Guidance for Greek

[PMtranslator]

Last update: January 8, 2026

If you have any comments, suggestions, questions or need for an arbitration, create a topic in your language section, the Language Lead will get back to you.

Here you will find the guidance for Greek, but you should also consider the guidance for all languages.

Capitalization

The use of capital letters in Greek follows specific rules and is far less common than in English, therefore source capitalization should not be blindly followed. Please use sentence case (i.e. capitalize only the first letter) in the following cases:

• Proper nouns, i.e. people and place names, company names, months and days of the week
• After a colon, when followed by a complete sentence (do not use capitalization if what comes after the colon is a nominal phrase)
• Lists, when the listed items are full sentences
• UI options, i.e. buttons, tabs, menus etc.

As an exception, use CamelCase (i.e. capitalize the first letter of each word) when translating acronyms.

Capitalize

• Proper nouns (e.g. people names, places, features, product names, months and days, nationalities)
  Proton Mail/Proton VPN/NetShield
  Αθήνα/Ελλάδα
  Δευτέρα/Ιανουάριος
  Έλληνας/Γάλλος

Note: The rule about days does not apply to the word “σαββατοκύριακο”, which should always be written in low case

• UΙ options
Κλείσιμο
Εισαγωγή/Εξαγωγή
Αποθήκευση αλλαγών
• First word of any full sentence, including those appearing in a list or after a colon
Σημείωση: Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, ανατρέξτε στη Βοήθεια.
Ακολουθήστε τα παρακάτω βήματα:

• Ανοίξτε το μενού Αρχείο.
• Επιλέξτε Αποθήκευση ως.

• Acronyms
Οργανισμός Ηνωμένων Εθνών

Do not capitalize

• Noun phrases in lists or following a colon
Θα χρειαστείτε τα εξής: υπολογιστή, πληκτρολόγιο, ποντίκι
Ο οδηγός περιγράφει τις ακόλουθες διαδικασίες:

• εγκατάσταση
• ρύθμιση
• λειτουργία

• Languages
ελληνικά/αγγλικά

• Seasons
άνοιξη/φθινόπωρο

Gender

• We want to be as inclusive as possible, so we try to be neutral, but we use gender-specific nouns and verbs if remaining neutral goes against the writing best practices.

Basic principles:
o When possible, avoid the use of masculine singular form to refer to someone whose gender is unknown.
o Don’t suggest the reader’s gender using a specific grammatical form. If you cannot use forms that are gender-free, rephrase the sentence.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Are you sure you want to delete this calendar?	Είστε βέβαιοι ότι θέλετε να διαγράψετε αυτό το ημερολόγιο;	Θέλετε σίγουρα να διαγράψετε αυτό το ημερολόγιο;
If you’re not satisfied, we’ll refund your payment in full within 30 days.	Αν δεν μείνετε ικανοποιημένοι, θα σας επιστρέψουμε το σύνολο της πληρωμής σας εντός 30 ημερών.	Αν δεν ικανοποιηθείτε, θα σας επιστρέψουμε το σύνολο της πληρωμής σας εντός 30 ημερών.
I am not used to this tool.	Δεν είμαι εξοικειωμένος με αυτό το εργαλείο.	Δεν έχω εξοικειωθεί με αυτό το εργαλείο.

• You can use passive language to avoid gender-specific verbs, but only if it doesn’t hurt readability and/or make the sentence sound unnatural.
• Apply the masculine form when an adjective, verb, or another part of speech refers to multiple nouns with different genders.
• Rephrase when you are unable to find a gender-neutral way.

Abbreviations

Whenever possible, avoid using abbreviations.

Abbreviate the text only when there are length restrictions or a lack of space (mainly buttons, option names or strings with specific character limitations). Instead of abbreviating (e.g., 4 or 5 consecutive words), summarize a term or a phrase in 2 or 3 words that can be written in full.

General criteria for shortening words:

• Always place a period at the end of the abbreviated word.
• Abbreviated words must end with a consonant, never a vowel.
• When a word contains a double consonant, truncate it at the second one and place a period after it.
• When the abbreviated word is the last one of the sentence, do not add a second period.

• Examples:
o Πληροφορίες Πληροφ.
o Συλλογή Συλλ.

Days abbreviations (in calendars, agendas, timetables… the names of days are written without a period for visual purposes):

English	Translation	Abbreviation
Monday	Δευτέρα	Δευ
Tuesday	Τρίτη	Τρί
Wednesday	Τετάρτη	Τετ
Thursday	Πέμπτη	Πεμ
Friday	Παρασκευή	Παρ
Saturday	Σάββατο	Σαβ
Sunday	Κυριακή	Κυρ

Months abbreviations (in calendars, agendas, timetables… the names of months are written without a period for visual purposes):

English	Translation	Abbreviation
January	Ιανουάριος	Ιαν
February	Φεβρουάριος	Φεβ
March	Μάρτιος	Μάρ
April	Απρίλιος	Απρ
May	Μάιος	Μάι
June	Ιούνιος	Ιουν
July	Ιούλιος	Ιουλ
August	Αύγουστος	Αύγ
September	Σεπτέμβριος	Σεπ
October	Οκτώβριος	Οκτ
November	Νοέμβριος	Νοέ
December	Δεκέμβριος	Δεκ

Acronyms

• Common examples are VPN (Virtual Personal Network), DNS (Domain Name Server), HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), etc.
• The most common acronyms and their translations are included in the glossary. Always refer to the glossary when localizing acronyms.
• Commonly used acronyms do not need explanations (DVD, LED, TV, etc.).
• When an acronym is repeated several times in the same section, include its extended form in parentheses only for its first occurrence.

Pronouns

• English, especially technical English, is more redundant than some other languages.
• When translating, you often need to reduce the redundancy of the source text using pronouns. This may otherwise affect the text readability. However, this must not affect accuracy.
• When translating technical and complex strings, ensure users can associate pronouns to the noun they refer to.
• Avoid the use of possessive pronouns when possible.
• Omit pronoun subjects such as “we” and “you".

English	We avoid	We prefer
Contacts successfully imported. The imported contacts will now appear in your contact list.	Η εισαγωγή των επαφών ολοκληρώθηκε επιτυχώς. Μπορείτε να δείτε πλέον τις εισαχθείσες επαφές στη λίστα επαφών σας.	Η εισαγωγή των επαφών ολοκληρώθηκε επιτυχώς. Μπορείτε να τις δείτε πλέον στη λίστα επαφών σας.
Events successfully imported. The imported events will now appear in your calendar.	Η εισαγωγή των εκδηλώσεων ολοκληρώθηκε επιτυχώς. Μπορείτε να δείτε πλέον τις εισαχθείσες εκδηλώσεις στο ημερολόγιό σας.	Η εισαγωγή των εκδηλώσεων ολοκληρώθηκε επιτυχώς. Θα εμφανίζονται πλέον στο ημερολόγιό σας.

Gerunds (“ing” ending)

• Gerunds are used in English, such as in “Creating a report”.
• Depending on the context, they can be translated using a noun, in the case of an action or a title, using an expression to indicate that the process is in progress or adding an ellipsis, when referring to an on-going process.

English	Context	We prefer
Generating keys	Action or title	Δημιουργία κλειδιών
Generating keys	Processing	Η δημιουργία των κλειδιών είναι σε εξέλιξη
Importing	Action or title	Εισαγωγή
Importing	Processing	Εισαγωγή…
Importing data from %1s to %2s	Action or title	Εισαγωγή δεδομένων από %1s σε %2s
Importing data from %1s to %2s	Processing	Γίνεται εισαγωγή δεδομένων από %1s σε %2s

Punctuation

Period

• Quite often EN will not have a period at the end of the sentence. EL punctuation rules dictate that when a string is a complete sentence (subject + verb), it should end with a period. However, always make sure that the text you are translating is not a part of a longer sentence (this is usually specified in the context).
• Include a period at the end of each extended sentence in a bullet list if this sentence has a full meaning by itself.
• Unless the item includes more than one sentence, do not place any periods at the end of titles, links, nominative phrases, buttons and checkboxes.

English	We avoid	We prefer
This footer is added after your signature	Αυτό το υποσέλιδο θα προστεθεί μετά την υπογραφή σας	Αυτό το υποσέλιδο θα προστεθεί μετά την υπογραφή σας.
Impossible to load content. Please enable Chrome	Δεν ήταν δυνατή η φόρτωση του περιεχομένου. Ενεργοποιήστε το Chrome	Δεν ήταν δυνατή η φόρτωση του περιεχομένου. Ενεργοποιήστε το Chrome.
This message will expire in %s	Αυτό το μήνυμα θα λήξει σε %s	Αυτό το μήνυμα θα λήξει σε %s.
Signature verification error.	Σφάλμα επαλήθευσης υπογραφής.	Σφάλμα επαλήθευσης υπογραφής
Unknown error.	Άγνωστο σφάλμα.	Άγνωστο σφάλμα

Exclamation mark

• Exclamation marks are used to give emphasis.
• As a rule of thumb, you can follow the source punctuation regarding exclamation marks. However, feel free to change an exclamation mark into a period if it is more natural, but please don’t change a period into an exclamation mark.
• Avoid using multiple exclamation marks (!!!). Grammar rules dictate using a single exclamation mark. Multiple exclamation marks are only used in unofficial content, e.g. personal messages, posts, etc.

Parentheses

• Parentheses are used to clarify statements or provide additional information.
• If the text within the parentheses is part of the sentence, the period should be placed after the closing parenthesis. However, if the parentheses contain a full sentence, the period should be placed before the closing parenthesis.
• When two parentheses are required, use square brackets as the outer punctuation and parentheses for the inner part of the text.
• Feel free to omit or add parentheses, when considered appropriate to improve readability.

English	Translation
Please choose a display name to finish setting up your account. (Other people will see this.)	Επιλέξτε ένα όνομα για να ολοκληρώσετε τη ρύθμιση του λογαριασμού σας. (Οι υπόλοιποι χρήστες θα μπορούν να δουν αυτό το όνομα.)
We also support importing vCard. (UTF-8 encoding)	Υποστηρίζουμε, επίσης, την εισαγωγή vCard (με κωδικοποίηση UTF-8).

Comma

The use of comma in Greek is quite complex and heavily regulated. Please refer to the EU rules on the use of comma in Greek.

Important note: In English, it is quite common to have a comma separating the subject from the verb, as well as a comma before “and” and “or”. This is generally against Greek grammar rules and extra care should be taken not to follow the source punctuation in these cases.

Colon and semicolon

• Follow the above-mentioned capitalization rules for the text that follows a colon.
• The semicolon serves as a question mark in Greek. It should be replaced with another punctuation mark, usually a period or a comma, depending on the case.
• Do not use “άνω τελεία” to replace a semicolon.

Em dash (—), en dash (–), hyphen (-)

• Do not use the Em dash. Replace it with the appropriate punctuation each time, depending on the context (parentheses, commas, period, etc.).
• The En dash is used to emphasize an isolated element or introduce an element that is not essential to the meaning conveyed by the sentence. In Greek, the first dash should touch the first word and the second dash should touch the last word of the element introduced. However, this pair of dashes is also usually replaced by commas or parentheses.
• The En dash is also used in number or date ranges, e.g. 35–45 mm, 1980–2000.
• The hyphen is used to connect compound nouns (e.g. λέξη-κλειδί) or as the minus sign. When used in a different way in the source, it is usually replaced by a colon.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Secure access to your favorite content from other countries — Now available on Android TV.	Ασφαλής πρόσβαση στο αγαπημένο σας περιεχόμενο από άλλες χώρες — Διαθέσιμο και σε Android TV.	Ασφαλής πρόσβαση στο αγαπημένο σας περιεχόμενο από άλλες χώρες (διαθέσιμο και σε Android TV).
More than 12 hours passed since last update — ${ CALENDAR_APP_NAME } will try to update the calendar in a few hours.	Έχουν περάσει πάνω από 12 ώρες από την τελευταία ενημέρωση — Το ${ CALENDAR_APP_NAME } θα προσπαθήσει να ενημερώσει το ημερολόγιο σε λίγες ώρες.	Έχουν περάσει πάνω από 12 ώρες από την τελευταία ενημέρωση. Το ${ CALENDAR_APP_NAME } θα προσπαθήσει να ενημερώσει το ημερολόγιο σε λίγες ώρες.
September 10 - 20	10 - 20 Σεπτεμβρίου	10–20 Σεπτεμβρίου
Error - The file was not saved	Σφάλμα - Το αρχείο δεν αποθηκεύτηκε	Σφάλμα: Το αρχείο δεν αποθηκεύτηκε.

Quotation marks

• Quotation marks should be used in citations or to enclose UI options, when there is no other formatting (e.g. bold, italics).
• Always use double straight quotation marks, with no space after the opening and before the closing quotation mark.
• If the quotation marks enclose a complete sentence, punctuation should be placed before the closing quotation mark (similarly to the rule for parentheses).

English	We avoid	We prefer
The From address is invalid.	Η διεύθυνση στο πεδίο Από δεν είναι έγκυρη.	Η διεύθυνση στο πεδίο Από δεν είναι έγκυρη.
File ${ name } was deleted during download	Το αρχείο ${ name } διαγράφηκε κατά τη λήψη	Το αρχείο ${ name } διαγράφηκε κατά τη λήψη

Ampersand (&)

Replace “&” with “και” unless it is part of a company/product name or a registered trademark.

Grammar

Final -ν

• Masculine articles and personal pronouns always retain the final -ν (έναν, κανέναν, αυτόν, τον, στον, κάποιον, άλλον etc.).
• Feminine articles (την, στην) and personal pronouns (αυτήν, την) retain the final -ν only when the following word begins with: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ.
• Particle “μην” retains the final -ν only when the following word begins with: κ, π, τ, ξ, ψ, μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ.
• Particles “δεν” and “σαν” always retain the final -ν.
Note: The rule about the final -ν applies only to the personal feminine pronoun and not to the demonstrative feminine pronoun. In the vast majority of cases, the pronouns are demonstrative, so please use “αυτή τη(ν)”.

“Μία” vs “μια”

Be careful to distinguish between the indefinite article and the indefinite pronoun.

• one contact μία επαφή
• a contact μια επαφή

Personal pronouns

Per Greek grammar rules, when personal pronouns can be misunderstood for possessive pronouns, we use accents to differentiate them.

• Η εταιρεία σας θα έχει όλη την υποστήριξη που χρειάζεται.
• Η εταιρεία σάς προσφέρει μια μοναδική προσφορά.

Spacing and non-breaking spaces

• Use non-breaking spaces to prevent improper division of elements such as product names, part numbers, numbers, dates, etc.
• When using currency symbols or units of measurement, include a non-breaking space between number and sign.
• Do not add a space between a number and the percentage symbol.
• To insert a non-breaking space using your keyboard:
o On Windows, hold down the “Alt” key while typing the number “255”.
o On Apple, Ctrl + Option⌥ + Space bar.

Numbers

• Replace the period that stands for the decimal point in American English with a comma in your translations.
3.75 3,75
• For numbers smaller than 1, always put a zero before the decimal comma.
.5 0,5
• The period in app/software version numbers remains unchanged.
Proton Mail v.3
• Replace the comma that stands as a thousand separator with a period. Always add a thousand separator, even if one is not present in the source.
15,000 15.000
1200 1.200
• Time and date:
o Hours and minutes are separated by a colon. Use the 24 hour format to specify A.M. and P.M.
9:25 P.M 21:25
o The date format is dd/mm/yy.
01-31-22 31/01/22
11 Ordinal numbers
• Ordinal numbers may be written in with numerals and letter suffixes, where the suffix acts as an ordinal indicator. Example: 1ος, 3η, 10ο, etc.
• Plural: in case of plural, we prefer to use the complete word. Example: πρώτοι, δεύτεροι, κ.λπ.

Currencies

• Do not convert USD ($) or EUR (€) amounts to any local currency.
• Place the USD or EUR code or the symbol €, $ after the number and separate it with a non-breaking space from the number.
Amount of €30 Ποσό 30 € ή Ποσό 30 EUR

Units of measurement

• Use the metric system.
• Insert a non-breaking space between a number and the relevant unit.
• Convert imperial units into metric units.
6 feet 1,83 m
• Do not convert inches to centimeters, when the measurement refers to a display/TV/monitor size.
• If the source includes both metric and imperial units, delete the imperial units.

Category	Measurement unit	Translation	Abbreviation
LINEAR	Kilometer Meter Centimeter Millimeter	Χιλιόμετρο Μέτρο Εκατοστό Χιλιοστό	km m cm mm
MASS	Ton Kilogram Pound	Τόνος Κιλό Λίβρα	t kg lb
IMPERIAL	Inch Feet Mile Gallon	Ίντσα Πόδι Μίλι Γαλόνι	po pi mi gal
COMPUTING	Byte (B) Megabyte (MB) Gigabyte (GB) Terabyte (TB)	Byte (B) Megabyte (MB) Gigabyte (GB) Terabyte (TB)	B MB GB TB

Form of address

Use the second-person plural form of address (formal).
Open the file Ανοίξτε το αρχείο.

English/US terms and formulations

Please

Please is often used in English to introduce an instruction. Ιnstead of a literal translation, omit “please” to keep the sentences short and the style lighter.
Please try again later Προσπαθήστε ξανά αργότερα.

And more

And more (as well as “and much more”) is a very US formulation to end sentences. Depending on the context:
• It can be replaced with “κ.λπ.”
Access your streaming services, like Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, and many others, no matter where you are.Αποκτήστε πρόσβαση στις υπηρεσίες streaming, όπως το Netflix, το Disney+, το Prime Video κ.λπ., όπου κι αν βρίσκεστε.
Note: There should be no comma before κ.λπ., κ.ο.κ, κ.ά.

OR

• It can be translated literally.
When it comes to securing your business, we’re here to help with our encrypted email, calendar, VPN, and much more.Μπορούμε να σας βοηθήσουμε με την ασφάλεια της επιχείρησής σας, προσφέροντάς σας κρυπτογράφηση email και ημερολογίου, VPN και πολλά άλλα.

Foreign words

• The decision about the use of a foreign word (keeping it in English) is based on how widespread the use of the word is. An English term might be recommended when its use has become very common.
• To find out how common a word is, you can use internet search engines. Search for the English word and for the corresponding translation in your language on your preferred search engine. The number of occurrences in each case will be an indication of how popular the use of each word is. If in doubt for an important term, ask Proton Localization team to make an SEO (Search Engine Optimization) check.
• Foreign words might be accompanied by quotation marks or italics when their use is not widely spread. However, English words that are widely accepted for use are kept as they are in the original but do not take the ending “s” in the plural case.
• When foreign words are common and well understood, they can be left in the source language. Where necessary, add an explanation in the target language.
• Avoid using too many anglicisms.

Localizing person names

• Localize fictitious person names used for explanatory purposes, choosing a name that is generic but not stereotypical.
Please enter your profile name (e.g. Julia Smith) Εισαγάγετε ένα όνομα για το προφίλ σας (π.χ. Κώστας Παπαδόπουλος).
• Do not localize real persons’ names.
Bart Butler is a software engineer at Proton Mail Ο Bart Butler είναι προγραμματιστής τoυ Proton Mail.

Localizing domains and email addresses

Localize fictitious domain names and e-mail addresses used for explanatory purposes:
• Translate the local-part of an e-mail address
user@ χρήστης@
• Translate the domain name
yourdomain.com τομέας.gr
• Use your target country code at the end
.com .gr

English	Translation
Proton Mail allows you to keep your business email address (you**@yourcompany.com**).	To Proton Mail σάς επιτρέπει να διατηρήσετε το εταιρικό σας email (όνομα**@εταιρεία.gr**).
Receive all email sent to addresses in your domain that do not exist (e.g., “mistake@yourdomain.com”).	Λάβετε όλα τα email που έχουν σταλεί σε ανύπαρκτες διευθύνσεις με τον τομέα σας (π.χ. σφάλμα@τομέας.gr ».

However, do not localize any real email addresses or domain names.

To reset your mailbox password, please use the web version of Proton Mail at proton.me
Για να αλλάξετε τον κωδικό πρόσβασης του λογαριασμού σας email, χρησιμοποιήστε την online έκδοση του Proton Mail στη διεύθυνση proton.me

Error/success/info messages

Structured sentences

As much as possible, translate error messages in structured sentences and with the appropriate punctuation.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Error updating event	Σφάλμα ενημέρωσης εκδήλωσης	Παρουσιάστηκε σφάλμα κατά την ενημέρωση της εκδήλωσης.
Attaching Photo Failed	Αποτυχία επισύναψης φωτογραφίας	Η επισύναψη της φωτογραφίας απέτυχε.
Contact saved	Αποθήκευση επαφής	Η επαφή αποθηκεύτηκε.

However, use nominal phrases when translating headings/titles.

Nominal phrases

In the case of nominal phrases, do not use a final period.

English	We avoid	We prefer
Authentication error.	Σφάλμα ελέγχου ταυτότητας.	Σφάλμα ελέγχου ταυτότητας
Unknown error.	Άγνωστο σφάλμα.	Άγνωστο σφάλμα

Localizing CTA (Call To Action) buttons

Depending on the content (support, landing page…) and on the location of the CTA button, both a nominal phrase and the 2nd person plural can be used. Check and validate with the language lead.

• For neutral instructions or additional information, use nominal phrases:
Αντιγραφή συνδέσμου
Λήψη αρχείου
Περισσότερες πληροφορίες

• For engaging buttons or formulations such as “Get Proton XX”, use 2nd person plural:
Αποκτήστε το Proton XX
Επισκεφτείτε το κατάστημά μας
Επικοινωνήστε μαζί μας