Sanskrit and Greek: The Similarities and Differences between them

Ancient Greek and Sanskrit are classical languages: both have a large collection of ancient literature.

Scholars study these languages to get direct access to ancient literary and philosophical texts, as well as to get a perspective on human thought across the ages.

Sanskrit and Greek similarities in vocabulary

Greek and Sanskrit are linguistically related languages: they both belong to the Indo-European family of languages.

This means that both Sanskrit and Greek have a common ancestor language, a reconstructed language called the Proto-Indo-European language.

This common linguistic ancestry is the reason for the existence of several similar vocabulary words between Sanskrit and Greek. Some examples of these are provided in the table below:

A list with some additional similar words between Greek and Sanskrit is provided at the end of this article.

Sanskrit and Greek: language variants

Sanskrit and Greek are two of the 3 most ancient documented languages which descend from the Proto-Indo-European language, the reconstructed ancestor of the Indo-European family of languages. (the 3rd is the Hittite language)

Because the use of Sanskrit and Greek spans a very long timeframe (over a millennium), both of these languages have different variants which were in use during different periods.

Greek language variants

Mycenaean Greek is the most ancient documented form of Greek, dating back to the 15th century BCE. It predates the Greek alphabet and was written in a script called “linear B” which contained many ideograms (and pictograms) in addition to syllabic symbols.

Attic Greek is the form of Ancient Greek that is most studied by scholars today. It was written using the Greek alphabet.

Koine Greek is the form of Greek that was in use from the 4th century BCE to the 6th century CE. One of the noteworthy differences between Koine Greek and its predecessor (Attic Greek) is the disappearance of the distinction between long vowels and short vowels.

Modern Greek is the form of Greek that is used in Greece today.

Sanskrit language variants

Vedic Sanskrit is the earlier form of Sanskrit. Its name comes from the Vedas, which are a collection of religious texts.

Classical Sanskrit is the form of the Sanskrit language which was codified by the scholar and grammarian Pāṇini around the 4th century BCE.

A visible linguistic pattern in the evolution of Sanskrit is the increased use of compound nouns. This was less common in Vedic Sanskrit, but later it became increasingly common, leading to longer and longer words. A Sanskrit word holds the first place for the “longest word” category in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Important texts in Greek and Sanskrit

The existence of important philosophical, and literary texts written in Greek and Sanskrit is one of the reasons why scholars study these ancient languages.

Some examples of important texts written in Ancient Greek include the following:

• Epic poems written by Homer (the Odyssey, the Iliad)
• Greek philosophy writing by Plato (the Republic)
• Plays by Sophocles (Oedipus Rex, Antigone, Electra)
• Writings by the Greek philosopher Aristotle
• Greek tragedies by Euripides

Sanskrit is an important language for scholars who are interested in Eastern philosophy and yoga. Examples of important texts written in Sanskrit include:

• the Bhagavad Gita (an epic story written in Sanskrit)
• the Upanishads (Sanskrit texts of Hindu philosophy)
• The Yoga Sutra (this Sanskrit text which covers the theoretical foundations of yoga was written by the sage Patanjali around the year 400)
• the Hatha Yoga Pradipika (a classical Sanskrit text on hatha yoga)
• the Kama Sutra

Sanskrit vs Greek Grammar

Both Sanskrit and Greek are languages that have 3 grammatical genders (masculine, feminine, and neuter).

The grammatical genders of Sanskrit and Greek vocabulary words are in some cases aligned and in some cases not, as the following examples show:

• The Sanskrit word for “sun” is « सूर्य » (surya) which is masculine.
• The Ancient Greek word for “sun” is « ἥλῐος » (helios) which is masculine.
• The Sanskrit word for “river” is « नदी » (nadi) which is feminine
• The Ancient Greek word for “river” is « ῥοή » (rhoe) which is feminine
• In Sanskrit, the word for “moon” is « चन्द्र » (candra) and it is masculine.
• In Ancient Greek, the word for “moon” is « Σελήνη » (Selene) and it is feminine.

Articles are words that accompany nouns. English, for example, has a definite article (“the”), as well as indefinite articles: “a” and “an”.

• Sanskrit has neither definite articles nor indefinite articles (but demonstrative pronouns can be used)
• Ancient Greek has definite articles but no indefinite articles.

Sanskrit and Ancient Greek are languages that use noun declensions (changes in endings) to indicate grammatical cases. As a result, Sanskrit and Greek are languages that have a relatively flexible word order (since the grammatical function can be inferred from the declensions rather than the word order).

Sanskrit and Ancient Greek have, in addition to singular and plural, a third grammatical number called the dual. This is a grammatical feature that Sanskrit and Greek received from their ancestor language, the Proto-Indo-European language.

More similar words between Greek and Sanskrit

The following list contains Ancient Greek and Sanskrit words that are similar in meaning, and which resemble each other. Most of these are cognates, meaning that they derive from a common ancestor word.

• The Sanskrit word « ज्ञान » (jnana) which means “knowledge” has the same origin as the Greek word « γιγνώσκω » (gignosko) which means “I know”.
• The Sanskrit word « आयु » (ayu) has the same origin Greek word « αἰών » (aion), and they both have several possible meanings including “lifetime”.
• The Sanskrit word « क्रतु » (kratu) means “intelligence” and “power”. It is etymologically related to the Greek word « κράτος » (kratos) which means “strength” and “power”.
• The Sanskrit word « जरत् » (jarat) which means “old” has the same origin as the Greek word « γέρων » (geron) which can mean “old” or “an old man”.
• The Sanskrit word « युग » (yuga) which means “a yoke” is related to the word « योग » (yoga). It is similar to the Greek word « ζυγόν » (zugon) which means “a yoke”.
• The Greek word « γένος (genos) which means “a category of beings” is the root of the English words gene and genealogy. In addition, it is related to the Sanskrit word « जनस् » (janas) which also means “a category of being”.
• The Greek word « δρῦς » (drus) which means “a tree” is related to the Sanskrit word « दारु » (daru) which means “wood”.
• The Sanskrit word « मूल » (mula) which means “root” is similar to the Greek word « μῶλυ » (molu) which refers to the magical herb in Homer's Odyssey.
• The Sanskrit word « फुल्ल » (phulla) which means “flower” is similar to the Greek word « φύλλον » (phullon) which means “leaf”.
• The Greek word « λίπος » (lipos) means “animal fat” and it is related to the Sanskrit word « लेप » (lepa) which means “an ointment” (an oily substance).
• The Greek word « μάνδρα » (mandra) and the Sanskrit word « मन्दुरा » (mandura) are cognates, they descent from an etymological ancestor. Both these words can mean “a stable for horses”.
• The Greek word « δένδρον » (dendron) means “a tree”. It is etymologically related to the Sanskrit word « दण्ड » (danda) which can mean several different things including “a stick”.
• The Greek word « κόνις » (konis) means “dust”, and it has the same origin as the Sanskrit word « कण » (kana) which means “a tiny particle”.

Conclusion: are Sanskrit and Greek similar languages?

Sanskrit and Ancient Greek are important classic languages that are linguistically related as they share a common ancestor.

Scholars study these languages because of the cultural, literary, and philosophical importance of the texts written in them.

For more on classic languages, see this comparison of Sanskrit and Latin, this comparison of Latin and Greek, and and this list of the thousand most common Sanskrit words.