Greece greets you with two acronyms. The ΑΦΜ is your tax number and the ΑΜΚΑ is your social security number. Without both there is no bank account, no rental contract, no employment contract and no doctor's surgery willing to take you on. Get them in your first week rather than at some point later.

Two quirks that nobody flags in advance. The first is the παράβολο: administrative fees are generally paid up front online through the e-Paravolo system, and you arrive carrying a code. Putting cash on the counter mostly does not work. The second is the υπεύθυνη δήλωση, the solemn declaration. It is the universal tool of Greek administration, demanded constantly, and these days it can be issued digitally through gov.gr.

On pronunciation: the Greek alphabet takes an afternoon to learn and repays that afternoon immediately, because street signs, forms and the number on the screen above the counter all become readable. The transliterations below will get you started, with the stressed syllable in capitals, since Greek stress is not decorative and moving it makes a word hard to recognise. θ is the "th" of "thin". δ is the softer "th" of "this", written "th" below as well. γ has no English equivalent: it is a voiced scrape at the back of the mouth, a soft "gh" before a and o, and closer to "y" before e and i. χ is the "ch" of Scottish "loch".

The office and getting through the door

ΚΕΠ (kep): Κέντρο Εξυπηρέτησης Πολιτών, the citizens' service centre. Your first stop for almost everything, and considerably more pleasant than its reputation.

ΔΟΥ (thoh-ee): Δημόσια Οικονομική Υπηρεσία, the local tax office. This is where the ΑΦΜ comes from.

ΑΑΔΕ (ah-ah-THE): the independent revenue authority the ΔΟΥ sits under.

gov.gr: the central online portal. A genuinely good piece of government software.

Ραντεβού (ran-de-VOO): the appointment. Borrowed from French, exactly as in Turkish.

Υπάλληλος (ee-PAH-lee-los): the clerk, the official dealing with you.

Your documents

ΑΦΜ (ah-fee-MEE): Αριθμός Φορολογικού Μητρώου, the tax number. Nine digits.

ΑΜΚΑ (AHM-ka): Αριθμός Μητρώου Κοινωνικής Ασφάλισης, the social security number.

Διαβατήριο (thee-a-va-TEE-ree-o): the passport.

Ταυτότητα (taf-TOH-tee-ta): the national ID card.

Βεβαίωση εγγραφής (ve-VEH-o-see en-ghra-FEES): the registration certificate, and which document you need here depends entirely on your passport. EU citizens do not apply for a residence permit; they register a right they already hold, and this certificate is the evidence of it. Everyone else, which since Brexit means British citizens and has always meant Americans and other third-country nationals, needs an άδεια διαμονής (AH-thee-a thee-a-mo-NEES), a residence permit proper, granted on a stated ground and with its own set of requirements. Establish which track you are on before you book anything.

Δικαιολογητικά (thee-keh-o-lo-yee-tee-KAH): the required supporting documents. You will hear this word in every office in the country, generally attached to whichever one of them is missing.

Υπεύθυνη δήλωση (ee-PEF-thee-nee THEE-lo-see): the solemn declaration. See above, and simply assume you will be asked for one.

Μισθωτήριο (mis-tho-TEE-ree-o): the rental contract. It has to be filed electronically with the tax office, and until it is, offices treat it as though it does not exist.

Εκκαθαριστικό (e-ka-tha-ris-tee-KOH): the tax assessment notice. Routinely requested as proof of income.

The procedures

Αίτηση (EH-tee-see): the application.

Εγγραφή (en-ghra-FEE): the registration, the act of being entered onto a list. You will meet it as part of longer terms constantly.

Παράβολο (pa-RAH-vo-lo): the administrative fee, or the receipt proving you paid it. Generate it online first.

Πιστοποιητικό (pis-to-pee-ee-tee-KOH): the certificate.

Επικύρωση (e-pee-KEE-ro-see): certification of a copy or signature.

Υπογραφή (ee-po-ghra-FEE): the signature.

Σφραγίδα (sfra-YEE-tha): the stamp.

Αντίγραφο (an-DEE-ghra-fo): the copy. Πρωτότυπο (pro-TOH-tee-po): the original.

The words you hopefully won't need

Ελλιπή δικαιολογητικά (e-lee-PEE thee-keh-o-lo-yee-tee-KAH): incomplete documentation.

Λείπει ένα χαρτί (LEE-pee EH-na khar-TEE): "one piece of paper is missing".

Απορρίφθηκε (a-po-REEF-thee-ke): rejected.

Έληξε (EH-lik-se): expired.

Ελάτε αύριο (e-LAH-te AHV-ree-o): "come back tomorrow". Rarely meant literally, never a good sign.

Why this beats a translation app

Greece is one of those countries where foreigners settle happily and for decades, and also one where remarkably few of them take the language past the menu. That is seldom for want of willingness. It is that courses stay in everyday situations, while everyday life turns out to consist largely of offices. These few dozen words change the experience of a Greek counter completely, because you stop guessing at what was just said to you.

An app on your phone cannot close that gap, and the reason is not translation quality. It is that a counter runs at conversational speed. You get one pass at a sentence, from somebody with a queue behind you, and by the time you have unlocked the phone the moment is gone. The word has to be in your head already. Thirty terms and the Greek alphabet is a weekend of work, and it buys you the rest of the decade.

That is precisely what Vokabulo is built for. You capture the words your own life puts in front of you and learn them in the context where you will meet them again. Greek taught straight from English, with over 100 languages available in every combination.

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