· 5 min read
How Long Does It Take to Learn Greek? 1,012 Hours (FSI)
By Language Lab editorial team
Greek takes an English speaker about 44 weeks or 1,012 class hours by US State Department figures: about 100 weeks at 10 hours a week. Full timeline inside.
Greek takes an English speaker about 44 weeks of full-time classes, or 1,012 class hours, on US State Department figures. That places it in Category III, which the Department calls hard languages. At ten hours a week, 1,012 hours is about 101 weeks; at twenty, about 51. The alphabet is a short first step: 24 letters, which the BBC's guide calls fairly easy to learn to read. The time goes on three genders, on two kinds of you and on vocabulary, although around 30% of English vocabulary comes from Classical Greek. The figure describes a high level, a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale, so everyday conversation comes well before it.
The official figure
The US State Department publishes how long its English-speaking students usually need to reach a speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale. Greek is listed at about 44 weeks, or 1,012 class hours, in Category III, which it describes as hard languages, with significant linguistic or cultural differences from English. The Department describes a typical week as 23 hours in class and 17 hours of self-study, and notes that actual time varies with ability, prior language-learning experience and time in the classroom. An archived version of the page previously published this list under the name Foreign Service Institute (FSI), with identical class-hour totals to the current one.
| State Department category | Class time | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Category I | 24–30 weeks (552–690 class hours) | Spanish, French, Italian, Dutch |
| Category II | About 36 weeks (828 class hours) | German, Indonesian, Swahili |
| Category III | About 44 weeks (1,012 class hours) | Russian, Polish, Greek, Turkish, Thai |
| Category IV | 88 weeks (2,200 class hours) | Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean |
What that means at your pace
| Hours per week | Weeks to cover 1,012 class hours |
|---|---|
| 5 | About 202 |
| 7 (an hour a day) | About 145 |
| 10 | About 101 |
| 20 | About 51 |
The weeks are simple division. Count hours, not days or months: the same total can fill one intensive year or several relaxed ones.
What takes the time in Greek
- The alphabet's traps: Β sounds like v, Ρ like r and Χ like the ch in loch.
- Three genders, so the word for the is written in three ways: ο, η and το.
- Formal and informal you: εσείς and εσύ.
What goes quickly
- Reading: most letters and sounds already exist in English.
- Stress: words of more than one syllable carry an accent that shows where the emphasis falls.
- Familiar roots: the BBC's guide estimates that around 30% of English vocabulary comes, directly or indirectly, from Classical Greek.
Milestones before the finish
The Certificate of Attainment in Greek, run by the Centre for the Greek Language, has six levels, A1 to C2. You must pass every skill to receive the certificate.
Where to study
Staellinika offers free beginner courses for children, teenagers and adults.
Shorten the calendar, not the hours
No method reduces the total much, but a poor one wastes it. A 2013 review of ten learning techniques, led by John Dunlosky, rated two as high utility: practice testing and distributed practice. Rereading and highlighting were rated low.
- Test yourself on earlier material before starting anything new.
- Spread study over the week instead of one long session.
- Speak aloud every day.
- Follow one structured course in order.
Language Lab's Greek course is built around voiced real-life scenarios with an AI tutor, so the hours you put in include speaking hours.
Frequently asked
How long does it take to learn Greek?
The US State Department allows about 44 weeks, or 1,012 class hours for English speakers. At ten hours a week that is about 101 weeks.
How long does it take to learn Greek studying one hour a day?
Seven hours a week covers 1,012 class hours in about 145 weeks.
Can I learn Greek in three months?
Not to the State Department's level. Three months at ten hours a week is about 130 hours, against 1,012. It is enough for a useful start.
Is the Greek alphabet hard to learn?
It has 24 letters, and the BBC's guide calls Greek fairly easy to learn to read, because most letters and sounds already exist in English.
What level does the State Department figure describe?
A speaking and listening score of 3 on the Interagency Language Roundtable (ILR) scale, reached by full-time students in a typical week of 23 class hours and 17 hours of self-study.
What is the fastest way to learn Greek?
Follow one structured course in order, test yourself, spread your study over the week and speak every day.
Sources: US Department of State, National Foreign Affairs Training Center, Foreign Language Training; BBC Languages, A Guide to Greek (archived); Centre for the Greek Language, Certificate of Attainment in Greek; Staellinika; Dunlosky et al., Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 2013. Checked on 13 October 2026. Photo: Rock pillars of Meteora, Holger Uwe Schmitt / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons).
