The Greek Alphabet
The 24 letters of Modern Greek — names, uppercase and lowercase forms
Can recognize and write all 24 Greek letters
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
Α, Β, Γ, Δ — άλφα, βήτα, γάμμα, δέλτα.
A, B, G, D — alpha, beta, gamma, delta.
Ο κόσμος είναι ωραίος.
The world is beautiful.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The Greek Alphabet
Greek uses its own alphabet of 24 letters. Many look familiar from maths and science, but their sounds may differ from what you expect.
| Letter | Name | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Α α | alpha | a |
| Β β | beta | v |
| Γ γ | gamma | gh / y |
| Δ δ | delta | th (this) |
| Ε ε | epsilon | e |
| Ζ ζ | zeta | z |
| Η η | eta | i |
| Θ θ | theta | th (think) |
| Ι ι | iota | i |
| Κ κ | kappa | k |
| Λ λ | lambda | l |
| Μ μ | mu | m |
| Ν ν | nu | n |
| Ξ ξ | xi | ks |
| Ο ο | omicron | o |
| Π π | pi | p |
| Ρ ρ | rho | r (rolled) |
| Σ σ/ς | sigma | s |
| Τ τ | tau | t |
| Υ υ | upsilon | i |
| Φ φ | phi | f |
| Χ χ | chi | ch (loch) |
| Ψ ψ | psi | ps |
| Ω ω | omega | o |
Note: Sigma has two lowercase forms: σ mid-word and ς at end of word (e.g., κόσμος).
English speakers confuse Β=v (not b), Η=ee (not h), Ρ=r (not p), Χ=ch (not x). The letter Ν looks like N and is indeed N. Watch Υ which looks like Y but sounds like 'ee'. Five different letters/combos all sound like 'i'.
Α, Β, Γ, Δ — άλφα, βήτα, γάμμα, δέλτα.
A, B, G, D — alpha, beta, gamma, delta.
The first four letters. Note: Β sounds like 'v', not 'b'.
Ο κόσμος είναι ωραίος.
The world is beautiful.
κόσμος ends with ς (final sigma). Note ω and ο both sound like 'o'.
Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises