Greek Translation

Seen from İzmir, Greek is the nearest foreign language. Proximity does not make the procedures easier: the Greek alphabet is a system of its own, and Greece's official translation arrangements changed in recent years.

4 min readLast updated 1 September 2026

Writing system

Επίσημη μετάφραση εγγράφου

Epísimi metáfrasi engráfou

Official translation of a document

The Greek alphabet has 24 letters and is the ancestor of both the Latin and the Cyrillic script. Some letters resemble Latin ones but are read differently: Ρ is r, Η is a long i, Χ is a guttural h. That resemblance is the main reason a reader unfamiliar with the alphabet misreads it.

Greece changed how official translations are made

For many years a Translation Service attached to the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs produced official translations. That office closed in 2021 and was replaced by a register of certified translators. A translation by a translator on that register counts as official before Greek institutions.

Seen from Türkiye this means older guidance online may still point you to the Ministry's Translation Service. If your document is going to Greece, ask the receiving institution whether it accepts an apostilled translation issued in Türkiye; some insist on a translation by a translator on the Greek register.

Transliterating names from Greek into Latin script

There is more than one tradition for carrying Greek names into the Latin alphabet, and the same name can appear in three forms. Greek passports follow the ELOT 743 standard, which departs noticeably from the classical English spelling.

Different spellings of the same name
Greek	Passport (ELOT 743)	Classical tradition	Turkish reading
Γεώργιος	GEORGIOS	Georgios	Yorgos
Χρήστος	CHRISTOS	Christos	Hristos
Ιωάννης	IOANNIS	Ioannis	Yanis
Ευαγγελία	EVANGELIA	Evangelia	Evangelia
Θεοδώρα	THEODORA	Theodora	Teodora

Different spellings of the same name

The forms in the Turkish column are correct in speech but are not used on official documents. Institutions match on the passport spelling; a Turkish reading can be added only as a translator's note.

Pre-1982 documents: polytonic spelling

Greek underwent a spelling reform in 1982. Until then the polytonic system placed several accents and breathing marks on words. After the reform the monotonic system left a single accent mark.

Older diplomas, birth certificates and land registry entries may be written polytonically. Not everyone who reads modern Greek can read them, and the official language of that period, katharevousa, differs markedly from today's spoken dimotiki. If your document predates 1982, tell us at the outset.

letters in the Greek alphabet: 24letters in the Greek alphabet
spelling reform: polytonic to monotonic: 1982spelling reform: polytonic to monotonic
Greece and Cyprus, two separate practices: 2 countriesGreece and Cyprus, two separate practices

Greek documents and how we render them

Frequently seen Greek documents
Document	What it is	Our approach
Πιστοποιητικό γεννήσεως	Birth certificate	Its scope differs from a Turkish civil registry extract; a note is added
Ληξιαρχική πράξη	Civil status act (birth, marriage, death)	Which event it records is stated in the heading
Απολυτήριο Λυκείου	Upper secondary leaving certificate	University entry requires separate examinations; a note is added
Ποινικό μητρώο	Criminal record	The distinction between general and specific record is stated
ΑΦΜ	Tax identification number	The abbreviation is expanded; not treated as equivalent to a Turkish tax number
Εκκαθαριστικό	Tax settlement statement	Used as proof of income; its content is explained

Frequently seen Greek documents

What makes Greek demanding to translate

01
Gender and declension of nouns
Greek nouns are masculine, feminine or neuter and decline through four cases. A surname can be written differently in its male and female forms, and when comparing family members' documents that difference is easily taken for two surnames.
02
Traces of katharevousa
Legal and administrative texts still use formulas inherited from the older official language. Everyday Greek does not unlock them; the translator has to be familiar with administrative register.
03
Abbreviations
Greek administration uses abbreviations heavily (ΑΦΜ, ΑΜΚΑ, ΔΟΥ). These are expanded in translation with the original kept in brackets; an unexpanded abbreviation means nothing to a Turkish institution.
04
Date and number format
Greece uses day/month/year order and a comma as the decimal separator, as Türkiye does. Documents may however use Greek numerals (αʹ, βʹ) for clause numbering, and those are converted to figures.

Frequently asked questions

Is an apostille enough for a document going to Greece?

Greece is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so the apostille chain is valid. Some Greek institutions do however want the translation to come from the Greek register of certified translators. Ask the receiving institution before you begin.

My name is Yorgos in Greek but GEORGIOS in my passport. Which will you use?

The passport spelling, on official documents. Yorgos is correct in everyday use, but institutions match on the passport. We can add the Turkish reading as a translator's note if you want it.

Is the process the same for a document from Cyprus?

The language is the same, the country is not. The Republic of Cyprus has its own certification and translation practice, and a document issued there is apostilled there. Tell us which country your document comes from.

I have a very old handwritten Greek document. Can it be translated?

Usually yes, but we examine it first. Pre-1982 documents can combine polytonic spelling with katharevousa, and once handwriting is added, legibility varies from document to document. Send one page and we will tell you whether it can be done and how long it will take.