Fire in Greek
φωτιά
fotia — fire
Hear φωτιά
The everyday word is φωτιά (fotia), feminine, stressed fo-TIA. It covers a lit fire, a house fire and a wildfire, and it is what you shout if you see one. Έπιασε φωτιά means something has caught fire.
English speakers often expect πυρ, because that is the root inside pyromaniac and pyrotechnics. Greek still has it, but not loose in a sentence: ανοίγω πυρ is a military order to open fire, and the rest of its life is spent inside compounds. A firefighter is πυροσβέστης, the fire brigade πυροσβεστική, a fire extinguisher πυροσβεστήρας.
Wildfires are a summer fact in Greece, and the number to call is 199 for the fire service. Πυρκαγιά is the formal word news reports use for a blaze; φωτιά is what people say to each other.
Example sentences
Η φωτιά είναι ζεστή.
I fotia einai zesti.
The fire is warm.
Το σπίτι πήρε φωτιά.
To spiti pire fotia.
The house caught fire.
Related forms
- πυρκαγιά (pyrkagia) — a blaze — the formal word
- πυροσβέστης (pyrosvestis) — firefighter, built on πυρ
Common questions
- Is fire pyr or fotia in Greek?
- Φωτιά in everyday Greek. Πυρ is the ancient word and survives in military expressions and compounds like πυροσβέστης (firefighter) and πυρομανής (pyromaniac), which is why English speakers recognise the root.
Quick check
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How do you say "fire" in Greek?
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