The Greek Alphabet

This table gives the Greek letters, their names, equivalent English letters, and tips for
pronouncing those letters which are pronounced differently from the equivalent
English letters.

Sigma ():There are two forms for the letter Sigma. When written at the end of a
word, it is written like this: . If it occurs anywhere else, it is written like this: .
Upsilon ():In the above table, we suggest that you pronounce this letter like "u" in
"put". The preferred pronunciation is actually more like the German "" as in
"Brcke", or like the French "u" as in "tu". If you do not speak German or French,
don't worry about it, just pronounce it the way the table suggests.

Xi (): This is the same sound as "ch" in "Bach", which does not sound like "ch" in
"chair". The same sound occurs in the Scottish "Loch", as in "Loch Lomond", or the
German "ach!".
Dipthongs When two vowels combine to make one sound, it is called a dipthong.
There are seven dipthongs in Greek:

The "eu" combination is probably the hardest to learn for most people. It may help to
take the "ow" sound and say it slowly: if you notice, there are actually two sounds in
"ow" - it starts out with "ah", then glides to an "oo" sound, "ah-oo". Try doing the
same with "e" (as in "edward") and "oo" - "e-oo". This is a little like the "e-w" in
Edward, if you remove the "d".
Clip and save! You may want to print out this table and glue it to the inside cover of
your Greek dictionary. If you are ever in doubt about alphabetic order, this will help
you look up words. If you have difficulty with pronunciation, you could also print it
out and glue it to the inside of your Greek New Testament.

Accents
Accents tell you which syllable is stressed when the word is pronounced. There are
three different accents, but by the time of the New Testament, they were all
pronounced the same. Here are the three kinds of accents, with a Greek word to
illustrate each:

Breathings

The rough breathing is pronounced like an "h", and looks like a backwards comma
written over a vowel. The smooth breathing is not pronounced at all, and looks like a
regular comma written over a vowel. Note the difference between "en" and "hen":

There are two marks over the epsilon in "hen"; the first is the rough breathing, the
second is the accent.

Iota subscripts
A vowel at the end of a word will sometimes have an "iota subscript" underneath it;
here is an alpha with an iota subscript:

The iota subscript is not pronounced, but it can be helpful for identifying certain
grammatical forms that we will learn about later (especially the dative case).

Punctuation
The period and comma are the same as in English. The semicolon is a raised dot, and
is also used as a colon. The question mark looks like an English semicolon:

Vocabulary for this lesson:

Mnemonics for alphabetic order

Did you ever dream of working as a file clerk in ancient Greece? No? Well, did you
ever dream of being able to look up words in a Greek dictionary? In either case, you
are going to have to learn the order of the Greek alphabet. I've made up a mnemonic
which may be helpful for some people:

All Bigots Get Diarrhea Eventually

Zorro Ate THe Ice Kap(pa)
Let's Munch Nuts EXcessively, Okay?
Pigs Really Stink Terribly
Under Five CHairs, PSychiatrists Wink

If you use this mnemonic, remember that "Chairs" is not really the way to
pronounce , which sounds like "ch" in "Bach". Some people prefer to learn the order
based on differences from the order of the English alphabet:

Same as English, except for the gamma

means "live!" in Greek.
Same as English, except for xi.
Same as English, but no "q"
Memorize these, or use the mnemonic from the above table.

How to write Greek letters

The arrows show you where to start when you write Greek letters. Always remember
to write the accents and breathing marks, as well as the iota subscripts!

Greek language is considered as one of the most difficult languages to learn. This page is not going to
teach you how to speak Greek, but you can learn some basic Greek words and phrases in order to
impress your friends in Crete.
As it happens in every country, people in Crete will be glad to hear you trying to speak their language.
Even if all you can say is "kalimera" or "Yassou", people will smile and open up.

Learn Greetings in Greek :

In all the following, "e" is read as in "egg" and "th" is read as in "this". The emphasis in pronunciation falls
on the syllable which is in underlined script
kalimera = good morning - . Used both when coming to and going away from a place.
kalispera = good afternoon - . Used only when coming to a place or meeting someone in the
evening or at night.
kalinihta = good night - . Used only as a goodbye greeting in the evening or at night.
herete (e as in egg) = hello - , used between 10:00 and 14:00
yassou = hello or goodbye - (greeting to one person or a friend)

yassas = hello or goodbye - (greeting to more persons or a more formal and polite way to greet
an unknown person)
adio = goodbye -
Yassou file mou Niko = Hello my friend Niko, an easy way to please a Greek friend of yours.

Learn the names of Towns and Places in Crete and Greece

In all the following, "e" is read as in "egg" and "th" is read as in "this". The emphasis in pronunciation falls
on the syllable which is in underlined script

Ellatha = Greece -

Iraklio = Heraklion -

Ellinas = Greek (man) -

Hania = Chania -

Ellinitha = Greek (woman) -

Rethimno = Rethymnon -

Athina = Athens -

Ayios Nikolaos = Agios Nikolaos -

Kriti = Crete -

Sitia = Sitia -

kritikos = Cretan man -

Knossos = Knossos -

kritikia = Cretan woman -

Phaistos = Phaistos -

Samaria = Samaria (Gorge) - . Most tourist guides call it Samaria which is wrong because the
emphasis is on the last syllable. The same applies to Chania, Knossos and Phaistos.

Learn the Greek Numbers:

- Greek numbers - How to count in Greek, flash movie with all numbers in Greek. Also more
information about numbers and math symbols in Greek.

Learn the colours in Greek

aspro = white -

kokkino = red -

kafe = brown -

lefko = white -

ble = blue -

mov = purple -

mavro = black -

kitrino = yellow -

galazio = light blue -

gri = grey -

prassino = green -

Greek names of countries

Alvania = Albania -

Kanathas = Canada -

Thania = Denmark -

Ameriki = USA -

Kina = China -

Tourkia = Turkey -

Anglia = England -

Norviyia = Norway -

Velyio = Belgium -

Finlanthia = Finland -

Ollanthia = Holland -

Voulgaria = Bulgaria -

Gallia = France -

Polonia = Polland -

Yermania = Germany -

Iaponia = Japan -

Rossia = Russia -

Ispania = Spain -

Souithia = Sweden -

Italia = Italy -

Learn Common Greek Phrases

In all the following, "e" is read as in "egg" and "th" is read as in "this". The emphasis in pronunciation falls
on the syllable which is in underlined script

Efharisto = Thank you

Poso kanei? = How much is it?

Parakalo = Your Welcome

Poso hrostao = How much do I owe?

Milate Anglika? = Do you speak English?

Logariasmo parakalo = The bill, please.

Mporo na bgalo mia fotografia? = May I take a

Milate Yermanika? = Do you speak German?

photo?

Then katalaveno = I don't understand

Ela = Come

Pos se lene? = What is your name?

Fiye = Go away! (fi as in fish, ye as in yellow)

Me lene ... = My name is ...

Ise omorfi = you are beautiful

Apo pou eisai? = Where are you from?

M' areseis = I like you

Eimai apo Anglia = I am from England

S' agapo = I love you

Thelo ena kafe = I want a coffee

M' agapas? = Do you love me?

Thelo ena tsai = I want a tea

Agapi mou = My love, Darling

Thelo mia mpira = I want a beer

Filise me = kiss me

Thelo ena poto = I want a drink

Fili = kiss

Thelo ena thomatio = I want a room

Filos / F ili = friend (male) / (female). Pay attention

to the small difference from "kiss".

Ehete thomatio? = Do you have a room?

Eho filo = I have a boyfriend
ya mia mera = for one day
Eimai pantremeni = I am married (female)
ya thio meres = for two days
ya mia vthomatha = for one week
ya thio vthomathes = for two weeks

The Greek Alphabet and the sounds of the Greek letters

- The sound of the letters of the Greek Alphabet, flash movie with the Greek letters

Combinations of letters (Greek diphthongs) :

Greek words used in the English language

Many words used in English and other European languages come from Greek words. Here are some
examples: apathy, basic, basis, cartographer, crisis, democratic, dialogue, enthusiasm, enthusiastic,
geography, geometry, harmony, harmonic, history, magic, method, organ, organisation, organize,
oxymoron, pachyderm, pathos, politics, problem, strategic, technology, telepathy, telephone, titanic.
A great percentage of medical terminology is also Greek:

In 1957 and 1959, the Greek economist Professor Xenophon Zolotas, Governor of the bank of Greece
and Governor of the Funds for Greece, delivered two speeches in English using Greek words only. As
Prof. Zolotas said:
"`I always wished to address this Assembly in Greek, but I realized that it would have been indeed Greek
to all present in this room. I found out, however, that I could make my address in Greek which would still
be English to everybody. With your permission, Mr. Chairman, I shall do it now, using with the exception of
articles and prepositions only Greek words".