The Greek Alphabet

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The Greek Alphabet

Consonants	Vowels	Diphthongs	Breathings	Punctuation
Accents	Names	Examples	Reading	Exercises

o( a)lfabh~toj

The letters of the alphabet:

s j

ta_ gra&mmata:

Upper		Lower	Greek	English	Equivalent	As in:
	A	a	a!lfa	alpha	a	Athens
	B	b	bh~ta	beta	b	Bacchus
	G	g	ga&mma	gamma	g	Gorgon
	D	d	de/lta	delta	d	Dionysus
	E	e	e2 yilo&n	epsilon	e	Empedocles
	Z	z	zh~ta	zeta	z	Zeus
	H	h	h}ta	eta	e	Elektra
	Q	q	qh~ta	theta	th	Thebes
	I	i	i0w~ta	iota	i	Ithaca
	K	k	ka&ppa	kappa	k	Kronos
	L	l	la&mbda	lambda	l	Labyrinth
	M	m	mu~	mu	m	Marathon
	N	n	nu~	nu	n	Nemesis
	C	c	ci=	xi	x	Xenophon
	O	o	o@ mikro&n	omicron	o	Odysseus
	P	p	pi=	pi	p	Pan
	R	r	r(w~	rho	r(h)	Rhodes
	S	s, j	si&gma	sigma	s	Spartans
	T	t	tau~	tau	t	Titan
	U	u	u@ yilo&n	upsilon	u	Fugitive
	F	f	fi=	phi	ph	Philosophy
	X	x	xi=	chi	ch	Chorus
	Y	y	yi=	psi	ps	Psychology
	W	w	w} me/ga	omega	o	Ocean

Note:
Some 'obsolete' letters are retained for use as numbers:
	v	vau
	V	digamma
	J	koppa
	`	sampi / san

Consonants:

g before g, k, c, x is nasal, e.g.: spo&ggoj (spongos): sponge fa&lagc : phalanx
s is written within a word for sigma, j at the end, e.g. sta&sij : stasis. The sound is soft except before b, g, m, e.g. a!sbestoj (azbestos).
z, c, and y are double consonants with j : z = ds c = ks y = ps
q, f, and x were aspirated consonants, i.e.:
	q = t f = p x = k

followed in each case by an h sound;
later, and in modern Greek, the pronunciations are:
	q = 'th' (as in thesis) f = 'f' x = 'ch' (as in chorus)

Vowels:

a,i, and u can be short or long, e.g.:

a)gora& (agoraa)
e0pini/kion (epineekion)

su& - su (cf. French tu), mu~qoj - (moothos).

h - as in the French è, or, approximately, 'ey' as in English grey.

u - transliterated is usually y, e.g. yuxh& psyche.

iota subscript:

i, after a~, h, w is written under the vowel and is mute, e.g.:

xw&ra| |
a)rxh~|
lo&gw|

but, in 'Upper Case':

XWRAI
ARXHI
LOGWI

o@ mikro&n and w} me/ga ('little o' and 'big o') are later names for the letters,

as is the case with e2 yilo&n and u@ yilo&n ('e plain' and 'u plain'),

so called to distinguish them from similar sounding diphthongs.

Vowels combine in the following diphthongs:

ai	ei	oi	ui	au	eu	hu	ou
pai=j	ei0j	oi]noj	ui9o&j	au)to&j	eu9ri/skw	hu{ron	ou)dei/j

ai and ei* as ai in aisle
ui as wi in twist
au as ow in now
eu and hu as u in June
ou as oo in too.

*some give the distinction between ei and h as that between French é and è.

ai transliterates as

ae (Ai1gina, Aegina)
a (Ai3dhj, Hades)
e (ai0qh&r, ether).

oi transliterates as

e (oi]koj, eco-)
oe (oi]noj, oeno-).

Breathings:

An initial vowel, r (rho) or diphthong always has a breathing mark written above it:

either 9 (asper, 'rough breathing')
e.g. o(do&j (hodos), ou{toj (hootos)

or 0 (lenis, 'smooth breathing')
e.g. o)ktw& (oktoh), ou)dei/j (oodais).

The breathing is written to the left of a Capital, and above the second vowel of a diphthong. A vowel with a 'rough breathing' is aspirated and pronounced accordingly (h...), with a 'smooth breathing' it remains unaspirated. Initial u (upsilon) or r (rho) always has a 'rough breathing'. Breathings, like iota subscripts, are part of the spelling of a word, and must always be inserted, even if accents are omitted.

Punctuation:

Capital letters are used for Proper Names, to start a new paragraph, and to indicate the beginning of a quotation in direct speech. Breathings and accents are written to the left of Capitals, but above the second vowel of an initial diphthong, e.g.

0Aqhnai=oj Athenian
3Ellhn Hellene
Ai1guptoj Egyptian

In Greek:

a semi-colon (;) is equivalent to a Question Mark
a dot above the line (:) is a (Greek) semi-colon
comma (,) and full-stop (.) are the same as in English, e.g.

ti/ e0stin;	e0sti r(o&don:	r(o&don e0sti/ moi.
What is it?	It is a rose;	the rose is mine / to me.

Accents:

There are three accents:

acute / (written on one of the last three syllables of a word)

grave \ (generally written in place of an acute on the final syllable)

circumflex = (written on a long final or penultimate syllable)

Accents were not introduced until the second century B.C., and then as a guide to pronunciation.

Beginners may ignore them,

except for noting the few occasions where the accent is a guide to the meaning, e.g.:

a)lla& = but	ti/j; = who?	po&te; = when?
a!lla = other things	tij = someone	pote = sometime

Greek Names:

most masculine names end in -oj, -aj, -hj, -wn, -euj

most feminine names end in -a, -h

Click on highlighted names below to hear a specimen pronunciation.

Agathon	0Aga&qwn	Thales	Qalh~j
Agamemnon	0Agame/mnwn	Themistocles	Qemistoklh~j
Agesilaos	0Aghsi/laoj	Theseus	Qhseu&j
Aias / Ajax	Ai1aj	Thucydides	Qoukudi/dhj
Aeschylus	Ai0sxu&loj	Isocrates	0Isokra&thj
Aesop	Ai1swpoj	Caesar	Kai=sar
Alexander	0Ale/candroj	Cimon	Ki/mwn
Alkibiades	0Alkibia&dhj	Croesus	Kroi=soj
Antigone	0Antigo&nh	Cyrus	Ku~roj
Anacreon	0Anakre/wn	Lycurgus	Lukou~rgoj
Anaxagoras	0Anacago&raj	Menelaus	Mene/laoj
Antiphon	0Antifw~n	Minos	Mi/nwj
Archimedes	0Arximh&dhj	Nestor	Ne/stwr
Aristippus	0Ari/stippoj	Xenophon	Cenofw~n
Aristotle	0Aristote/lhj	Xerxes	Ce/rchj
Aristophanes	0Aristofa&nhj	Odysseus	0Odusseu&j
Achilles	0Axilleu&j	Oedipus	Oi0di/pouj
Bias	Bi/aj	Homer	3Omhroj
Gorgias	Gorgi/aj	Orpheus	0Orfeu~j
Darius	Darei=oj	Pericles	Periklh~j
Democritus	Dhmo&kritoj	Pindar	Pi/ndaroj
Demosthenes	Dhmosqe/nhj	Plato	Pla&twn
Diogenes	Dioge/nhj	Protagoras	Prwtago&raj
Dionysius	Dionu&sioj	Pythagoras	Puqago&raj
Diotima	Dioti/ma	Sappho	Sapfw&
Draco	Dra&kwn	Solon	So&lwn
Electra	0Hle/ktra	Sophocles	Sofoklh~j
Hector	3Ektwr	Sphinx	Sfi/gc
Epicurus	0Epi/kouroj	Socrates	Swkra&thj
Euclid	Eu)klei/dhj	Teiresias	Teiresi/aj
Euripides	Eu)ripi/dhj	Phaedo	Fai/dwn
Heraclitus	9Hra&kleitoj	Phidias	Feidi/aj
Herakles	9Hraklh~j	Philip	Fi/lippoj

Examples:

Flowers:
kro&koj	i1rij	a)nemw&nh	o!rxij
crocus	iris	anemone	orchid
ku&klamij	delfi/nion	eu)kalu&ptoj
cyclamen	delphinium	eucalyptus
Animals:
mu~j	le/wn	ti/grij	e)le/faj
mouse	lion	tiger	elephant
kamh~loj	pa&nqhr	r(inoke/rwj	kroko&deiloj
camel	panther	rhinoceros	crocodile

Words with English derivatives:

Click on highlighted Greek words below for a specimen pronunciation.

a0kmh&	ba&rbaroj	ge/nesij	despo&thj	e0gw&	zw~\|on
acme	barbarian	genesis	despot	egoist	zoo
h9donh&	qe/atron	i0de/a	kli/mac	lampa&j	mani/a
hedonist	theatre	idea	climax	lamp	mania
nau=thj	cu&lon	o0rxh&stra	pa&nqhr	r9ayw\|di/a	sxh~ma
nautical	xylophone	orchestra	panther	rhapsody	scheme
tu&rannoj	u3pnoj	fwnh/	xro&noj	yeu=doj	w)ke/anoj
tyranny	hypnosis	phonetic	chronology	pseudo-	ocean

Smooth and Rough Breathings:

Click on highlighted Greek words below for a specimen pronunciation.

a0gw&n	a3lj	e0gw&	e#c	i0xqu&j	i3ppoj
agony	salt	I	six	fish	horse
o0ktw&	o(do&j	u3dwr	r9o&don
eight	road	water (hydr-)	rose (rhod-)

The Olympians: oi9 0Olu&mpioi

Click on highlighted Greek names below for a specimen pronunciation.

0Aqh&nh	Athena	0Afrodi/th	Aphrodite	Zeu&j	Zeus
0Apo&llwn	Apollo	Dhmh&thr	Demeter	3Hra	Hera
1Arhj	Ares	Dio&nusoj	Dionysus	3Hfaistoj	Hephaistus
1Artemij	Artemis	9Ermh~j	Hermes	Poseidw~n	Poseidon

Places: oi9 to&poi

Note: the definite article is used in Greek for names, but not translated:

Click on highlighted Greek words for a specimen pronunciation.

0Asi/a	Asia	ai9 0Aqh~nai	Athens	h( Krh&th	Crete
Eu0rw&ph	Europe	ai9 Qh~bai	Thebes	h( 9Ro&doj	Rhodes
9Ella&j	Hellas / Greece	oi9 Delfoi/	Delphi	h( Sikeli/a	Sicily

These words combine with lo&goj, logos, for the names of sciences:

Click on highlighted Greek words below for a specimen pronunciation.

a1nqrwpoj	with logos	= anthropology	: account of	humans
bi/oj		= biology		life
gh~		= geology		the earth
ko&smoj		= cosmology		the cosmos
oi}koj		= ecology		the (home) environment
te/xnh		= technology		crafts
yuxh&		= psychology		the soul

Reading:

e0gw& ei0mi to_ 1Alfa kai\ to_ 1Wmega, a0rxh_ kai\ te/loj, le/gei ku&rioj o( qeo&j.

e0gw& ei0mi	to_ 1Alfa kai\ to_ 1Wmega,	a0rxh_ kai\ te/loj,	le/gei	ku&rioj o( qeo&j.
I am	the Alpha and the Omega,	beginning and end,	says	lord the god.

e0n th=| a0rxh=| h]n o( lo&goj, kai\ o( lo&goj h}n pro_j to_n qeo_n kai\ qeo_j h}n o( lo&goj.

In the beginning was the word, and the word was with (the) god and the god was the word.

Exercises:

1(i) Words with English derivatives: Suggest a derivative for each:
a)riqmo&j	bi/bloj	gumna&sion	dra~ma
e0pisto&lh	zesto&j	h#lioj	qro&noj
i3ppoj	kri/sij	le/wn	mo&noj
ne/ktar	ce/noj	o(ri/zwn	path&r
r(h&twr	strathgo&j	trau~ma	u#mnoj
feu&gw	xarakth&r	ya&lma	w#ra

Now check your ANSWERS here.

1(ii)

The heroes,

oi( h#rwej

Give the names in English

o( 0Agame/mnwn	o( Mene/laoj	o( 0Odusseu&j
o( 0Axilleu&j	o( Ne/stwr	o( Pa&rij
o( 3Ektwr	o( 0Ore/sthj	o( Pa&trokloj

Now check your ANSWERS here

1(iii)

The women,

ai( gunai=kej

Give the names in English:

h( 0Androma&xh	h( 9Ele/nh	h( 0Ifige/nia
h( 0Antigo&nh	h( 0Hle/ktra	h( Kasa&ndra
h( 9Eka&bh	h( Mh&deia	h( Phnelo&ph

Now check your ANSWERS here

1(iv)

Some English words combine Greek roots with -graphy

e.g. grafh& - writing or drawing.

Give each complete word and its meaning:

bi/oj	au)to&j - bi/oj	gh~
xo&roj	kallo&j	fw~toj

Now check your ANSWERS here

1(v) Here are the cast lists of two Greek plays:
		TA TOU DRAMATOS PROSWPA
The characters of the play
Name the plays and the characters:

SOFOKLEOUS OIDIPOUS TURANNOS

OIDIPOUS		IOKASTH
IEREUS		AGGELOS
KREWN		QERAPWN
TEIRESIAS		ECAGGELOS
XOROS gero&ntwn Qhbai/wn

EURIPIDOU IPPOLUTOS

AFRODITH		FAIDRA
IPPOLUTOS		AGGELOS
QERAPONTHS		QHSEUS
TROFOS		ARTEMIS
XOROS Troizhni/wn gunaikw~n

Now check your ANSWERS here.

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