Greek vs Italian: Which Is Easier, and How Similar Are They?

Key takeaways

Italian is the easier of the two for English speakers (Foreign Service Institute Category I against III).
Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.
Start with the one you will actually use; if speed is the goal, Italian asks for fewer hours.

How hard is each one?

For an English speaker Italian is the easier of the two: the Foreign Service Institute puts it at 552–690 class hours against 1,012 for Greek. These are the figures behind the how long does it take to learn a language calculator, from the US Foreign Service Institute's published language training times.

	Greek	Italian
FSI difficulty group	Category III	Category I
Class hours to working proficiency	1,012	552–690
Full-time weeks	44	24–30

The hours are for a native English speaker in full-time classes aiming at professional working proficiency. Useful everyday conversation comes sooner, and the calculator breaks the time down by level.

How much do the words overlap?

Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.

A few everyday words that sound alike in Greek and Italian:

English	Greek	Italian
figure	φιγούραfigoura	figura
kilogram	χιλιόγραμμοchiliogrammo	chilogrammo
kilometer	χιλιόμετροchiliometro	chilometro
pants	παντελόνιpanteloni	pantaloni
phone	τηλέφωνοtilefono	telefono
photographer	φωτογράφοςfotografos	fotografo
sandals	σανδάλιαsandalia	sandali
serve	σερβίρωserviro	servire

And a few everyday words that sound completely different:

English	Greek	Italian
French	Γάλλοςgallos	francese
bush	θάμνοςthamnos	cespuglio
day	ημέραimera	giorno
friend	φίλοςfilos	amico
jewelry	κοσμήματαkosmimata	gioielli
often	συχνάsychna	spesso
rooster	κόκοραςkokoras	gallo
sunny	ηλιόλουστοςilioloustos	soleggiato

Writing system and grammar

The writing systems differ: Greek uses the Greek alphabet and Italian uses the Latin alphabet.
Noun cases are a bigger part of the grammar in one than the other (see the table).

	Greek	Italian
Writing system	Greek alphabet	Latin alphabet
Grammatical genders	3 (masculine, feminine, neuter)	2 (masculine, feminine)
Noun cases	4	None
Tones	No	No

Which should you learn first?

If your main aim is the fastest route to holding a conversation, Italian asks for fewer hours. If you want to reach a particular place, a person or a job, start with the one you will actually use: steady motivation counts for more than the difference in hours.

Frequently asked questions

Is Greek easier than Italian?

For an English speaker Italian is the easier of the two: the Foreign Service Institute puts it at 552–690 class hours against 1,012 for Greek. Hours are for a native English speaker reaching professional working proficiency in full-time classes; casual learning gets you to useful conversation well before that.

How similar are Greek and Italian?

Their everyday vocabulary is mostly different: roughly 1 in 10 everyday words sound alike, so knowing one gives you little to lean on in the other.

Should I learn Greek or Italian first?

Do Greek and Italian use the same alphabet?

No. Greek is written with the Greek alphabet and Italian with the Latin alphabet.

Keep going

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