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Greek Alphabet with Pronunciation Guide

The Greek alphabet has 24 letters that each have uppercase and lowercase versions. It provides the pronunciation of each letter in the International Phonetic Alphabet and examples of similar sounds in English. There are two forms of the lowercase letter sigma, σ and ς, depending on where it is placed in a word. The document also discusses diphthongs that were pronounced as combinations of vowels in ancient Greek but are now usually pronounced as single vowels in modern Greek like in Spanish or Swedish.

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Pavaloaie Marian Constantin
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35 views2 pages

Greek Alphabet with Pronunciation Guide

The Greek alphabet has 24 letters that each have uppercase and lowercase versions. It provides the pronunciation of each letter in the International Phonetic Alphabet and examples of similar sounds in English. There are two forms of the lowercase letter sigma, σ and ς, depending on where it is placed in a word. The document also discusses diphthongs that were pronounced as combinations of vowels in ancient Greek but are now usually pronounced as single vowels in modern Greek like in Spanish or Swedish.

Uploaded by

Pavaloaie Marian Constantin
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Greek alphabet

The Greek alphabet has 24 letters. They all have uppercase and lowercase versions.

Case Pronunciation

Upper Lower Transliteration *IPA Layman's Terms

Α α a /a/ Similar to "a" in "father".

Β β v /v/ Like "v" in "Vinci".

Γ γ gh, y /ɣ/ Similar to "y" in "yellow".

Δ δ dh /ð/ Like "th" in "father".

Ε ε e /ɛ/ Like "e" in "vet".

Ζ ζ z /z/ Like "z" in "ouzo".

Η η i /i/ Like "ee" in "Lee"

Θ θ th /θ/ Like "th" in "theater".

Ι ι i /i/ Like "ee" in "Lee"

Κ κ k /k/ Like "k" in "ask".

Λ λ l /l/ Like "l" in "little".

Μ μ m /m/ Like "m" in "mother".

Ν ν n /n/ Like "n" in "Artisan".

Ξ ξ x /ks/ Like "x" in "axe".

Ο ο o /o/ Similar to "o" in "oat".

Π π p /p/ Like "p" in "Crispy".

Ρ ρ r /ɾ/ Similar to "r" in "Rome".

Σ σ, ς s, ss /s/ Like "s" in "Crispy".


Τ τ t /t/ Like "t" in "mister".

Υ υ i /i/ Like "ee" in "Lee"

Φ φ f /f/ Like "ph" in "physical".

Χ χ h /x/ Like "ch" in "loch".

Ψ ψ ps /ps/ Like "ps" in "lips".

Ω ω o /o/ Similar to "o" in "oat".

There are actually two lowercase versions of Σ. σ is used if the lowercase is not at the end of
the word, and ς is used if it is at the end of the word.

Diphthongs
Modern Greek doesn't have true diphthongs as we understand them—it doesn't have
monosyllabic sounds like "oy" and "ow", at least not anymore. However, many ancient
diphthongs are stilled spelled in Modern Greek, though they pronounced today as pure simple
vowels like you'd find in Spanish or Swedish.

Upper Lower Transliteration *IPA Layman's Terms

ΑΙ αι e /ɛ/ Like "ai" in "said".

/av, Like "av" in "lava". Before some consonants, it is


ΑΥ αυ av, af
af/ pronounced like "af"

ΕΙ ει i /i/ Like "ee" in "Lee"

/ɛv, Like "ev" in "chevron". Before some consonants, it


ΕΥ ευ ev, ef
ɛf/ is pronounced like "ef"

ΟΙ οι i /i/ Like "ee" in "Lee"

ΟΥ ου u /u/ Similar to "ou" in "group".

ΥΙ υι i /i/ Like "ee" in "Lee".

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