Both mean food and both are correct. Φαΐ (fai) is the spoken word you will hear around a table; φαγητό (fagito) is standard everywhere else and is the one that takes plural and genitive endings comfortably. If you learn one, learn φαγητό.

Does φαγητό mean food or a meal?

Both. Greek uses the same word for the substance and the occasion, so το φαγητό can be the food on your plate or the meal you sat down to eat.

How do you say Greek food?

Ελληνικό φαγητό (elliniko fagito). The adjective agrees with the neuter noun, which is why it ends in -ό rather than -ός or -ή.

Food in Greek

φαγητό

fagito — food

noun neuter

Hear φαγητό

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Greeks have two everyday words for food. Φαγητό (fagito) is the standard one, and it means both the food itself and the meal as an occasion: το φαγητό είναι έτοιμο tells you dinner is ready. Stress the last syllable, fa-yi-TO, and let the γ soften towards an English y before that η sound instead of landing as a hard g. The plural is φαγητά.

Φαΐ (fai) is the more colloquial alternative, said in two syllables, fa-EE. The two dots over the ί stop you reading αΐ as one vowel. Greeks use it in speech and around a family table, though φαγητό is the neutral choice in any register, spoken or written. The endings differ too: the plural and genitive forms of φαΐ are rare and informal, so Greeks switch to φαγητό when the word needs one.

Two words are worth knowing before you read a taverna menu. Μαγειρευτά are the tray-baked dishes cooked in the morning and served all day, sitting ready behind the counter; της ώρας means grilled to order, literally "of the hour". And before anyone picks up a fork, someone will say καλή όρεξη — say it straight back.

Example sentences

Το φαγητό είναι έτοιμο.

To fagito einai etoimo.

The food is ready.
Τι φαγητό έχετε σήμερα;

Ti fagito echete simera?

What food do you have today?
Μου αρέσει το ελληνικό φαγητό.

Mou aresei to elliniko fagito.

I like Greek food.

Related forms

φαΐ (fai) — food — the spoken, everyday word
σπιτικό φαγητό (spitiko fagito) — home-cooked food
μαγειρευτά (magirefta) — the tray-baked dishes, ready all day

Common questions

Is it fagito or fai?: Both mean food and both are correct. Φαΐ (fai) is the spoken word you will hear around a table; φαγητό (fagito) is standard everywhere else and is the one that takes plural and genitive endings comfortably. If you learn one, learn φαγητό.
Does φαγητό mean food or a meal?: Both. Greek uses the same word for the substance and the occasion, so το φαγητό can be the food on your plate or the meal you sat down to eat.
How do you say Greek food?: Ελληνικό φαγητό (elliniko fagito). The adjective agrees with the neuter noun, which is why it ends in -ό rather than -ός or -ή.

Quick check

Pick the Greek word that matches.

How do you say "food" in Greek?

Related words

Keep reading

Order the whole meal in Greek

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