Guide
The Greek alphabet
24 letters, and you already know some of them from maths and science. This is how they sound in Modern Greek, the Greek spoken today. Tap the speaker to hear each one.
Watch out for these
A few Greek letters look like English letters but make a different sound. These trip everyone up at first:
- Β β says v, not b
- Η η says ee, not h
- Ρ ρ says r, not p
- Υ υ says ee, not y
- Χ χ says kh, not x
- ν says n, not v
All 24 letters
| Letter | Name | Sound | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α α | άλφα álfa | 'a' as in fatherGreek α has an open 'ah' sound. | |
| Β β | βήτα víta | 'v' as in vanLooks like B but says v, one of the first traps. | |
| Γ γ | γάμμα gámma | a soft, throaty 'gh'; like 'y' before e and i soundsIn γάλα it is throaty; in γεια it is a 'y'. | |
| Δ δ | δέλτα dhélta | 'th' as in this (voiced)Not the 'd' sound, that is ντ. | |
| Ε ε | έψιλον épsilon | 'e' as in let | |
| Ζ ζ | ζήτα zíta | 'z' as in zoo | |
| Η η | ήτα íta | 'ee' as in seeLooks like H but says 'ee'. One of the five common spellings of this sound. | |
| Θ θ | θήτα thíta | 'th' as in thin (voiceless)The unvoiced partner of δ. | |
| Ι ι | γιώτα yóta | 'ee' as in seeOne of the five common spellings of the 'ee' sound. | |
| Κ κ | κάπα kápa | 'k' as in kite | |
| Λ λ | λάμδα lámdha | 'l' as in lamp | |
| Μ μ | μι mi | 'm' as in map | |
| Ν ν | νι ni | 'n' as in netThe lower case looks like a Latin v, read it as n. | |
| Ξ ξ | ξι ksi | 'ks' as in booksOne letter, two sounds. | |
| Ο ο | όμικρον ómikron | a pure, rounded 'o' soundSame sound as ω. Keep the vowel steady, without the glide at the end of English 'go'. | |
| Π π | πι pi | 'p' as in pen | |
| Ρ ρ | ρο ro | a lightly tapped 'r'Looks like P but says r. | |
| Σ σ / ς | σίγμα síghma | 's' as in sunWritten ς at the end of a word, σ everywhere else, same letter. | |
| Τ τ | ταυ taf | 't' as in top | |
| Υ υ | ύψιλον ípsilon | 'ee' as in seeLooks like Y but says 'ee'. One of the five common spellings of this sound. | |
| Φ φ | φι fi | 'f' as in fish | |
| Χ χ | χι khi | 'kh' as in Scottish loch; softer before e and iLooks like X but is never 'ks', that is ξ. | |
| Ψ ψ | ψι psi | 'ps' as in lapseOne letter, two sounds. | |
| Ω ω | ωμέγα oméga | the same rounded 'o' sound as οΟ and ω sound the same; learn which spelling each word uses. |
English comparisons are only approximate. The Greek sounds are cleaner: vowels don't glide the way English ones do.
Letter pairs
Some pairs of letters make one sound together. You'll see these in almost every sentence.
| Pair | Sound | Listen |
|---|---|---|
| αι | 'e' as in let, the same sound as εναι, και, παιδί. Two letters, one vowel sound. | |
| ει | 'ee' as in seeείναι, εκεί. One of the five common spellings of the 'ee' sound. | |
| οι | 'ee' as in seeοικογένεια, οικονομία. One of the five common spellings of the 'ee' sound. | |
| ου | 'oo' as in foodμου, σου, λουλούδι. Normally one 'oo' sound. With διαλυτικά (two dots), οϋ represents separate 'o' and 'ee' sounds, as in προϋπόθεση. | |
| αυ | 'av' before a voiced sound, 'af' before a voiceless oneαύριο is ávrio; αυτός is aftós. Listen for what follows. | |
| ευ | 'ev' before a voiced sound, 'ef' before a voiceless oneΕυρώπη is Evrópi; ευχαριστώ is efkharistó. Same rule as αυ. | |
| μπ | usually 'b' initially; 'b' or 'mb' within wordsΜπάλα begins with b. Within words, speakers may pronounce b or mb; the nasal varies by word, speaker and style. | |
| ντ | usually 'd' initially; 'd' or 'nd' within wordsΝτομάτα begins with d. Within words, d and nd occur, depending on the word and speaker. δ is the voiced 'th' of this. | |
| γκ / γγ | hard 'g', sometimes with a preceding nasal soundΓκ often gives g initially and g or ng internally. Γγ occurs inside words and commonly gives ng, as in αγγλικά. Sounds also change before front vowels. | |
| τσ | 'ts' as in catsτσάι, κορίτσι. | |
| τζ | 'dz' as in adzeτζατζίκι, τζάμι. |
One sound, several spellings
- ι, η, υ, ει, οι: five common spellings of the 'ee' sound. These five spellings sound alike in ordinary Modern Greek words. The less common υι, as in υιοθετώ, can also have this sound. Learn the spelling with each word.
- ο, ω: two spellings, one sound: both say 'o'. The sound alone does not tell you which to write. Endings often help: γράφω (I write), βιβλίο (book). Learn each word with its spelling.
The accent mark
Almost every Greek word of more than one syllable has one accent mark, called the τόνος. It shows which syllable to stress, and it can change the meaning: πότε means "when?" and ποτέ means "never". All-capital words usually leave it out: ΕΛΛΑΔΑ.
Sigma has two lowercase forms: ς at the end of a word and σ everywhere else, as in σπίτια and καφές.
Learning Ancient Greek instead? The letters are the same but many sounds differ. Here's how Modern and Ancient Greek differ.
Learn the letters by using them
If you can't read Greek yet, ElliniCards starts here: short practice that shows a letter and asks for its sound, then real words once the letters stick. Free to start, no account needed.
Start learningAlready reading? Try a short Greek story.