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The Greek Alphabet: 24 Letters, Pronunciation and Solved Exercises
The Greek alphabet explained simply: all 24 letters with names, transliteration and classroom pronunciation, plus final sigma, nasal gamma, breathings, 5 solved exercises and 3 FAQs.
Recommended for: Grade 9 · Grade 10
The Greek alphabet has 24 letters: 7 vowels (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω) and 17 consonants. It is written left to right like English, and every letter has its own name — alpha, beta, gamma — which is worth learning together with the sign, the sound and the transliteration.
The 24 letters in order
| Capital | Small | Name | Transliteration | Classroom pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Α | α | alpha | a | a in father |
| Β | β | beta | b | b |
| Γ | γ | gamma | g | g in go |
| Δ | δ | delta | d | d |
| Ε | ε | epsilon | e | short e in pet |
| Ζ | ζ | zeta | z | zd / dz |
| Η | η | eta | ē | long open e |
| Θ | θ | theta | th | th in thin |
| Ι | ι | iota | i | i in pit or machine |
| Κ | κ | kappa | k | k |
| Λ | λ | lambda | l | l |
| Μ | μ | mu | m | m |
| Ν | ν | nu | n | n |
| Ξ | ξ | xi | x | x in box |
| Ο | ο | omicron | o | short o in pot |
| Π | π | pi | p | p |
| Ρ | ρ | rho | r | trilled r |
| Σ | σ / ς | sigma | s | s in sea |
| Τ | τ | tau | t | t |
| Υ | υ | upsilon | y | French u, German ü |
| Φ | φ | phi | ph | ph in phone |
| Χ | χ | chi | ch | ch in Scottish loch |
| Ψ | ψ | psi | ps | ps in lapse |
| Ω | ω | omega | ō | long open o |
The pronunciation column gives the Erasmian pronunciation used in most classrooms. It is a teaching convention, close to but not identical with the sound of fifth-century Athens, which linguists reconstruct on other grounds.
Vowels: short, long and doubtful
The seven vowels fall into three groups according to quantity, that is, duration:
- always short: ε, ο;
- always long: η, ω;
- doubtful (ancipites), short or long depending on the word: α, ι, υ.
This is not a detail for specialists. Vowel length limits how far back the accent can go and governs the metre of Greek poetry. That is why Greek uses two different signs where English has one. The letter names still record the need: o mikrón is the “small o” as against ō méga, the “big o”, while e psilón, the “plain e”, was named by Byzantine scribes to keep it apart from the digraph αι, which by then had come to sound the same.
The consonants and how they are classified
The 17 consonants fall into five families.
There are nine stops (or mutes), and they form a grid of three series by three grades:
| voiceless | voiced | aspirated | |
|---|---|---|---|
| labials | π | β | φ |
| dentals | τ | δ | θ |
| velars | κ | γ | χ |
The liquids are λ and ρ, the nasals μ and ν, and the sibilant is σ. That leaves the three double consonants, each standing for two sounds: ζ (sibilant + dental, σ + δ), ξ (velar + σ) and ψ (labial + σ). Nine plus two plus two plus one plus three: 17.
Knowing the grid pays off immediately: whenever a velar or a labial meets a σ in word formation, the result is exactly ξ or ψ.
Two spelling rules to learn at once
Final sigma. Sigma has two shapes: σ at the beginning and inside a word, ς only at the end. The sound is the same and only the sign changes — κόσμος shows both shapes in a single word.
Nasal gamma. When γ stands before κ, γ, χ or ξ, it is not read as a g but as an n. So ἄγγελος is read “ANG-ge-los”, not “AG-ge-los”. It is the one Greek letter whose value depends on what follows it.
Breathings: every word beginning with a vowel carries one
Every Greek word beginning with a vowel carries a small curved mark, the breathing, on that vowel — or on the second vowel when the word begins with a diphthong (αὐτός, οἶκος):
- the smooth breathing (᾿) is silent: ἀγορά is read “a-go-RA”;
- the rough breathing (῾) stands for an aspiration, an h: ἵππος is read “HIP-pos”.
Initial ρ always takes the rough breathing too (ῥ). Breathings are not optional decoration: they are part of the spelling, and leaving one out in a test counts as a spelling mistake.
In the exercises below you start from recognising letters and their transliteration, move on to writing a word with final sigma, then to classifying stops and double consonants, and finish by reading two words that test nasal gamma and breathings.
Solved exercises
1. Give the name of the letters γ, ξ, φ, ω and write the Latin transliteration of each. base
Show solution
- γ is called gamma: it is the voiced velar, transliterated g.
- ξ is called xi: it is a double consonant (κ + σ), transliterated x.
- φ is called phi: it is the aspirated labial, transliterated ph.
- ω is called omega, literally 'big o' because it is the long o; it is transliterated ō.
Answer: γ = gamma (g) ; ξ = xi (x) ; φ = phi (ph) ; ω = omega (ō)
2. Write the transliterated word 'kósmos' in Greek characters, using the correct form of sigma. base
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- k corresponds to κ (kappa).
- o is a short o, so ο (omicron).
- The first s stands inside the word, so it is written σ.
- m corresponds to μ, then ο again.
- The last s stands at the end of the word, so it is written ς (final sigma).
- The acute accent shown in the transliteration goes on the first omicron: ό.
Answer: κόσμος
3. Classify the consonants θ, β, κ, stating for each one the series (labial, dental or velar) and the grade (voiceless, voiced or aspirated). intermedio
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- The nine stops form a grid of three series (labials π β φ, dentals τ δ θ, velars κ γ χ) and three grades (voiceless π τ κ, voiced β δ γ, aspirated φ θ χ).
- θ sits in the dental row and in the aspirated column.
- β sits in the labial row and in the voiced column.
- κ sits in the velar row and in the voiceless column.
Answer: θ = aspirated dental ; β = voiced labial ; κ = voiceless velar
4. Which are the three Greek double consonants and which sounds do they come from? Then transliterate the word ψυχή. intermedio
Show solution
- The double consonants are ζ, ξ, ψ: each one stands for two sounds.
- ξ comes from a velar + σ (κ + σ), ψ from a labial + σ (π + σ), ζ from a dental and sibilant cluster (σ + δ).
- In ψυχή: ψ = ps, υ = y, χ = ch, η = ē with an acute accent.
- Put the pieces together in reading order.
Answer: The double consonants are ζ, ξ, ψ (ξ = κ+σ, ψ = π+σ, ζ = σ+δ) ; ψυχή = psychḗ
5. Read and transliterate ἄγγελος and ἵππος, explaining the value of the first γ and of the mark written on the initial vowel. avanzato
Show solution
- In ἄγγελος the first γ comes before another velar (γ): it is a nasal gamma and is read as n.
- The mark ᾿ on ἄ is the smooth breathing and adds no sound at all.
- So the word is read 'ANG-ge-los' and transliterated ángelos.
- In ἵππος the mark ῾ on ἵ is the rough breathing: it stands for an aspiration, an h.
- So the word is read 'HIP-pos' and transliterated híppos.
Answer: ἄγγελος = ángelos (read 'ANG-ge-los') ; ἵππος = híppos (read 'HIP-pos')
FAQ
How many letters does the Greek alphabet have, and how many are vowels?
It has 24 letters: 7 vowels (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω) and 17 consonants. Greek uses seven vowel letters where English uses five, because e and o have separate signs for the short sounds (ε, ο) and the long ones (η, ω).
Why is sigma written in two ways, σ and ς?
They are two shapes of the same letter: σ is used at the beginning and inside a word, ς only at the very end. The sound does not change, only the sign, as you can see in κόσμος.
What is the difference between ε and η, and between ο and ω?
It is a matter of length: ε and ο are always short, η and ω always long. The names say it themselves — omicron means 'small o' and omega 'big o'. The distinction matters because vowel length limits how far back the accent can go and governs the metre of poetry.