Most Greek punctuation looks familiar: the full stop, comma, colon, and exclamation mark broadly resemble their English counterparts. Two marks need special attention because familiar shapes do different work. Learning them early makes standard Greek much easier to read and produce.
The one that surprises everyone: the question mark is ;
In standard and edited Greek, the question mark is written ; — the character that looks like a Latin semicolon. Informal digital Greek also uses the recognizable Latin ?, but ; is the form to produce in schoolwork, publications, and other contexts requiring standard orthography.
Τι κάνεις;
Ti kánis;
How are you? / What are you doing?
Πώς σε λένε;
Pos se léne;
What's your name?
Μαρία, μπορείς να με βοηθήσεις;
María, borís na me voithísis;
Maria, can you help me?
The standard mark is not an old-fashioned convention: it is the regular form in newspapers, textbooks, and public signs. The character is technically the same code point as the Latin semicolon (;), but at the end of a Greek question it functions as a question mark. A digital ? is normally understood, though it does not become the edited standard.
The raised dot ·: semicolon and light-colon territory
If ; is the question mark, how can Greek mark a stronger internal pause? Careful Greek can use a raised dot ·, called the άνω τελεία (áno telía, "upper dot"). It sits above the baseline, and its functions overlap those of an English semicolon and light colon. A comma, colon, dash, or full stop may be more natural depending on the relationship and register.
Δεν ήρθε· ήταν άρρωστος.
Dhen írthe· ítan árostos.
He didn't come; he was sick.
Έκανε πολλά λάθη· γι' αυτό απέτυχε.
Ékane polá láthi· yaftó apétiche.
He made a lot of mistakes; that's why he failed.
The άνω τελεία is more common in literary, formal, and carefully edited prose. Everyday writing often chooses a comma, colon, dash, or two full-stop sentences instead. A plain ; cannot substitute as a clause-linking semicolon in standard Greek, because a Greek reader interprets it as a question mark.
The rest of the basic inventory
The remaining marks will feel familiar. Here is the full inventory:
| Mark | Greek name | Job |
|---|---|---|
| . | τελεία (telía) | Full stop — ends a sentence, broadly as in English. |
| , | κόμμα (kóma) | Comma — marks lists and clause boundaries; details depend on syntax. |
| ; | ερωτηματικό (erotimatikó) | Question mark (semicolon shape!). |
| · | άνω τελεία (áno telía) | Overlaps semicolon / light-colon functions in careful prose. |
| ! | θαυμαστικό (thavmastikó) | Exclamation mark, as in English. |
| : | άνω και κάτω τελεία | Colon — introduces lists and quotations. |
| «…» | εισαγωγικά (isaghoyiká) | Quotation marks (guillemets — see below). |
| … | αποσιωπητικά | Ellipsis — trailing or unfinished thought. |
| — | παύλα (pávla) | Dash — asides; also opens dialogue lines. |
Full stops and commas need no special comment at this level; their broad jobs are familiar even though detailed punctuation conventions are not identical language by language.
Με λένε Ελένη, χαίρω πολύ.
Me léne Eléni, chéro polí.
My name is Eleni, nice to meet you.
Τι ωραία μέρα!
Ti oréa méra!
What a lovely day!
Quotation marks: Greek prefers guillemets «…»
For quoting speech or marking a title, Greek's standard quotation marks are the angular «…» (called guillemets, or in Greek εισαγωγικά). The opening « points inward from the left, the closing » from the right. English-style curly quotes "…" do appear, especially online and in quick typing, but in careful writing the guillemets are the norm.
Μου είπε «θα έρθω αύριο».
Mu ípe «tha értho ávrio».
He told me, 'I'll come tomorrow.'
Στο εξώφυλλο έγραφε «Το Νησί».
Sto eksófilo éghrafe «To Nisí».
On the cover it read 'The Island.'
Notice that the guillemets hug the quoted text with no extra space. In the matrix-sentence examples above, the sentence's full stop sits outside the closing »; punctuation that belongs to the quoted utterance follows its own context.
Quotation choice is also sensitive to medium, but it is a looser stylistic contrast than the standard Greek question-mark convention. Both of the following occur naturally; they simply belong to different places.
In print, in a book, in an essay or a formal letter — the guillemets:
Μου είπε «ναι» και έκλεισε το τηλέφωνο.
Mu ípe «ne» ke éklise to tiléfono.
He said 'yes' to me and hung up. (formal / print convention)
In a text message, a comment, or anything typed quickly — the straight quotes the keyboard offers first:
Μου είπε "ναι" και έκλεισε το τηλέφωνο.
Mu ípe "ne" ke éklise to tiléfono.
He said 'yes' to me and hung up. (informal — normal in chat, not an error)
The practical reason is mundane: « and » are awkward to type on most keyboards and phones, so casual Greek reaches for "…". If you are writing something that will be read on paper or graded, use the guillemets; if you are texting a friend, nobody blinks at "…".
Typing Greek punctuation
This is where the swap becomes a practical hurdle. Access varies across operating systems, physical layouts, mobile keyboards, and custom settings. One common desktop arrangement is:
| You want… | On many common desktop Greek layouts… |
|---|---|
| the question mark ; | often the physical Q key |
| an accented vowel (ά, έ, ή, ί, ό, ύ, ώ) | often a tonos dead key, then the vowel |
| the guillemets «…» | a layout-specific shortcut or character picker |
Treat these mappings as setup guidance, not orthography. If they do not work, inspect the visible keyboard, layout documentation, or character picker; the grammatical rule stays the same even when the keystroke changes.
Common Mistakes
1. Carrying informal digital ? into edited writing. Informal Τι ώρα είναι? is recognizable; standard writing uses the semicolon-shaped mark:
✅ Τι ώρα είναι;
Ti óra íne;
What time is it?
2. Using a plain ; to join two clauses. With capitalization, the first version below is grammatical as a question followed by a statement; it does not express the intended link between two assertions.
Η Μαρία ήρθε νωρίς; Έφυγε αργά.
I María írthe norís; éfiye arghá.
Did Maria arrive early? She left late. (question plus statement)
✅ Η Μαρία ήρθε νωρίς· έφυγε αργά.
I María írthe norís· éfiye arghá.
Maria arrived early; she left late.
3. Capitalising the word after the άνω τελεία. In this clause-linking use, the sentence has not ended, so the next word stays lowercase unless it independently requires a capital.
❌ Βιάσου· Το τρένο φεύγει στις οκτώ.
Wrong — the raised dot is a semicolon, so the next word is lowercase: · το τρένο.
✅ Βιάσου· το τρένο φεύγει στις οκτώ.
Viásu· to tréno févyi stis októ.
Hurry up; the train leaves at eight.
4. Ending a sentence with the άνω τελεία. The raised dot joins clauses inside a sentence; it never closes one. End with a full stop.
❌ Καληνύχτα·
Wrong — the raised dot links clauses mid-sentence; end a sentence with a full stop.
✅ Καληνύχτα.
Kaliníchta.
Goodnight.
Key Takeaways
- Standard Greek writes questions with
;; informal digital?is recognizable variation, not the edited learner default. - The raised dot
·(άνω τελεία) overlaps English semicolon and light-colon functions, mostly in careful prose. - Commas, full stops, exclamation marks, and colons have broadly familiar jobs, though detailed conventions follow Greek syntax.
- Quotation marks are normally guillemets «…» in print and careful writing; straight
"…"is ordinary (informal) variation, and punctuation placement depends on whether the mark belongs to the quoted material or the surrounding sentence. - Keyboard access varies by device and layout; verify the keyboard you use. See also yes/no questions and the
?-instead-of-;error page.
Related Topics
- Yes/No QuestionsA1 — Turn a Greek statement into a yes/no question with its characteristic intonation and the written question mark ;, without English-style inversion or an added auxiliary.
- Using '?' Instead of ';'A1 — Diagnose the English question-mark transfer and replace ? with the standard Greek question mark ; while keeping the raised ano teleia · distinct.