Locale El Cy

Reference data for the Greek (Cyprus) locale — endonym Ελληνικά (Κύπρος), written in the Greek script, left-to-right (LTR).

Identifiers

• BCP 47 tag: el-CY
• ISO 639-1: el
• ISO 639-3: ell
• Script: Grek (Greek)
• Region: CY (Cyprus)
• Text direction: ltr — left-to-right (LTR)

Speakers (approximate)

• L1 (native): 650,000
• L2 (additional): 100,000
• L1+L2 (total): 750,000

Base locale

This is a regional variant of Locale El 001 (Greek), the base/macro locale for this language.

Pluralization

CLDR plural categories for this locale: one, other (2 forms).

• one — n = 1 (e.g. 1)
• other — everything else (e.g. 0, 2~16, 100, 1000, …)

See Unicode Messageformat for writing plural messages using these categories.

Translating into this locale

Apply Locale El 001 with the conventions of Cyprus. Standard Modern Greek is used in writing; the Cypriot Greek dialect is spoken and has a different vocabulary and pronunciation.

• Dialect: use Standard Modern Greek in written product text; Cypriot forms (for example ντε, κόρη μου) belong to speech and informal marketing.
• Formats: euro; dates 17/10/2026; 24-hour clock; decimal comma.
• Context: Greek and Turkish are the official languages; English is widely used in business. Public bodies often publish in Greek and English.
• Terminology: Cyprus uses the same EU terminology as Greece, with local institution names.

Common pitfalls

• Writing dialect spelling in formal content.
• Using Greece-only institution names for Cyprus.
• The general pitfalls in Locale El 001 also apply.

Learn more

• Locale for BCP 47 identifiers, locale-sensitive formatting, pluralization, and text-direction concepts that apply across all locales.
• Unicode Messageformat for writing plural/selection messages correctly for this locale's grammar.
• EU Interinstitutional Style Guide (https://style-guide.europa.eu), language-specific conventions