The Greek Alphabet
THE GREEK ALPHABET
GreekLetter / Letter
Name / English
Equivalent / Description
Α α / alpha / a / as in "arc"
Β β / beta / b
Γ γ / gamma / g / as in "graph," or like "ng" before γ, κ, ξ or χ
Δ δ / delta / d
Ε ε / epsilon / e / short e, as in "epic"
Ζ ζ / zeta / dz / as in "adze"
Η η / eta / ē / long e, as in "hey"; looks like the English letter "h" but it's not
Θ θ / theta / th / as in "three"
Ι ι / iota / i / as in "machine"
Κ κ / kappa / k
Λ λ / lambda / l
Μ μ / mu / m
Ν ν / nu / n
Ξ ξ / xi / x / as in "axe"
Ο ο / omicron / o / "small o"; as in "optic"
Π π / pi / p
Ρ ρ / rho / r / trilled
Σ σ, ς / sigma / s / ς at the end of a word
Τ τ / tau / t
Υ υ / upsilon / u / as in "flute"; often appears in English as "y"
Φ φ / phi / ph / as in "phone"
Χ χ / chi / ch / as in "character," or "loch"
Ψ ψ / psi / ps / as in "eclipse"
Ω ω / omega / ō / "big O"; as in "ocean"
You probably noticed that the word "alphabet" comes from "alpha-beta."
These words are the same, or nearly so, in Greek and English.Are they easy to read yet?
ακροπολις / acropolis / Ολυμπος / Olympus
Ζευς / Zeus / Σφιγξ / Sphinx
Here are some more words you may recognize.
Practice reading them to become familiar with the alphabet.
αθλον / prize / νικη / victory
αντι / against / οκτω / eight
βιος / life / πολις / city
γη / earth / πρωτον / first
γραφω / write / πυρ / fire
δεκα / ten / σοφια / wisdom
δυναμις / power / ταυρος / bull
εγω / I / φοβος / fear
θερμος / hot / φωνη / sound
κλεπτω / steal / χρονος / time
λυρη / lyre / ψευδης / false
μεγας / large / ψυχη / soul
μικρος / small / ωκεανος / ocean