whole system together.
Digits hide the agreement choice
Arabic digits look identical beside every noun, but reading them aloud restores the Greek form. 3 φίλοι is read τρεις φίλοι, whereas 3 παιδιά is read τρία παιδιά. This matters on menus, tickets, forms, and prices: the printed digit does not make the noun gender disappear. First identify the noun, then pronounce the numeral.
Στη λίστα γράφει τρεις ενήλικες και τρία παιδιά.
sti lísta ghráfi tris enílikes ke tría pedhiá
The list says three adults and three children.
Case also remains active when the numeral itself is fixed. In με δύο φίλους, the preposition requires accusative and φίλους shows it, while δύο stays unchanged. In other words, an invariable number does not freeze the entire noun phrase; it simply leaves gender and case marking to the words that have visible endings.
Θα έρθω με δύο φίλους από τη δουλειά.
tha értho me dhío fílus apó ti dhuliá
I'll come with two friends from work.
Ordinals rank and agree fully
Ordinals answer ποιος στη σειρά; “which one in the sequence?” They are adjectives, not fixed counting words. Therefore πρώτος / πρώτη / πρώτο changes for gender, number, and case just like the noun phrase around it.
| Rank | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter |
|---|---|---|---|
| first | πρώτος | πρώτη | πρώτο |
| second | δεύτερος | δεύτερη | δεύτερο |
| third | τρίτος | τρίτη | τρίτο |
Το γραφείο μου είναι στον δεύτερο όροφο.
to ghrafío mu íne ston dhéftero órofo
My office is on the second floor.
Η πρώτη μέρα στη νέα δουλειά πήγε πολύ καλά.
i próti méra sti néa dhuliá píye polí kalá
The first day at the new job went very well.
In στον δεύτερο όροφο, both words are masculine accusative after σε + τον. English changes one to first but does not add agreement endings; Greek requires both the correct ordinal root and the adjective ending. See ordinal numbers for formation beyond the first few ranks.
Numbers in everyday tasks
The same agreement logic appears in several beginner situations:
- counting: choose the cardinal that matches the noun where required;
- time: the understood noun ώρα is feminine, so 3:00 is στις τρεις, not ×στις τρία;
- dates: days are normally expressed with cardinals, while months have fixed names;
- money: the counted noun ευρώ is neuter, so use τρία ευρώ, τέσσερα ευρώ.
Το ραντεβού είναι στις τρεις το απόγευμα.
to randevú íne stis tris to apóyevma
The appointment is at three in the afternoon.
Οι δύο καφέδες κάνουν έξι ευρώ.
i dhío kafédhes kánun éksi evró
The two coffees cost six euros.
Θα φύγουμε στις πέντε Μαΐου και θα γυρίσουμε στις οχτώ.
tha fíghume stis pénde Maíu ke tha yirísume stis ochtó
We'll leave on May fifth and return at eight.
Common Mistakes
❌ Ήρθαν τρία φίλοι στο σπίτι.
Incorrect—φίλοι is masculine, so use τρεις.
✅ Ήρθαν τρεις φίλοι στο σπίτι.
írthan tris fíli sto spíti
Three friends came to the house.
❌ Αγόρασα τρεις εισιτήρια για τη συναυλία.
Incorrect—εισιτήρια is neuter, so use τρία.
✅ Αγόρασα τρία εισιτήρια για τη συναυλία.
aghórasa tría isitíria ya ti sinavlía
I bought three tickets for the concert.
❌ Ήταν η πρώτο φορά που ταξίδεψα μόνος.
Incorrect—the ordinal must agree with feminine φορά: πρώτη.
✅ Ήταν η πρώτη φορά που ταξίδεψα μόνος.
ítan i próti forá pu taksídhepsa mónos
It was the first time I travelled alone.
Key Takeaways
- Cardinals count; ordinals rank.
- Ένας / μία / ένα, τρεις / τρία, and τέσσερις / τέσσερα agree with the counted noun.
- Δύο, 5–12, 15–20, and the whole tens through 100 are invariable; compounds ending in 1, 3, or 4 keep that component's agreement.
- Ordinals are adjectives and therefore agree fully in gender, number, and case.
- Time and money make agreement visible even when the relevant noun is unspoken or indeclinable.
Related Topics
- Cardinal Numbers 1–20A1 — Count from one to twenty in Greek, pronounce the everyday and learned doublets, and make one, three, four, thirteen, and fourteen agree with nouns.
- Declining 1, 3, 4A1 — Master the gender and case forms of ένας, τρεις, and τέσσερις, the three low Greek cardinals that must agree with the noun they count.
- Ordinal NumbersA2 — Form and decline Greek ordinal adjectives from πρώτος to χιλιοστός, and use them naturally for order, floors, dates, chapters, and fractions.
- Tens, Hundreds, ThousandsA1 — Build Greek cardinals with tens, hundreds, thousands, and millions while applying εκατόν and the gender agreement of hundreds and χίλιοι.
- Telling the TimeA1 — Ask and tell clock time in Greek with feminine hour forms, και for minutes past, παρά for minutes to, and στη μία versus στις δύο.