Ποντιακά

Pontic Greek

Hellenic

FamilyHellenic Speakers~600K ScriptGreek CountriesGreece, Russia, Turkey, Georgia (diaspora) Official inNo (recognized minority) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3pnt

Pontic Greek descends from the medieval Greek of the Pontus region on the southern Black Sea coast of Anatolia. The 1923 Greek-Turkish population exchange relocated most speakers to Greece (especially Macedonia and Thessaly), with smaller diasporas in Russia, Georgia, and Kazakhstan after the Russian Empire's earlier resettlement. Pontic preserves several archaic features lost in Modern Standard Greek, including infinitive forms and Ionic vocabulary, attesting to its Byzantine heritage.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Pontic Greek

Water

νερόν

/neˈron/

Fire

φωτία

/foˈtia/

Sun

ήλιον

/ˈilion/

Moon

φέγγον

/ˈfeŋɡon/

Star

άστρον

/ˈastron/

Mother

μάνα

/ˈmana/

Father

κύρης

/ˈciɾis/

I

εγώ

/eˈɣo/

You

εσύ

/eˈsi/

Name

όνεμαν

/ˈoneman/

Eye

ομμάτιν

/omˈmatin/

Hand

χέρ

/xer/

Heart

καρδί

/karˈði/

Love

αγάπην

/aˈɣapin/

Tree

δέντρον

/ˈðendron/

House

σπίτ

/spit/

Dog

σκύλος

/ˈskilos/

Cat

γάτα

/ˈɣata/

Eat

τρώγω

/ˈtɾoɣo/

Drink

πίνειν

/ˈpinin/

One

εν

/en/

Two

δύο

/ˈði.o/

Hello

καλημέρα

/kaliˈmera/

Thank you

ευχαριστώ

/efxariˈsto/

Good

καλό

/kaˈlo/

Cuckoo

κούκος

/ˈkukos/

Computer

υπολογιστής

/ipoloʝiˈstis/

Sushi

σούσι

/ˈsusi/

Words compared

Compared with related Hellenic languages

Meaning Pontic GreekGreekGreek (Katharevousa)IdoBetawiPapuan MalaySpanish
Water νερόν /neˈron/ νερό /neˈɾo/ ὕδωρ /ˈiðor/ aquo /ˈakwo/ aèr /aɛr/ air /aer/ agua /ˈaɣwa/
Fire φωτία /foˈtia/ φωτιά /foˈtʲa/ πῦρ /pir/ fairo /ˈfajro/ api /ˈapi/ api /ˈapi/ fuego /ˈfweɣo/
Sun ήλιον /ˈilion/ ήλιος /ˈiʎos/ ἥλιος /ˈilios/ suno /ˈsuno/ mataari /mataˈari/ matahari /mataˈhari/ sol /sol/
Moon φέγγον /ˈfeŋɡon/ φεγγάρι /feˈŋɡaɾi/ σελήνη /seˈlini/ luno /ˈluno/ bulan /ˈbulan/ bulan /ˈbulan/ luna /ˈluna/
Star άστρον /ˈastron/ αστέρι /aˈsteri/ ἀστήρ /asˈtir/ stelo /ˈstelo/ bintang /ˈbintaŋ/ bintang /bintaŋ/ estrella /esˈtɾeʎa/
Mother μάνα /ˈmana/ μητέρα /miˈteɾa/ μήτηρ /ˈmitir/ matro /ˈmatro/ enya' /əˈɲaʔ/ mama /ˈmama/ madre /ˈmaðɾe/
Father κύρης /ˈciɾis/ πατέρας /paˈteɾas/ πατήρ /paˈtir/ patro /ˈpatro/ babè /baˈbɛ/ bapa /ˈbapa/ padre /ˈpaðɾe/
I εγώ /eˈɣo/ εγώ /eˈɣo/ ἐγώ /eˈɣo/ me /me/ guè /ɡuˈwɛ/ sa /sa/ yo /ʝo/
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