Greek to English
Translate a Greek book into English, and keep the Greek
Upload a Greek novel, from Papadiamantis to a contemporary book with no English edition, and read it with English beside every paragraph: the Greek as it was written, the English to lean on.
Μισοπλαγιασμένη κοντὰ εἰς τὴν ἑστίαν, μὲ σφαλιστὰ τὰ ὄμματα, τὴν κεφαλὴν ἀκουμβῶσα εἰς τὸ κράσπεδον τῆς ἑστίας, τὸ λεγόμενον «φουγοπόδαρο», ἡ θεια-Χαδούλα, ἡ κοινῶς καλουμένη Γιαννοὺ ἡ Φράγκισσα, δὲν ἐκοιμᾶτο, ἀλλ᾽ ἐθυσίαζε τὸν ὕπνον πλησίον εἰς τὸ λίκνον τῆς ἀσθενούσης μικρᾶς ἐγγονῆς της.
Half lying by the hearth, her eyes shut, her head resting on the hearth's ledge, the "fougopodaro" as they call it, old Aunt Hadoula, commonly known as Giannou the Frankish woman, was not sleeping: she was giving up her sleep beside the cradle of her sick little granddaughter.
Ὁ μικρὸς λύχνος, κρεμαστός, ἐτρεμόσβηνε κάτω τοῦ φατνώματος τῆς ἑστίας.
The little hanging lamp flickered beneath the hood of the hearth.
How it works
Upload the book, choose English, and look at the free preview of the opening pages, side by side. If it reads well, translate the whole book and read it in the browser, or download it as a PDF, an EPUB, or a Kindle file. More about translating a book.
Where to find Greek books
Greek Wikisource has Papadiamantis, Vizyinos and many other classics for free, and the Anemi digital library of the University of Crete has more. Your own DRM-free EPUB, a text-based PDF or a Word file all work.
Reading Greek with English beside it
Katharevousa and the spoken language
Many classics narrate in katharevousa, the formal "purified" Greek, and let their characters speak in demotic, the Greek of the street. The English reads the same throughout; the original beside it shows which voice you are in.
Old accents, same letters
Books printed before the 1980s use the polytonic system, with breathings and three accents; modern ones use a single accent. Both read the same, so an old edition is as good a source as a new one.
Questions
Can I read a Greek book with English side by side?
Yes. Upload the book, choose English, and read each Greek paragraph with its English beside it, in the browser or on your e-reader.
Can I learn Greek with it?
Yes: read the Greek first and look across only when you need to, or hide the English until you tap it. The free library also has Greek stories by level.