How are Greek syllables counted?

In modern Greek each syllable has exactly one vowel sound. The tool counts vowel letters (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω plus their accented forms) and then subtracts the cases where two vowel letters spell a single sound, such as the diphthongs αι, ει, οι, ου, αυ, ευ.

Which vowel combinations merge?

The digraphs αι, ει, οι, υι, ου and the diphthongs αυ, ευ, ηυ each normally represent one syllable, so two vowel letters count as one. A diaeresis (¨) or an accent on the second vowel breaks the merge back into two syllables.

Does it handle accented vowels?

Yes. Accented vowels (ά, έ, ή, ί, ό, ύ, ώ and ΐ, ΰ) are treated as vowels. An accent or diaeresis on the second letter of a potential digraph signals a hiatus, so the two vowels are counted separately.

Is this exact for every word?

It follows the standard orthographic rules, which are correct for the large majority of modern Greek words. A few learned or foreign words can break the digraph rules, so treat the count as a very good estimate.

Does punctuation affect the count?

No. Punctuation, numbers, and spaces are ignored. Only Greek vowel letters contribute to the syllable count, so the result reflects the spoken syllables of each word.

Greek Syllable Counter

Email me this result

Get this tool's output sent to your inbox, plus one useful tool a week. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

In modern Greek, every syllable is built around exactly one vowel sound. That makes syllable counting largely a matter of counting vowel letters and then correcting for the vowel pairs that spell a single sound. This tool does that for each word and gives you a total.

How it works

The algorithm scans each word for Greek vowel letters: α ε η ι ο υ ω and their accented variants (ά έ ή ί ό ύ ώ ϊ ϋ ΐ ΰ). Each vowel letter is a candidate syllable nucleus.

It then merges the standard two-letter combinations that represent one sound:

αι  ει  οι  υι  ου        (vowel digraphs)
αυ  ευ  ηυ                (diphthongs with υ)

When two adjacent vowel letters form one of these pairs and the second vowel has no accent or diaeresis, they count as a single syllable. A diaeresis (as in προϊστάμενος) or an accent on the second vowel marks a hiatus, keeping the two vowels as separate syllables.

The per-word syllable count is therefore: number of vowel letters minus the number of merged pairs, with a floor of one syllable for any word that contains at least one vowel.

Tips and example

καλημέρα has vowels α-η-έ-α → 4 syllables (ka-li-mé-ra).
παιδί has αι (one sound) + ί → 2 syllables; the αι digraph merges.
Μάιος has ά then ι, but the accent on ά plus the following ος keeps them apart → 3 syllables (Má-i-os), showing how accent placement blocks a merge.
Use the per-word list when checking metre in Greek poetry, where exact syllable counts matter line by line.