Vocabulary Jumpstart

Vocabulary Lesson: 7 Min., 17 Sec.

Learning any language requires both Vocabulary and Grammar.  Different courses offer varying balances of vocabulary-to-grammar emphasis, while generally attempting to cover all of the essential grammar.  Even then, there is variety with the order of grammar, as well as the selection and order of vocabulary.  Before we get into the grammar concepts, which may be challenging or surprising for those who haven’t studied grammar recently, we should take a “jump-start” dose of vocabulary, to get things progressing.  Grammar is important, but if we try to cover all our grammar first, learning Greek will seem like a business of mere theory.  Rest assured, it is a real language, fit for reading, writing, hearing, and speaking; not just describing and admiring.

Here is some vocabulary very common in the Greek New Testament.

NounsVerbsAdjectives
ἄνθρωπος εἰμί ἅγιος
θεός ἔχω μέγας
κύριος λέγω νεκρός
ἀδελφός ἀκούω ἄλλος
λόγος γινώσκω δύο
οὐρανός θέλω ἀγαθός

Here is some vocabulary that is commonly presented for learning a new language.

NounsVerbsAdjectives
πατήρ βλέπω πρῶτος
υἱός τρέχω ἔσχατος
μήτηρ γράφω λευκός
θυγάτηρ ἐσθίω πορφυροῦς
οἶκος ὑπακούω μικρός
ἵππος διδάσκω ἐλάχιστος

Several of these words should have at least a hint of familiarity for you, either as relating to English words, or words from other languages you have some exposure to.  ‘Micro’ means small, and we get that from Greek.  In English the word ‘Paternal’ is used to describe something relating to one’s father.  Among religious topics we discuss ‘Eschatology’ as the study of the last things.  All of us know that the English prefix ‘Mega’ is used to describe something much larger or greater than the standard.

Review these words a second time, and be sure to repeat each word as you observe the pictures and compare the Greek spelling of the term.  Be aware that Greek word forms are more particular than English word forms, so we don’t have the flexibility of using each of these nouns as either subject or direct object, nor each of the verbs for either both first person (I do...) or second person (you do...,) nor the adjectives to describe both masculine nouns and feminine.  Above, the nouns and adjectives are all meant to be used with subjects of clauses; the verbs have endings used for first person singular; and the adjectives generally have endings that apply to masculine nouns.  So, be patient before you try to patch together sentences, but learn the words as spelled above, because these are the standard "dictionary" or "lexical" forms.

On the other hand, we can make several adjective-noun combinations, such as λευκὸς ἵππος, a white horse; or μικρὸς οἶκος, a little house; and πρῶτος υἱός, a first son.  The point above, with the warning about how the words cannot be combined, can be illustrated this way: If you want to say, “A father sees a horse,” you cannot patch together the words as πατήρ βλέπω ἵππος.  Rather, you will need to adjust the verb as third-person, and the direct object in the proper noun-case for direct objects: πατὴρ βλέπει ἵππον.

Understanding how to make these adjustments for the sake of proper grammar is one reason we will need the grammar lessons.  But it is by far more interesting to have a variety of vocabulary as we begin to learn those lessons.