Αλφάβητο
The Greek alphabet has 24 letters. Some have no real English counterpart, and several have misleading English names, like β which is called "beta" in English but is actually pronounced "vita." Several Greek letters are equivalent to two-letter English combinations.
The Greek name for every letter begins with that letter. The ~English column shows the nearest equivalent – don’t take it as gospel.
Upper | Lower | Greek name | IPA | ~ English | English name | |
Α | α | άλφα | a | a in father | alpha | |
Β | β | βήτα | v | v in veto | beta | |
Γ | γ | γάμμα | ʝ ɣ |
* y in yes |
gamma | |
Δ | δ | δέλτα | ð | th in then | delta | |
Ε | ε | έψιλον | ɛ | e in bed | epsilon | |
Ζ | ζ | ζήτα | z | z in zeal | zeta | |
Η | η | ήτα | i | ea in eat | eta | |
Θ | θ | θήτα | θ | th in thank | theta | |
Ι | ι | ιώτα | i ʝ |
ea in eat y in yet |
iota | |
Κ | κ | κάππα | k | k in keg | kappa | |
Λ | λ | λάμβδα | l | l in lot | lambda | |
Μ | μ | μυ | m | m in me | mu | |
Ν | ν | νυ | n | n in neat | nu | |
Ξ | ξ | ξι | ks | ks in yaks | xi | |
Ο | ο | όμικρον | o | o in owe | omicron | |
Π | π | πι | p | p in peel | pi | |
Ρ | ρ | ρω | r | rolled r ** | rho | |
Σ | σ ς *** |
σίγμα | s | s in signal | sigma | |
Τ | τ | ταυ | t | t in tough | tau | |
Υ | υ | ύψιλον | i | ea in eat | upsilon | |
Φ | φ | φι | f | f in fee | phi | |
Χ | χ | χι | x | **** | chi | |
Ψ | ψ | ψι | ps | ps in tips | psi | |
Ω | ω | ωμέγα | o | o in owe | omega |
* Similar to the French r apical.
** Similar to the Spanish rolled r
*** ς is only for the end of a word; σ is used everywhere else
**** Pronounced in the back of the mouth, but not the throat. Like a harsh "h."
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