Greek Alphabet

LETTERS OF THE GREEK ALPHABET
#	Uncials	Minuscules	English Name	Greek Name	Sound	English Equivalent
1	A	a	alpha	a;lfa	father	a
2	B	b	beta	bh/ta	ball	b
3	G	g	gamma	ga,mma	gift	g / ng
4	D	d	delta	de,lta	debt	d
5	E	e	epsilon	e; yilo,n	met	e
6	Z	z	zeta	zh/ta	zero/ adze	z
7	H	h	eta	h=ta	obey	ē
8	Q	q	theta	qh/ta	theme	th
9	I	i	iota	ivw/ta	magazine/ pit	i
10	K	k	kappa	ka,ppa	kin	k
11	L	l	lambda	la,mbda	lamb	l
12	M	m	mu	mu/	man	m
13	N	n	nu	nu/	no	n
14	X	x	xi	xi/	relax	x
15	O	o	omicron	o; mikro,n	God (British)	o
16	P	p	pi	pi/	pay	p
17	R	r	rho	r`w/	ring	r / rh
18	S	s j	sigma	si,gma	sing	s
19	T	t	tau	tau/	tale	t
20	U	u	upsilon	u; yilo,n	full	y / u
21	F	f	phi	fi/	phonics	ph
22	C	c	chi	ci/	chemical	ch
23	Y	y	psi	yi/	taps	ps
24	W	w	omega	w; me,ga	tone	ō

Special Notes on the Greek Alphabet

We will rarely pronounce a as a in bat. The standard pronunciation is a as in father.

When gg( gk( gx( or gc appears, the initial g is pronounced ng
(e.g., a;ggeloj, a;gkura, sa,lpigx, lagca,nw).

An e is always short in sound, while an h is always long.

Initial z is pronounced z; internal (or medial) z is pronounced dz, e.g., Zeu/j, sw,|zw.

The following patterns obtain with respect to the pronunciation of i:

When i stands before a consonant it will be pronounced like i in pit:
ginw,skw, dida,skw, pisteu,w
When i stands before a vowel or diphthong, or it is the final letter of a word, it will be pronounced like the i in machine:
i`ero,n, Messi,aj, eivmi,
Note how both of the previous patterns occur in single words:
i;dioj, i`ma,tion, ti,qhmi
An i can replace the Hebrew yod in Greek transliterations of Hebrew names, and can thus be pronounced like a y:
VIakw,b, VIwsh,f, VIhsou/j

Rho is transliterated with an r, but with rh when it has the rough breathing (e.g., r`h/ma = rhēma).

Initial or internal (i.e., medial) sigma is written s, while final sigma is written j, e.g., avpo,stoloj.

Upsilon is transliterated y, except in diphthongs where it is transliterated by u.

Chi has a rough guttural sound, whereas kappa has a smooth guttural sound: k sounds like k in cook; c sounds like the k in kitchen.

Tips on Memorizing the Greek Alphabet

Your practice of the Greek alphabet should methodically build your knowledge and skills as follows:

First, you must learn the names of the Greek letters and be able to recite the whole alphabet by heart. This will be indispensable for looking up words in a lexicon.

Second, you need to visually associate the shape of each letter with its corresponding name. This is important for recognizing and spelling words.

You need only concentrate on learning the minuscules (small letters) first. You will learn the uncials (capital letters) as you go. In modern texts of the Greek New Testament (such as UBS4/NA27), capitals are employed in three instances:

At the beginning of a new paragraph (e.g., Matt 5:1), but not normally at the beginning of a new sentence.
Proper names (e.g., in Matt 1:1-17).
Quotations or direct address (e.g., Matt 1:20, 23).