Greetings
Primary Author
Nina Evason,
- A handshake is the most common greeting in Greece. It is exchanged between men, women and children.
- Close friends may greet each other with a warm embrace or a kiss on the cheek. Others might slap or pat one another’s arm or back a few times.
- Maintain direct eye contact when introduced to someone for the first time.
- If the person is older than you, address them by their title and last name unless invited to move to a first-name basis. This formality is less necessary between youths or friends.
- The common verbal greeting in Greece is “Yassas” (Hello) or the more informal “Yiasoo”.
- Address people by their appropriate title, e.g. ‘Keerios’ (Mr) for men and ‘Keeria’ (Mrs) for women. You may find people address elders they are not related to as ‘Theia’ (Aunty) and ‘Theios’ (Uncle).