PDF Learn Greek Lesson 1

The Greek Alphabet
1 Sight and Sounds of the Greek Letters (Module A)

The Letters and Pronunciation of the Greek Alphabet
Phonology (Part 1)
Lesson One Overview

§1.0 Introduction, 1
§1.1 The Greek Alphabet, 6
§1.2 The Greek Small Letters, 16
§1.3 The Greek Capital Letters, 18
§1.4 The Greek Alphabet Charted, 19
§1.5 Further Information, 20
Study Guide, 22
§1.0 Introduction
As might be expected, the Greek alphabet is introduced first. The Greek alphabet
has twenty-four letters. Each letter is represented by both a small and capital
letter. The difference between the small and capital letters is no different from the
small and capital letters in English. Seven alphabetical letters are vowels, and the
remaining letters consonants. It is vital to learn the
names of these letters, the form of both the small and
capital letters, and the proper pronunciation of each. This
will not be as difficult as expected, since many English
and Greek alphabetical characters are very similar.
The forming and pronunciation of the twenty-four Greek

letters are introduced in this lesson. Mastering the sight
and sounds of the alphabet will lay the cornerstone for
learning the sight and sounds of Greek words in all
subsequent lessons. The first and single most important step in learning Greek is
to memorize the sight and sounds of the alphabet. Those who do not thoroughly
learn the Greek alphabet are sowing the seed for future failure.
Before introducing the Greek letters, a few preliminary comments are necessary
about the different types of Greek letters, their phonemic pronunciation, the Greek
typeface used in this course, and its deployment on the Internet.
© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

LESSON 1: The Greek Alphabet Page 2
Sight and Sounds of the Greek Letters (Module A)
______________________________________________________________________
§1.01 The types of Greek letters in the alphabet. As with the English alphabet,
two major types of speech sounds constitute the Greek alphabet. The open
sounds with “free” breath are called vowel letters. The closed sounds with
restricted breath are called consonant letters.
The Greek alphabet contains
When one says “ah” for the doctor, an open seven distinct vowels and
sound is made with free passage of breath. seventeen consonants.
The sound may be made as long as there is
breath. This sound is a vowel, as are all the
other open and freely breathed sounds in speech. The various vowel sounds are
enunciated by modification of the shape of the oral chamber, and by movements
of the tongue and lips. There are seven vowel letters in the Greek alphabet.
The open quality of vowels distinguishes them from another type of letter, the
consonant. Simply stated, a consonant is any single letter that is not a vowel.
The consonant letters are pronounced with the breath totally or partly blocked.
This hindering of sound is done by the tongue, teeth, or lips. There are seventeen
consonant letters in the Greek alphabet.
§1.02 The Greek alphabetical letters and sounds. A sound sufficiently distinct
from other sounds as to differentiate meaning is a phoneme. Each phoneme is
represented in writing by a unique alphabetical letter. For example, the words
“pat” and “bat” have different meanings;
The term “phoneme” is pronounced this indicates in English the two letters,
as f / n m. The twenty-four Greek “p” and “b” are separate phonemes.
alphabetical characters represent Although the forming of these two letters
twenty-four different phonemes. by the lips is identical, the vocal cords are
used with “b” and not with “p”.
A word’s phonetic pronunciation is produced by the quick succession of its

individual letter phonemes. In “bat”, the combined phonemic sound of each
alphabetical letter (“b” + “a” + “t”) yields the word’s total phonetic sound. However,
only context determines the meaning of the word (“bat” as a stout wooden stick or
club; “bat” as a nocturnal flying mammal; or “bat” as to move the eyelids quickly).
This lesson introduces both the phoneme of each Greek alphabetical character, as
well as the pronunciation of each Greek alphabetical letter.
§1.03 The phonemic system used in this course. The Greek letter sounds for
this course are designed to provide a practical and consistent system of
pronunciation. No authoritative source exists in determining how Greek was
pronounced during New Testament times. However, as an aid to vocabulary
______________________________________________________________________
memorization, the Erasmian standardized system of pronunciation has been

adopted that is widely used in universities, Bible colleges, seminaries, and in
numerous modern New Testament Greek grammars.
Three major approaches are available for learning the

pronunciation of New Testament Greek. It would seem
natural to learn the standardized pronunciation used today
in Greece. However, unless Greek is spoken on a daily
basis, a serious draw back exists. Several different
phonemes have identical sounds, and some phonemes
have multiple sounds, causing confusion between how a
word is spoken and actually written. This is no different in
English where the letter “c” may sound very different, such Desiderius Erasmus
1466 A.D.?-1539 A.D.
as the “c” in “cat”, “circle”, or “cube”, or the difference in
meaning between the two words, “cubical” and “cubicle”, being pronounced
identically. The native speaker knows the difference because they are absorbed
in the language—very different from a non-native learning to read the Greek New
Testament. Furthermore, as with all languages, the pronunciation used in Modern
Greek has evolved over the years. Therefore, Modern Greek is not necessarily a
proper reflection how Greek was spoken during the New Testament Era, as
English spoken today is to Elizabethan English.
A second approach to pronunciation is to learn “reconstructed New Testament

Greek”. Scholars, primarily in the last century, have reconstructed what is
believed to be the actual pronunciation of Greek during the New Testament Era
based upon linguistic guidelines. Even so, with the variety of Greek dialects
spoken during that era because of geographical isolation, there was divergence
primarily with certain vowels sounds. This is also true how English is spoken
differently today in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States.
The final pronunciation approach is the Erasmian system. Desiderius Erasmus

was a Renaissance Latin and Greek scholar who developed a system for non-
native speakers to learn Greek easily. His system diverged from how Greek was
spoken during his day in that he assigned different phonemes to the vowels and
consonants, differentiating them when spoken. His method greatly enhanced a
copyist to duplicate accurately the Greek New Testament. In addition, his
approach allowed non-natives to learn to read rapidly the Greek New Testament.
Erasmus’ pronunciation gained a foothold in 1588 A.D. when two British

professors at Cambridge began to use his method in their Greek classes. The
classes were such a success that the approach spread rapidly to other schools,
including Bible colleges, universities, and seminaries, both in Great Britain and
______________________________________________________________________
eventually the United States. Erasmus’ pronunciation method proliferated when

many New Testament Greek professors also used his pronunciation in their
grammars. It was not until the middle of 1800 A.D., however, that the terms,
“Erasmic Greek” or “Erasmian Greek” became commonplace and denoted the
pronunciation method set forth by Erasmus.
Erasmian Greek is not how Modern Greek is pronounced, nor how Greek was
pronounced during the New Testament Era; it is somewhere in between the two.
It is a practical method for non-native Greek speakers to learn quickly a consistent
system of pronunciation. Even if a non-native attempts to learn Modern Greek
pronunciation, they will never be able to reproduce the phonemic sounds as a
native without living in the country and speaking the language for many years.
The Erasmian approach is a viable alternative to Modern Greek pronunciation for

several reasons. First, the beginner quickly learns to differentiate between the
seven vowel and seventeen consonant sounds, as well as the binary diphthong
vowel sounds. This leads to rapid learning of Greek vocabulary, and eventual
reading of the Greek New Testament. Second, most institutions outside of Greece
teach New Testament Greek using the Erasmian pronunciation method. Unless
one plans to move to Greece and speak the language, Modern Greek
pronunciation in the end is disadvantageous for those who plan to read only the
Greek New Testament and communicate to those who learned Erasmian Greek—
who are in the majority. Finally, after learning New Testament Greek vocabulary
using the Erasmian pronunciation, one can attempt to learn Modern Greek
pronunciation, thereby not being initially confused with identical Modern Greek
phonemic sounds.
If Erasmian Greek pronunciation is so good to learn Greek, why did not Greece
eventually adopt it? Whereas Erasmian Greek is a wonderful learning tool, it is
caustic to the ear when compared to Modern Greek lyrical sounds. If one
compares the seemingly musical sounds of Modern Greek, Erasmian Greek
sounds barbaric—even intolerable to the native speaker! However, most non-
native students are not interested investing the time to achieve these lyrical
sounds; they are more interested in being able to read the Greek New Testament,
and as rapidly as possible.
With the foregoing rationale set forth for using the Erasmian Greek pronunciation,
let us move on to another matter: the Greek font used in this course.

______________________________________________________________________
§1.04 The Greek font used in this course. The Greek SPIonic font has been
chosen for this grammar for several reasons. First, the SPIonic font is compatible for
both the Macintosh© and Windows© platforms, utilizing the same character and keyboard
maps. The font is also designed to follow the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae encoding
scheme. Second, it is a public domain font, meaning that the font may be
downloaded and used without copyright restrictions. Finally, the SPIonic font is an
easy to read typeface similarly found in modern printed texts of the Greek New
Testament, a Greek typeface dating from the middle ages.
Unless the SPIonic font has been downloaded and installed in the font folder of
your computer, the Greek characters will not be displayed or print properly.
Instructions how to install the SPIonic font may be found here. If the font in the
right-hand column below appears similar as the graphic image in the left-hand
column, the SPIonic font is already installed in your font folder. No further action
is necessary to view and print the course materials.
Graphic SPIonic Font SPIonic Font
0En a)rxh=| h]n o9 lo/goj
§1.05 Course deployment on the Internet. All course lessons are offered in Adobe
Acrobat format. The Adobe Acrobat Reader© software is free and allows all major
computer platforms to view and print the lesson materials. If you wish to listen to
the lessons' accompanying MP3 audio files (highly recommended), a MP3 player
is required. If you do not have a MP3 player, you may download without cost
RealPlayer©, Winamp©, or the Microsoft MediaPlayer©.
All materials for this New Testament Greek course are distributed on the World
Wide Web from InTheBeginning.org web site and are copyrighted by the author.
However, they may be freely distributed without prior permission from Dr. William
D. Ramey, if two conditions are met: (1) the material in the lessons is not altered in
any manner, including the copyright at the bottom of the page remains intact; and
(2) the transmission and distribution of all course materials are done without cost.
Finally, NTGreek forum is available for students with a special question or need
concerning the course work. Please post the question or comment under the
respective lesson. You will need to join the board in order to post, but not to read
what others have posted.
We are now ready to begin one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime:
the study of the New Testament in its original language.

______________________________________________________________________
§1.1 The Greek Alphabet
The approach in learning the Greek alphabet will be by first seeing, then correctly
pronouncing, and finally writing the individual capital and small letters in their
alphabetical order. Memorizing them in this
order from the beginning will prove helpful later Remember, the first and single
when using a Greek-English lexicon. A lexicon most important step in learning
is more than a dictionary, for it also cites actual Greek is to memorize the sight
usages of a word within a document(s). and sounds of the alphabet.
The suggested procedure for learning the

alphabet is straightforward. Use the provided practice Greek alphabet practice
pages on pages twenty-two thru twenty-six. Proper penmanship in forming the
Greek letters is an essential step in learning Greek. Possible confusion between
Greek letters is avoided from the start if bad habits are not learned!
Next, use the animated on-line tutorial link provided below each Greek
alphabetical letter both to see how to form properly the character and to hear its
phoneme and letter is pronounced. On your practice sheets, practice writing both
the capital and small Greek letters while listening to the letter’s pronunciation.
As you listen to how an alphabetical character is pronounced, remember that the

pronunciation of a letter’s phoneme is learned by proper pronunciation of its
alphabetical name. For example, the second letter in the Greek alphabet is b, and
b is pronounced as the first letter in its alphabetical name, bhta (b ta).
Therefore, knowing how to pronounce the character’s alphabetical name is to
know how to pronounce the Greek letter’s phoneme. This is also true for all the
remaining letters in the alphabet. A Greek
letter’s phoneme has the same pronunciation
A Greek letter’s phoneme has
as does the opening sound of its alphabetical
the same pronunciation as
letter’s name.
does the opening sound of its
alphabetical letter’s name.
As stated before, the twenty-four letters of the
Greek alphabet are divided into two types:
seven are vowels and the remaining seventeen are consonants. Their order,
beginning on page eight, does not reflect these separate categories, but rather
their alphabetical sequence.
Moreover, each of the twenty-four Greek letters is represented by two forms. The
first letter illustrates the capital letter (or upper case), and then its corresponding
small letter (or lower case) follows. The capital letters should be studied along

______________________________________________________________________
with their matching small letters. The letters should be pronounced aloud several
times while practicing writing them. The human eye must not carry the entire
burden of learning and memorizing the alphabetical order of the Greek alphabet.
The arrow accompanying each case letter indicates the starting point and direction
of flow when forming a Greek character. Greek is read from left to right like
English. Therefore, if possible, a Greek letter should be written so that the final
stroke ends to the furthest right where the next letter’s stroke begins.
The Greek names for the lower case letters are spelled on the following pages
with accompanying accents and breathing marks. Whereas these are for future
reference, for the time being, these accents and breathing marks may be
disregarded. You will learn these in Lesson Five.
Alphabetical Order Greek Upper Case Spelling Classification Information
English Spelling Greek Lower Case Spelling
1st letter | Alpha ALFA, a!lfa [variable—voiced] vowel
1. Alpha is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be

long or short. If long, the phoneme is as a in
a “father”; if short, as a in “dad”. The vowel is never

pronounced like the long a in English (i.e., “age”).
2. The lower case letter should be written as a figure

< ahl – fah > “8” laid on its side and opened on the right.
Hear and See 3. A, a is transliterated as “A”, “a” into English.
Relative Size Reference
Helpful Information
On-Line Pronunciation and Formation Aids
Pronunciation Guide

______________________________________________________________________
1st letter | Alpha ALFA, a!lfa [variable—voiced] vowel
1. Alpha is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be

long or short. If long, the phoneme is as a in
a “father”; if short, as a in “dad”. The vowel is never

pronounced like the long a in English (i.e., “age”).
2. The lower case letter should be written as a figure

< ahl – fah > “8” laid on its side and opened on the right.
Hear and See 3. A, a is transliterated as “A”, “a” into English.
2nd letter | B ta BHTA, bh=ta [labial—voiced] consonant
1. B ta is a labial consonant. Its phoneme is

pronounced by the closure of the lips and the vocal
cords vibrate when pronouncing the phoneme. Its
phoneme is as the b in “ball”. more
2. The upper case letter is identical to its English

< bay – tah > counterpart. The lower case letter looks similar to
its upper case letter, except that it has a tail
Hear and See dropping below the base line. Begin the letter with
an upward stroke below the line.
3. B, b is transliterated as “B”, “b” into English.
3rd letter | Gamma GAMMA, ga&mma

mma [palatal—voiced] consonant
1. Gamma is a palatal consonant, formed in the back

of the throat by the closure of the tongue against
g the soft palate. Vocal cords vibrate. Its phoneme is

as the g in “got”—never as the g in “gin”. more
2. The lower case letter’s “tail” drops below the base

< gahm – ma > line. The lower and upper case letters look very
different from each other.
Hear and See
3. G, g is transliterated as “G”, “g” into English.

______________________________________________________________________
4th letter | Delta DELTA, de/lta [dental—voiced] consonant
1. Delta is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of

the tongue behind the upper teeth. The vocal
cords vibrate. Its phoneme is as the d in “dog”.
more
2. The lower and upper case letters look very

< dell – tah > different. Both case letters may be completed in a
single stroke.
Hear and See
3. D, d is transliterated as “D”, “d” into English.
5th letter | Eps lon EYILON, e2 yilo/n [short—voiced] vowel; long i ta
1. Eps(lon is a short vowel. It is always

pronounced short. Its phoneme is as the e in
e “net”. The vowel is always short and is never

pronounced like the English long e as in “equal”.
Its corresponding long phoneme is ta (HTA).
< eh – pseeh – lawn > 2. Be sure to differentiate between the lower case
English “e” and the Greek “e” when written.
Hear and See
3. E, e is transliterated as “E”, “e” into English.
6th letter | Z ta ZHTA, zh=ta [compound—continuant] consonant
1. Z ta is a compound consonant. Its phoneme is a

combination of d + [unvoiced] s, or d + [voiced] s.
Respectively, its initial phoneme is as the z in
“gaze”, and its medial phoneme as dz in “adz”.
2. The lower and upper case letters look different. The

< zay – tah > small letter’s “tail” curls and drops below the base line.
3. Z, z is transliterated as “Z”, “z” into English.

Hear and See

______________________________________________________________________
7th letter | ta HTA, h]ta [long—voiced] vowel
1. *ta is a long vowel. It is always pronounced long.
h
Its phoneme is as a in “gate” or e in “obey”. Its
corresponding short phoneme is eps(lon.
2. The lower case letter looks like an English “n”.

However, it is pronounced very differently! The
< ay – tah > stroke ends below the base line.
Hear and See 3. H, h is transliterated as “P”, “Q” into English.

Always employ the macron mark above ta to
differentiate it from the short vowel eps(lon.
8th letter | Th ta QHTA,

HTA, qh=ta [dental—aspirate] consonant
1. Th ta is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of

the tongue behind the upper teeth, with its sound
accompanied with a strong emission of breath. Its
phoneme is as the th in “thing”—never as th in
“this”. more
< thay – tah > 2. The lower case letter may be written without lifting
the pen.
Hear and See
3. Q, q is transliterated by two consonants into
English, “Th”, “th”.
9th letter | I ta IWTA, i0w~ta [variable—voiced] vowel
1. I ta is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be
i
pronounced long or short. If long, the phoneme is
as i in “machine”; if short, as i in “hit”. I ta is never
pronounced like the English long “i” (i.e., “kite”).
2. The lower case letter is never dotted as the

< yi – oh - tah > English “i”.
Hear and See 3. I, i is transliterated as “I”, “i” into English.

______________________________________________________________________
10th letter | Kappa KAPPA, ka&ppa [palatal—unvoiced] consonant
1. Kappa is a palatal consonant, formed in the back
k
of the throat by the closure of the tongue against
the soft palate. The vocal cords do not vibrate. Its
phoneme is as the k in “kin”. more
2. Both case letters are formed like their English

< kap – pah > counterparts.
Hear and See 3. K, k is transliterated as “K”, “k” into English.
11th letter | Lambda LAMBDA, la&mbda [liquid—continuant] consonant
1. Lambda is a liquid consonant. Air is allowed to

pass through the oral cavity while its phoneme is
pronounced. Its phoneme is as the l in “lot”. more
2. The lower case letter has a hook at the top that

slants to the left. The upper case letter looks like
< lahm – dah > delta, except that there is not a base line stroke.
Hear and See 3. L, l is transliterated as “L”, “l” into English.
12th letter | M MU, mu= [nasal labial—voiced continuant] consonant
1. M/ is a nasal labial consonant. Its phoneme is
m
formed by the rounding of the lips, with most of
the sound allowed to pass through the nasal
cavity instead of the mouth. The vocal cords
vibrate. Its phoneme is as the m in “man”. more
< mew > 2. The lower and upper case letters look different.
The lower case letter has a tail. Sufficient tail
Hear and See helps distinguish it from ups(lon.
3. M, m is transliterated as “M”, “m” into English.

______________________________________________________________________
13th letter | N NU, nu= [nasal dental—voiced continuant] consonant
1. N/ is a nasal dental continuant consonant. The

tongue is pressed against the alveolar ridge with
n its sound forced up through the nasal cavity while

the air is not complete stopped. The vocal cords
vibrate. Its phoneme is as the n in “new”. more
< new > 2. The lower case letter must not be confused with
the English letter “v”. N/ and ups(lon are often
Hear and See confused. Write n/ pointed at the bottom and turn
the right upward stroke inward at the top.
3. N, n is transliterated as “N”, “n” into English.
14th letter | Xs CI, ci= [compound—unvoiced continuant] consonant
1. Xs( is a compound consonant. Its phoneme is a

combination of k + [unvoiced] s. Its phoneme is
approximate to x in “axe” or in “six”. more
2. The lower and upper case letters are very different.

The lower case letter is distinctive with a curl stroke
< x – see >
at the top and bottom.
Hear and See 3. C, c is transliterated “Xs”, “xs” or “X”, “x” in English.
15th letter | Om kron OMIKRON, o2 mikro/n [short—voiced] vowel
1. Om(kron is a short vowel. It is always pronounced

short. Its phoneme is as the o in “pot”. The
corresponding long phoneme is mega.
o 2. Both case letters are written like their English

counterparts. The alphabetical character’s name
< au – me – krahn > may be spelled as om(kron or om(cron.
Hear and See

3. O, o is transliterated into English as “O”, “o”.

______________________________________________________________________
16th letter | P P I , pi=

pi = [labial—unvoiced] consonant
1. P( is a labial consonant. The phoneme is formed by

the closing the lips. The vocal cords do not vibrate.
p Its phoneme is as the p in “party”. more
2. Both lower and upper case letters are written with

three strokes. The two support strokes may be
< pee > written first, with the “shelf” stroke last.
Hear and See 3. P, p is transliterated as “P”,“p” into English.
17th letter | Rh RW, r9w~ [liquid—continuant] consonant
1. Rh is a liquid consonant. Air is allowed to pass
r
through the oral cavity while its phoneme is
pronounced. Its phoneme is as the r in “red”.
Whenever rh begins a word, it is aspirated. As
the spelling of its name indicates (rh ), a flow of
breath accompanies the letter. more
< hrow >
2. The lower case letter has a tail that drops below
the base line. Be careful! Do not confuse this
Hear and See
letter with the English “p”.
3. R, r is transliterated into English as “R”, “r”.
18th letter | Sigma SIGMA, si/gma [sibilant—continuant] consonant
1. Sigma is the only pure sibilant consonant. Its

phoneme (unvoiced) is as the s in
s “sit” or as “is” (voiced). more
2. When sigma occurs as the final

letter in a word, it is written as j,
j
< sig – mah >
otherwise, lower case is s (i.e.,
seismoj). Final sigma is a convention of printing
Hear and See and is not found in any ancient manuscripts.
3. S, s, j is transliterated into English as “S”, “s”.

______________________________________________________________________
19th letter | Tau TAU, tau= [dental—unvoiced] consonant
1. Tau is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of

the tongue behind the upper teeth. Its phoneme is
t
as the t in “talk”. more
2. The lower case letter never has the top stroke

below its top like the English “t”.
< tau >
3. T, t is transliterated into English as “T”, “t”.
Hear and See
20th letter | Ups lon UYILON,

YILON, u] yilo/n [variable—voiced] vowel
1. Ups(lon is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be
u
pronounced long or short. If long, the phoneme is
as the u in “lute”; if short u as in “put”. The
phoneme is never pronounced as the English long
“u” (i.e., “use”).
< ew – pseeh - lawn > 2. Ups(lon and n/ may be confused when written.
Form ups(lon with a rounded bottom with the right
Hear and See upward stroke turned outward.
3. U, u is transliterated into English as “Y”, “y”, or as

“U”, “u” when a, e, h, or o precede ups(lon.
21st letter | Ph FI , fi=

fi = [labial—aspirate] consonant
1. Ph( is a labial aspirate consonant. Its phoneme is
f
pronounced by the near closing of the lips and an
emission of breath. Its phoneme is as the ph in
“phone” or the f as in “fat”. more
2. The lower case letter’s tail extends below the base

< fee > line. The letter is often written as one stroke.
Hear and See 3. F, f is transliterated by two consonants into

English, “Ph”, “ph”.

______________________________________________________________________
22nd letter | Ch XI, xi= [palatal—aspirate] consonant
1. Ch( is a palatal aspirate consonant. It is formed in
x
the throat by the closure of the tongue against the
soft palate while allowing air to pass. Its phoneme
is as the ch in “chemist”, or the k in “kiosk”. The
phoneme may be easily confused with kappa
unless it is remembered that the breath is not
< khey > entirely cut off with ch(. more
Hear and See 2. X, x is transliterated by two consonants into

English, “Ch”, “ch”.
23rd letter | Ps YI,

YI , yi=
yi = [compound—unvoiced continuant] consonant
1. Ps( is a compound consonant. The phoneme is a

combination of p + [unvoiced] s. Initial phoneme
y is as the ps in “psalms”, and its medial or final

phoneme is as the ps in “lips” or “taps”. more
2. The lower case letter’s stem drops below the base

< psee >
line.
Hear and See 3. Y, y is transliterated by two consonants into

English, “Ps”, “ps”.
24th letter | .mega WMEGA, w}me/ga [long—voiced] vowel
1. 6mega is a long vowel. Its phoneme is always

pronounced long. Phoneme is as o in “note”.
w 2. Do not confuse the lower case letter with the

English “w”.
< oh – may – gah > 2. W, w is transliterated as “T”, “U” into English.
Always employ the macron mark above mega to
Hear and See differentiate it from the short vowel om(kron.

______________________________________________________________________
§1.1.1 Memorizing the Greek alphabet. Many similarities exist between the
Greek and English alphabetical letters. These similarities are in form and sound
(phoneme). The Greek alphabetical order parallels the English for a while, then
differs, and then begins to parallel again. It is recommended that the Greek
alphabet be memorized in five groups of letters, each beginning with a familiar
looking English corresponding vowel: a (alpha), e (eps(lon), i (i ta), o (om(kron),
and u (ups(lon). These suggested groupings follow. Listen
Aa Bb Gg Dd
Ee Zz Hh Qq
Ii Kk Ll Mm Nn Cc
Oo Pp Rr Ss j Tt
Uu Ff Xx Yy Ww
§1.2 The Greek Small Letters
§1.2.1 Eleven of the Greek lower case letters do not extend below the line, and
are approximately as wide as they are high. The height of these lower case letters
are one-half of the height of their corresponding upper case letters. Listen
a 1
e i 2
k n o 3,4 5
p s 5
t u 3
w
1. a (alpha) should be written as a figure 8 laid on its side and opened on
the right, and not as the English “a”.
2. The i (i ta) is never dotted.
3. The letters n (n/) and u (ups(lon) are easily confused. Write n pointed at
the bottom and turn the right upward stroke outward at the top; u is
written rounded at the bottom with the right straight upward stroke.
4. N, n (n/) should not be confused with the English “v”. The English “v”
has no Greek counterpart. Furthermore, never say “n” for n.
5. There is another pair of letters other than n and u which may be confused
except for a small, but a very important difference: om(kron (o) and
sigma (s). Notice that sigma wears a "hat" whereas om(kron does not.

______________________________________________________________________
§1.2.2 Eight Greek lower case letters rest on the line and extend below it, and are
as high as those in §1.2.1. None of their corresponding upper case letters drop
below the line. Listen Final Sigma
g h1 2
m 3
r 4
j
2,5
x 1
f 6
y 6
1. Both g (gamma) and x (ch() may be written crossing the line.

2. h ( ta) and j (final sigma) are not usually made to extend as far below
the line as the others in this group do.
3. A sufficient stem on m (m/) distinguishes it from u (ups(lon). Notice
these distinctions in the following word pairs: ko/smou - ko/smon,
tu/pou - tu/pon.
4. R, r (rh ) must not be confused with “P/p” in English, nor w ( mega) with
the English “w”.
5. There is one sigma with two forms. It is written s at the beginning or in
the middle of a word, and j at the end. Examples: so/j, no/soj, seismo/j.
6. The stems of f (ph() and y (ps() extend above the middle line.
§1.2.3 Three of the Greek lower case letters rest on the line, but are twice as high
as in §1.2.1 above. These letters are delta, th ta, and lambda. These lower case
letters’ height corresponds to their upper case letters. Listen
d q l
§1.2.4 Three of the lower case letters extend above and below the line. These
letters are b ta, z ta, and xsX. Listen
b z c
Below are all of the lower case letters in their alphabetical order. This may prove
helpful, because it illustrates their respective height when written together.
Listen abgdezhqiklmncoprstufxyw

______________________________________________________________________
§1.3 The Greek Capital Letters
All of the capital letters are of uniform height and rest on the base line. They
should be learned in conjunction with their corresponding small letters.
When practicing, aim at simplicity, clarity, and ease of recognition. Use the
animated examples on-line or those given below to learn how to form the
characters. Every student will develop their own writing style, and slight variations
from the printed forms below will not generally cause confusion.
A B G D E Z H Q I
K L M N C O P
R S T U F X Y W
§1.3.1 Nine capital letters do not correspond to their small letters. These capital
letters are G, D, Z, H, L, C, S, U and W. Special attention to these upper case
letters are required in order to associate them with their lower case letters.
Gg Dd Zz Hh Ll
Cc Ssj Uu Ww
The chart in the next section summarizes and highlights what has been presented
thus far for all the Greek letters, which will be helpful as a review. The
alphabetical letter names of the three variable vowels, alpha, i ta, and ups(lon
should be pronounced long when reciting the alphabet.

______________________________________________________________________
§1.4 The Greek Alphabet Charted

The capital and small letters appear in the first column, with their Greek and
English spellings in the second and third columns, respectively. Breathing marks
and accents have been included where appropriate (these will be introduced in
Lesson Five). The fourth column gives an English approximate pronunciation of
the Greek letter, and its phonetic value in the fifth column. The sixth column
illustrates the English equivalent (transliteration) to the Greek letter.
Letter Greek English Sounds As Phonetic Trsl.

a in father (long)
Aa a!lfa YlphY ahl-fah
a in dad (short)
a
Bb bh=ta bQtY bay-tah b in ball b

Gg ga&mma gYmmY gahm-mah g in got g
Dd de/lta dZltY dell-tah d in dog d
Ee e2 yilo/n ZpsXl[n eh-pseeh-lawn e in net e
dz in adz (initial)
Zz zh=ta zQtY zah-tah
z in gaze (medial)
z
Hh h]ta QtY ay-tah e in obey >

Qq qh=ta thQtY thay-tah th in this th
i in machine (long)
Ii i0w~ta iUtY yi-oh-tah
i in hit (short)
i
Kk ka&ppa k\ppY kap-pah k in kin k

Ll la&mbda lYmbdY lahm-dah l in lot l
Mm mu= m] mew m in man m
Nn nu= n] new n in new n
Cc ci= xsX x-see x in axe x
Oo o2 mikro/n ^mXkron au-me-krahn ough in ought o
Pp pi= pX peeh p in party p
r in ride
Rr r(w~ rhU hrow
rh in rhino (aspirate)
r
s in sit (unvoiced)
S s j si/gma s_gmY sig-mah
s in is (voiced)
s
Tt tau= tau tau t in talk t

______________________________________________________________________
Letter Greek English Sounds As Phonetic Trsl.

u in lute (long)
Uu u] yilo/n ]psXlon ew-pseeh-lawn
u in put (short
y, u
Ff fi= phX fee ph in phone ph

Xx xi= chX khey ch in chemist ch
ps in psalm (initial)
Yy yi= psX psee
ps in lips (medial)
ps
Ww w} me/ga U m`gY oh-may-gah o in note @
§1.5 Further Information
The word alphabet (a)lfa&bhtov from a!lfa + bh=ta) is derived from the first two
letters of the twenty-four Greek letters commonly used by the Greeks. The
consonants employed in the Greek alphabet are for the most part adapted from
the Phoenician alphabet.
Originally the Greek alphabet had several other letters, but they dropped out of
use before the New Testament era. However, their continued influence is still felt,
especially in Greek verbs. In addition, the Greeks added five other letters that
were not part of the Phoenician alphabet (u, f, x, y and w, which are the last five
letters of the Greek alphabet).
The Greek alphabetical letters did double duty, serving also as numbers. For
example, First John was written as Iwannou A / (A = first letter in the alphabet),
Second John was Iwannou B / (B = second letter in the alphabet), and Third John
was Iwannou G / (G = third letter in the alphabet).
A near full size reproduction of Acts 1:1-5 from Codex Vaticanus is below. Codex
Vaticanus is a fourth-century Greek text. In the first column is the Codex
Vaticanus. The second column displays the passage transcribed into a modern
(SPIonic) type. How many of the letters can you recognize?
Notice how some of the capital letters (or uncials) are differently formed. In this
particular Codex, sigma is formed like the English “C”. Also notice the lack of
word divisions (!) and the complete absence of accents and breathing marks, and
an almost lack of punctuation. There are even some abbreviations used. For
example, Ihsouj (“Jesus”) is abbreviated as IS in line four.

______________________________________________________________________
TONMENPRWTONLOGON
EPOIHSAMHNPERIPANTW
WQEOFILEWNHRCATO
ISPOIEINTEKAIDIDASKEI
AXRIHSHMERASENTEILA
MENOSTOISAPOSTOLOIS
DIAPNEUMATOSAGIOUOUS
ECELECATOANELHMFQH:
OISKAIPARESTHSENEAU
TONZWNTAMETATOPA
QEINAUTONENPOLLOIS
TEKMHRIOISDIHMERWN
TESSERAKONTAOPTANO
MENOSAUTOISKAILEGW
TAPERITHSBASILEIASTOUQU:
KAISUNALIZOMENOSPA
RHGGEILENAUTOISAPO
IEROSOLUMWNMHXWRI
ZESQAIALLAPERIMENEI
THNEPAGGELEIANTOU
PATROSHNHKOUSATEM
OTIIWANNHSMENEBAPTI
SENUDATIUMEISDEEN
PNEUMATIBAPTISQHSE
SQEAGIWOUMETAPOLLAS
TAUTASHMERAS OIMEN

______________________________________________________________________
1 STUDY GUIDE
The Letters and Pronunciation of the Greek Alphabet
Phonology (Part 1)
The goal of this lesson is to learn to say and write the Greek letters. First practice writing
the small letters (lower case letters) with the guide given below, pronouncing each letter
every time you write it. If you need added help in forming these Greek letters, an on-line
animated tutorial is available. In Exercise 2, you will practice writing the capitals.
Exercise 1: Practice forming the Greek small letters
a aaaa
b bbbb
g gggg
d dddd
e eeee
z zzzz
h hhhh
q qqqq
______________________________________________________________________
i iiii
k k k k k
l llll
m mmmm
n nnnn
c cccc
o oooo
p pppp
r rrrr
s ssss
______________________________________________________________________
j jjjj
Final Sigma
t tttt
u uuuu
f ffff
x xxxx
y yyyy
w wwww
Exercise 2: Practice associating the Greek small and capital letters
Practice writing all the capital letters (upper case letters) with their matching small
letters in their alphabetical order. This is very important that you do this. As
always, pronounce each letter as you write it. Write and say these letters until you
can do so with ease. Do not proceed until you can!
Aa Aa Aa
______________________________________________________________________
Bb Bb Bb
Gg Gg Gg
Dd Dd Dd
Ee Ee Ee
Zz Zz Zz
Hh Hh Hh
Qq Qq Qq
Ii Ii Ii
Kk Kk Kk
Ll Ll Ll
Mm Mm Mm
Nn Nn Nn
______________________________________________________________________
Cc Cc Cc
Oo Oo Oo
Pp Pp Pp
Rr Rr Rr
Ssj Ssj Ssj
Final Sigma
Tt Tt Tt
Uu Uu Uu
Ff Ff Ff
Xx Xx Xx
Yy Yy Yy
Ww Ww Ww

______________________________________________________________________
Exercise 3: Writing the Greek alphabetical letters from memory
Write both capital and small letters of the Greek alphabet from memory. Write the
capital letters on the left side of the column and the small letters on the right side.
Capital Small Capital Small Capital Small
1. 9. 17.
2. 10. 18.
3. 11. 19.
4. 12. 20.
5. 13. 21.
6. 14. 22.
7. 15. 23.
8. 16. 24.
Exercise 4: Fill in the blank with the correct answer
1. How many letters are there in the Greek alphabet? _________
2. There are __________ vowels and _________________ consonants in the

Greek alphabet.
3. Eleven Greek small letters do not extend below the line when writing them, and
are approximately as wide as they are high. These letters are: ____, ____,
____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, ____, and ____.
4. Eight Greek small letters rest on the line and extend below it when writing
them. These letters are: ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, ___, and ___.
5. Three Greek small letters extend slightly above and below the line. What ones
are they? _____, _____, and _____.

______________________________________________________________________
6. All the Greek capital letters are of _________ height and ________ on the
base line.
7. Vowels are the basic sound in speech, made by vibrating the ______ _____.
Exercise 5: True or False Questions
1. When pronouncing the vowels, all of them are voiced. True False
2. When pronouncing the consonants, all of them are voiced. True False
3. Modern Greek is spoken today like Reconstructed New Testament Greek.

True False.
4. Desiderius Erasmus was a pharmacist in the early 1800s. True False
5. The twenty-four Greek alphabetical characters represent twenty-four different

phonemes in Erasmian Greek pronunciation. True False
6. English is spoken identically in Australia, Great Britain, and the United States.
True False
7. Modern Greek is not pronounced any differently today than when the Apostle
Paul spoke it in the First Century A.D. True False
AB Gs”
Exercise 6: Practice saying your “AB G Listen
Aa Bb Gg Dd Ee Zz Hh Qq
Ii Kk Ll Mm Nn Cc Oo Pp
Rr Ssj Tt Uu Ff Xx Yy Ww
For answers to Lesson One Study Guide and more study aids for Lesson One, go here .

PDF Learn Greek Lesson 1

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

PDF Learn Greek Lesson 1

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Greek Alphabet

1 Sight and Sounds of the Greek Letters (Module A)

Lesson One Overview

The forming and pronunciation of the twenty-four Greek

© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

A word’s phonetic pronunciation is produced by the quick succession of its

memorization, the Erasmian standardized system of pronunciation has been

Three major approaches are available for learning the

A second approach to pronunciation is to learn “reconstructed New Testament

The final pronunciation approach is the Erasmian system. Desiderius Erasmus

Erasmus’ pronunciation gained a foothold in 1588 A.D. when two British

eventually the United States. Erasmus’ pronunciation method proliferated when

The Erasmian approach is a viable alternative to Modern Greek pronunciation for

© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

Graphic SPIonic Font SPIonic Font

0En a)rxh=| h]n o9 lo/goj

© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

§1.1 The Greek Alphabet

The suggested procedure for learning the

As you listen to how an alphabetical character is pronounced, remember that the

© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

Alphabetical Order Greek Upper Case Spelling Classification Information

English Spelling Greek Lower Case Spelling

1st letter | Alpha ALFA, a!lfa [variable—voiced] vowel

1. Alpha is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be

a “father”; if short, as a in “dad”. The vowel is never

2. The lower case letter should be written as a figure

Hear and See 3. A, a is transliterated as “A”, “a” into English.

Relative Size Reference

© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

1st letter | Alpha ALFA, a!lfa [variable—voiced] vowel

1. Alpha is a variable vowel. Its phoneme may be

a “father”; if short, as a in “dad”. The vowel is never

2. The lower case letter should be written as a figure

Hear and See 3. A, a is transliterated as “A”, “a” into English.

2nd letter | B ta BHTA, bh=ta [labial—voiced] consonant

1. B ta is a labial consonant. Its phoneme is

2. The upper case letter is identical to its English

3. B, b is transliterated as “B”, “b” into English.

3rd letter | Gamma GAMMA, ga&mma

1. Gamma is a palatal consonant, formed in the back

g the soft palate. Vocal cords vibrate. Its phoneme is

2. The lower case letter’s “tail” drops below the base

© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

4th letter | Delta DELTA, de/lta [dental—voiced] consonant

1. Delta is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of

2. The lower and upper case letters look very

5th letter | Eps lon EYILON, e2 yilo/n [short—voiced] vowel; long i ta

1. Eps(lon is a short vowel. It is always

e “net”. The vowel is always short and is never

6th letter | Z ta ZHTA, zh=ta [compound—continuant] consonant

1. Z ta is a compound consonant. Its phoneme is a

2. The lower and upper case letters look different. The

3. Z, z is transliterated as “Z”, “z” into English.

© Dr. William D. Ramey • Phonology (Part 1) InTheBeginning.org

7th letter | ta HTA, h]ta [long—voiced] vowel

1. *ta is a long vowel. It is always pronounced long.

2. The lower case letter looks like an English “n”.

Hear and See 3. H, h is transliterated as “P”, “Q” into English.

8th letter | Th ta QHTA,

1. Th ta is a dental consonant, formed with the tip of

9th letter | I ta IWTA, i0w~ta [variable—voiced] vowel