Modern Greek Alphabet
From Wikibooks, the open-content textbooks collection
by Christopher Roberts
- There are 24 letters in the greek alphabet
- The greek alphabet has 5 vowel SOUNDS.
- Some of them look like letters from this alphabet, but they are not to be confused (lowercase "ni" looks like "v" but it is said like "n"
[edit] The letters
| Letter | Name | Name (transliterated) | Pronunciation | As in | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Αα | αλφα | alfa | /a/ | aardvark | |
| Ββ | βητα | vita | /v/ | van | |
| Γγ | γαμα | gama | /gh/ | wool | |
| Δδ | δελτα | dhelta | /dh/ | this | |
| Εε | εψιλον | epsillon | /e/ | letter | |
| Ζζ | ζιτα | zita | /z/ | ozone | |
| Ηη | ητα | ita | /i/ | lit | |
| Θθ | θητα | thita | /th/ | thanks | |
| Ιι | ιωτα | yiota | /i/ | lit | |
| Κκ | καπα | kapa | /k/ | cat | |
| Λλ | λαμδα | lamda | /l/ | light | |
| Μμ | μι | mi | market | ||
| Νν | νι | ni | /n/ | not | |
| Ξξ | ξι | xi | /x/ | next | |
| Οο | ομικρον | omikron | /o/ | pot | |
| Ππ | πι | pi | /p/ | spit | |
| Ρρ | ρο | rho | /r/ | right | |
| Σσ, ς* | σιγμα | sigma | /s/ | sister | |
| Ττ | ταυ | taf | /t/ | top | |
| Υυ | υψιλον | ipsillon | /i/ | lit | |
| Φφ | φι | fi | /f/ | foot | |
| Χχ | χι | hi | /h/(ch) | loch (guttural) | |
| Ψψ | ψι | psi | /ps/ | lips | |
| Ωω | ωμεγα | omega | /o/ | pot |
- ς is used at the end of a word only.
[edit] Combinations of letters
[edit] Vowels
| Combination | pronounced | As in | |
|---|---|---|---|
| αι | /e/ | tell | |
| ει | /i/ | kit | |
| οι | /i/ | kit | |
| ου | /oo/(ou) | tool | |
| αυ | /av/ | slav | |
| /af/ | foot | ||
| ευ | /ev/ | bevel | |
| /ef/ | left |
[edit] Consonants
| Combination | Pronounced | |
|---|---|---|
| μπ- | /b/ | |
| -μπ- | /mb/ | |
| ντ- | /d/ | |
| -ντ- | /nd/ | |
| γκ- | /g/ | |
| -γκ- | /ng/ | |
| -γγ- | /ng/ | |
| τζ- | /dj/ | |
| τσ- | /ts/ |
