Cheese in Greek
τυρί
tiri — cheese
Hear τυρί
Cheese is τυρί (tiri), stressed ti-RI. The plural, τυριά, covers the astonishing range Greece produces — the country eats more cheese per person than France, most of it nothing like the feta that represents Greek cheese abroad.
Feta itself is φέτα, which literally means "slice". Ask for τυρόπιτα and you get the beloved cheese pie from the bakery; γραβιέρα is the hard yellow cheese for grating and frying; and σαγανάκι on a menu means cheese fried in a small pan — order it once and you will order it always.
A useful menu-reading instinct: τυρο- at the start of a word means cheese is involved (τυροκαυτερή, a spicy cheese dip; τυροσαλάτα, cheese salad). Spot the prefix and you know what you are getting into.
Example sentences
Θέλω ψωμί και τυρί.
Thelo psomi kai tiri.
I want bread and cheese.
Η πίτα έχει τυρί;
I pita echei tiri?
Does the pie have cheese in it?
Related forms
- φέτα (feta) — feta — literally "slice"
- τυρόπιτα (tiropita) — cheese pie from the bakery
Quick check
Pick the Greek word that matches.
How do you say "cheese" in Greek?
Related words
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