Capitalization Rules | Greek Grammar

Greek capitalizes less than English in some places and exactly like English in others, and the trick is knowing which is which. The good news for English speakers: unlike Spanish or French, Greek keeps days and months capitalized, just as you already do. The traps are elsewhere — in languages, nationality words, and a special rule about where the stress accent (tonos) goes on a capital letter.

What Greek capitalizes (mostly like English)

Greek treats several categories as proper nouns and writes them with an initial capital. If you have studied Spanish or French, notice that Greek does not follow those languages here.

Days of the week and months

Days and months are capitalized. This matches English and is the single most common thing learners "correct" by mistake after coming from Romance languages.

Θα σε δω τη Δευτέρα.

tha se dho ti dheftéra

I'll see you on Monday.

Γεννήθηκα τον Ιούλιο.

yeníthika ton iúlio

I was born in July.

Τα μαγαζιά είναι κλειστά την Κυριακή.

ta maghaziá íne klistá tin kiriakí

The shops are closed on Sunday.

Holidays follow the same logic (Πάσχα, Χριστούγεννα). But an adjective derived from a day, month, or holiday drops back to lowercase: πασχαλινά αυγά ("Easter eggs"), χριστουγεννιάτικο δέντρο ("Christmas tree"). The name is a proper noun; the adjective is an ordinary word.

Proper names and the start of a sentence

Personal names, place names, and the first word of a sentence are capitalized, just as in English.

Η Μαρία μένει στην Αθήνα.

i María méni stin athína

Maria lives in Athens.

What Greek keeps lowercase (unlike English)

Here is where English speakers over-capitalize. These three categories are lowercase in Greek even though English writes them with a capital.

Languages

The name of a language is a common noun. Write it lowercase.

Μιλάω ελληνικά και λίγα αγγλικά.

miláo eliniká ke lígha angliká

I speak Greek and a little English.

Μαθαίνω ελληνικά εδώ και δύο χρόνια.

mathéno eliniká edhó ke dhío chrónia

I've been learning Greek for two years.

Nationality adjectives

When a nationality word describes something (acts as an adjective), it is lowercase.

Μου αρέσει πολύ η ελληνική κουζίνα.

mu arési polí i elinikí kuzína

I really like Greek cuisine.

Αγόρασε ένα γαλλικό κρασί.

aghórase éna ghalikó krasí

He bought a French wine.

But a nationality noun — a word naming a person of that nationality — is capitalized, because it behaves like a proper noun for a member of a people.

Ο Γιώργος είναι Έλληνας και η Άννα είναι Γαλλίδα.

o yórghos íne élinas ke i ána íne ghalídha

Giorgos is Greek (a Greek man) and Anna is French (a Frenchwoman).

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The nationality split is the one to memorize: the person is capitalized (ένας Έλληνας, μια Ιταλίδα), but the adjective and the language are lowercase (ελληνικό φαγητό, μιλάω ιταλικά). One quick test: if you can put "a/an" in front and mean a person, capitalize it; if it describes a thing or names a language, lowercase it.

Seasons

The four seasons are lowercase (here Greek agrees with Spanish, and even with careful English style).

Το καλοκαίρι πάμε πάντα στο νησί.

to kalokéri páme pánda sto nisí

In summer we always go to the island.

The accent-on-capitals rule

This is the part that is genuinely Greek-specific, and it trips up learners who think capital letters never carry accents. Every polysyllabic Greek word takes exactly one tonos on its stressed syllable — and that does not change just because the letter is a capital.

An initial capital vowel keeps its tonos

When a word starts with a capital vowel and the stress falls on that first syllable, the tonos sits right on top of the capital: Ά, Έ, Ή, Ί, Ό, Ύ, Ώ.

Όχι, δεν θέλω άλλον καφέ.

óchi, dhen thélo álon kafé

No, I don't want another coffee.

Ήρθε η ώρα να φύγουμε.

írthe i óra na fíghume

The time has come for us to leave.

Notice Έλληνας: the stress is on the first syllable (Έλ-λη-νας), so the capital Ε carries the tonos. Compare Ελλάδα: here the stress is on the second syllable (Ελ-λά-δα), so the capital Ε has no accent, and the tonos lands on the ά instead. The rule is not "capitals never take accents" — it is "the accent goes wherever the stress is, capital or not."

ALL-CAPS text drops every accent

There is one big exception, and it is the opposite of the rule above. When a whole word or line is written in capital letters — headlines, signs, titles, logos — every tonos is omitted.

Στην ταμπέλα έγραφε ΚΛΕΙΣΤΟ.

stin tabéla éghrafe klistó

The sign read CLOSED.

So the same city name appears two ways depending on the casing:

Initial capital only	Entirely uppercase
Ελλάδα	ΕΛΛΑΔΑ
Αθήνα	ΑΘΗΝΑ
Καλημέρα	ΚΑΛΗΜΕΡΑ

The left column keeps the tonos (the word is in ordinary sentence case); the right column drops it (the word is fully capitalized). This is why Greek street signs, monuments, and newspaper mastheads look accent-free — they are set in all-caps.

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Think of the tonos as belonging to lowercase-and-sentence-case writing. The moment a word goes fully uppercase, the accent comes off (ΕΛΛΑΔΑ, not ΕΛΛΆΔΑ). But a single initial capital in an otherwise lowercase word keeps its accent right where the stress is (Έλληνας, Άννα, Όχι).

How this compares to English

Category	English	Greek
Days / months	Capital (Monday, July)	Capital (Δευτέρα, Ιούλιος)
Nationality noun (a person)	Capital (a Greek)	Capital (ένας Έλληνας)
Nationality adjective	Capital (Greek food)	lowercase (ελληνικό φαγητό)
Language	Capital (Greek)	lowercase (ελληνικά)
Seasons	lowercase (summer)	lowercase (καλοκαίρι)

The pattern to remember: Greek capitalizes the calendar (days, months, holidays) and the people (nationality nouns), but not the descriptions (nationality adjectives) or the languages.

Common Mistakes

1. Capitalizing the language. This is transfer straight from English, where "Greek" and "English" are always capital.

❌ Μιλάω Ελληνικά.

Incorrect — a language name is lowercase in Greek.

✅ Μιλάω ελληνικά.

miláo eliniká

I speak Greek.

2. Capitalizing the nationality adjective. As a describing word, it stays lowercase — even though the person noun is capitalized.

❌ Έφαγα ένα Ελληνικό γλυκό.

Incorrect — 'Greek' here is an adjective, so lowercase.

✅ Έφαγα ένα ελληνικό γλυκό.

éfagha éna elinikó ghlikó

I ate a Greek dessert.

3. Lowercasing days and months. Learners coming from Spanish or French often drop these to lowercase. Standard Greek capitalizes them.

❌ Θα φύγω την τρίτη.

Incorrect — the day of the week is capitalized.

✅ Θα φύγω την Τρίτη.

tha fígho tin tríti

I'm leaving on Tuesday.

(You will see lowercase days and months in casual texting, and a few modern style guides tolerate it — but capitalized is the standard, school-taught choice and always safe.)

4. Writing a tonos in ALL-CAPS text. Once the whole word is uppercase, the accent must come off.

❌ ΕΛΛΆΔΑ

Incorrect — fully uppercase words drop the accent.

✅ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ

eládha

GREECE (all caps, no accent)

5. Dropping the tonos from an initial capital vowel. A capital at the start of a word still carries the accent if the stress is there.

❌ Ελληνας

Incorrect — the stressed initial capital needs its tonos.

✅ Έλληνας

élinas

a Greek (man)

Key Takeaways

Greek capitalizes days, months, holidays, proper names, nationality nouns, and sentence starts — the calendar and the people.
Greek keeps languages, nationality adjectives, and seasons lowercase — the descriptions.
An initial capital vowel keeps its tonos where the stress falls (Έλληνας, Όχι), but fully uppercase text drops all accents (ΕΛΛΑΔΑ, ΑΘΗΝΑ).
The reliable instinct from Spanish/French — "days and months are lowercase" — is wrong for Greek. Capitalize them.

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