Greek Terms of Endearment: How to Express Your Love in Greek
Full disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. ?
Want to show your love in Greek? Combine Σ’ αγαπώ (s’agapo) (“I love you”) with a Greek endearment word like agapi mou (“my love”) or kardia mou (“my heart”), and you’re good to go! Whether you’re talking to your Greek partner, family, or friends, these terms will make you sound cute and more fluent at the same time.
As a Cypriot with many Greek-speaking friends, I hear most endearment terms on this list frequently!
A note from the Fluent in 3 Months team before we get started: You can chat away with a native speaker for at least 15 minutes with the “Fluent in 3 Months” method. All it takes is 90 days. Tap this link to find out more.
Table of contents
Common Greek Terms of Endearment
Before we dive into specific terms you’d use for a partner, family member, or a friend, let’s look at the most common endearment terms and their pronunciations.
Quick note before we start: the word μου (mou) means “my” and is often added to terms of endearment to make them more personal. To form the ultimate heart-warming sentence, combine these endearment terms with a Σ’ αγαπώ (s’agapo) — it means I love you in Greek.
So Σ’ αγαπώ, αγάπη μου (s’agapo, agapi mou) means “I love you, my love.”
More on αγάπη μου and other words in the Greek terms of endearment list below:
| English | Greek | Audio |
|---|---|---|
| “My love” | Αγάπη μου (Agapi mou) | |
| “My heart” | Καρδιά μου (Kardia mou) | |
| “My soul” | Ψυχή μου (Psychi mou) | |
| “My life” | Ζωή μου (Zoi mou) | |
| “My baby” (used for adults too) | Μωρό μου (Moro mou) | |
| “My sweet one” (masculine) | Γλυκέ μου (Glyke mou) | |
| “My sweet one” (feminine) | Γλυκιά μου (Glykia mou) | |
| “My handsome” | Όμορφέ μου (Omorfe mou) | |
| “My beautiful” | Όμορφή μου (Omorfi mou) | |
| “My golden one” (masculine) | Χρυσέ μου (Chryse mou) | |
| “My golden one” (feminine) | Χρυσή μου (Chrysi mou) | |
| “My precious one” (masculine) | Ακριβέ μου (Akrive mou) | |
| “My precious one” (feminine) | Ακριβή μου (Akrivi mou) | |
| “My angel” | Άγγελέ μου (Angele mou) | |
| “My beloved one” (literal translation: my worship) |
Λατρεία μου (Latreia mou) | |
| “My treasure” | Θησαυρέ μου (Thisavre mou) | |
| “My eyes” | Μάτια μου (Matia mou) | |
| “My doll” | Κούκλα μου (Koukla mou) | |
| “My light” | Φως μου (Fos mou) | |
| “My star” | Αστέρι μου (Asteri mou) | |
| “My flower” | Λουλούδι μου (Louloudi mou) | |
| “My sun” | Ήλιε μου (Ilie mou) |
Greek Endearment Terms for Romantic Partners
You can call your romantic partner Αγάπη μου (agapi mou), which means “my love.” This is one of the most common ways to call your partner in Greek, but if you’re looking for more specific words, here are some more alternatives:
For your boyfriend:
- Αγόρι μου (Agori mou): “My boy”
- Λεβέντη μου (Levendi mou): “My handsome”
- Άντρα μου (Andra mou): “My man”
For your girlfriend:
- Κορίτσι μου (Koritsi mou): “My girl”
- Όμορφή μου (Omorfi mou): “My beautiful one”
- Γυναίκα μου (Gynaika mou): “My woman”
Greek Terms of Endearment for Family Members
Family is central to Greek culture. You’ll often hear people calling their family members with cute nicknames. For example, “mother” in Greek is μητέρα (mitera), but its cute version would be μανούλα (manoula). It’s kind of like “mommy” in English.
Add μου (mou) to the end and you have a cute nickname for each family member! Here are some examples:
- For mothers: Μανούλα μου (manoula mou) — “My mommy”
- For fathers: Μπαμπάκας μου (babakas mou) — “My daddy”
- For grandmothers: Γιαγιάκα μου (yiayiaka mou) — “My granny”
- For grandfathers: Παππούλης μου (pappoulis mou) (“My granddad”)
- For children: Παιδί μου (Paidi mou) — “My child”
- For sisters: Αδελφούλα μου (adelfoula mou) — “My little sister”
- For brothers: Αδελφούλης μου (adelfoulis mou) — “My little brother”
- For grandsons: Εγγονούλης μου (engonoulis mou) (“My little grandson”)
- For granddaughters: Εγγονούλα μου (engonoula mou) (“My little granddaughter”)
Greek Terms of Endearment for Friends
Greeks often use terms of endearment with friends. You might hear friends call each other γλυκέ / γλυκιά μου (glike / glykia mou), which means “my sweetheart,” or κούκλα μου (koukla mou), which means “my doll”.
If you’re looking to say “my friend” in Greek, here are some words:
- Φίλε (File): “Friend” (for men)
- Φίλη (Fili): “Friend” (for women)
- Κολλητέ/Κολλητή (Kollite/Kolliti): “Bestie”
How to Create Endearing Nicknames Based on a Greek Name
Greeks love using nicknames, especially shortened versions of names with diminutive endings. Adding a suffix such as –άκι, –ίτσα, –ούλης, –ούλα or –άκης (aki, itsa, oulis, oula, akis) creates a diminutive form. The suffix depends on the name and the relationship: –ίτσα is often feminine, while –άκης and –ούλης are often masculine, and –άκι can appear with names of either gender, as in Γιωργάκι below.
- Γιώργος (Yiorgos) becomes Γιωργάκι (Yiorgaki)
- Μαρία (Maria) becomes Μαριάκι (Mariaki)
- Κώστας (Kostas) becomes Κωστάκι (Kostaki)
- Γιάννης (Yiannis) becomes Γιαννάκης (Yiannakis), meaning “little Yiannis”
- Ελένη (Eleni) becomes Ελενίτσα (Elenitsa), meaning “little Eleni”
Besides forenames, you can also use these suffixes for other endearment words:
- Αγάπη (Agapi) “love” becomes Αγαπούλα μου (Agapoula mou) “my little love”
- Καρδιά (Kardia) “heart” becomes Καρδούλα μου (Kardoula mou) “my little heart”
- Μωρό (Moro) “baby” becomes Μωράκι μου (Moraki mou) “my little baby”
Note: the simplest way to make any name or term of endearment more affectionate is to add μου (mou) at the end. You can do this with both first names and diminutives. For example:
- Κώστα μου (Kosta mou): “My Kosta”
- Μαρία μου (Maria mou): “My Maria”
- Γιαννάκι μου (Yiannaki mou): “My little Yiannis”
- Ελενίτσα μου (Elenitsa mou): “My little Eleni”
Tips for Using Greek Terms of Endearment Correctly
A quick grammar tip: most terms of endearment here end with μου (mou), which means “my.” In these affectionate phrases, it normally comes after the noun, as in αγάπη μου (agapi mou), rather than μου αγάπη.
And some pronunciation tips for the tricky sounds:
- ου is pronounced like “oo” in “moon”
- γ before ε or ι is pronounced like “y” in “yes”
- μπ is pronounced like “b” in “boy”
Want to learn Greek fast? Then check out our favourite Greek course, GreekPod101. It has native-speaker audio to build on these Greek terms of endearment.
If you already remember these, great! If not, consider revising the Greek alphabet.
FAQs
What are Greek endearing nicknames?
Some common Greek endearing nicknames include: καρδιά μου (kardia mou – “my heart”), ψυχή μου (psychi mou – “my soul”,) ζωή μου (zoi mou – “my life”), and μωρό μου (moro mou – “my baby”).
What do I call my boyfriend in Greek?
You can call your boyfriend in Greek using terms like αγάπη μου (agapi mou – “my love”), αγόρι μου (agori mou – “my boy”), and μωρό μου (moro mou – “my baby”).
What are the 8 Greek love names?
Online lists of “eight Greek love names” often mix Greek words from different periods with modern popular psychology. Four terms commonly discussed in English are eros (romantic love), philia (friendly love), storge (familial love) and agape (unconditional love), but they weren’t one eight-part system in ancient Greek philosophy.
What is the Greek word for darling?
The Greek word for “darling” is typically αγάπη μου (agapi mou), which literally means “my love.”
Time to Surprise Your Loved Ones!
From the most common αγάπη μου (agapi mou) to the playful diminutives like Γιωργάκι (Yiorgaki), you’re now familiar with quite a few Greek endearment words. So now is the time to surprise your Greek loved ones!
To impress them even more, check out our other favorite Greek resources. You’ll find everything from free YouTube channels to language apps.
Social