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Greek · ελληνικό αλφάβητο

24 letters, and you half-know them already from maths and physics — the trap is that MODERN Greek reads differently from the classroom values: β is v (not b), η υ ι all say /i/, δ is th-in-this, γ is a soft gargle. Five ways to write /i/ (ι η υ ει οι) is the spelling headache. What English does with letter combinations, Greek does too: b d g sounds exist but are WRITTEN μπ ντ γκ. Sigma has a special final form: σ everywhere, ς at the end of a word.

Greek (parent of Latin and Cyrillic) · written left to right

24 signs

#	Sign	Capital	Name	Roman	IPA	Note
1	α	Α	alpha	`a`	a	a as in father.
2	β	Β	beta (víta)	`v`	v	v as in vote — NOT b (ancient value). b is written μπ.
3	γ	Γ	gamma	`g / y`	ɣ · ʝ	Soft gargle [ɣ] before a/o/u (like Spanish lago); [ʝ] ~ y before e/i.
4	δ	Δ	delta	`d / th`	ð	th as in then — NOT d. d is written ντ.
5	ε	Ε	epsilon	`e`	e	e as in pet.
6	ζ	Ζ	zeta	`z`	z	z as in zoo.
7	η	Η	eta (íta)	`i`	i	i as in machine — one of the five /i/ spellings.
8	θ	Θ	theta	`th`	θ	th as in thin.
9	ι	Ι	iota	`i`	i · ʝ	i as in machine; a glide before vowels.
10	κ	Κ	kappa	`k`	k	k as in make; palatal [c] before e/i.
11	λ	Λ	lambda	`l`	l	l as in lantern.
12	μ	Μ	mu (mi)	`m`	m	m as in music.
13	ν	Ν	nu (ni)	`n`	n	n as in nun.
14	ξ	Ξ	xi	`x`	ks	x as in fox — one letter, two sounds.
15	ο	Ο	omicron	`o`	o	o as in German Gott. Same sound as ω today.
16	π	Π	pi	`p`	p	p as in top.
17	ρ	Ρ	rho	`r`	r	Trilled r, as Italian/Spanish.
18	σ / ς	Σ	sigma	`s`	s · z	s; [z] before β γ μ. ς ONLY at word end: σοφός.
19	τ	Τ	tau	`t`	t	t as in coat.
20	υ	Υ	upsilon	`y / i`	i	i as in machine (modern); in αυ/ευ it becomes v/f.
21	φ	Φ	phi	`f`	f	f as in five.
22	χ	Χ	chi	`ch`	x · ç	ch of Scottish loch; softer [ç] (h in hue) before e/i.
23	ψ	Ψ	psi	`ps`	ps	ps as in lapse — one letter, two sounds.
24	ω	Ω	omega	`o`	o	Same as omicron in modern Greek — a spelling distinction only.

Most used combinations

The sequences you'll meet constantly — learn them as units.

Sequence	Sound	What's going on	Example
ου	u	THE way to write /u/ — no single letter does it.	ουρανός uranós — sky
αι	e	Reads exactly like ε.	και ke — and
ει / οι / υι	i	All read /i/ — with ι η υ that's five spellings of one sound. Greek children drill this for years.	είναι íne — is
αυ / ευ	av~af / ev~ef	The υ turns consonantal: [v] before voiced sounds, [f] before voiceless.	αυτός aftós — he; ευχαριστώ efharistó — thank you
μπ	b	How Greek writes b (word-internally [mb]).	μπύρα bíra — beer
ντ	d	How Greek writes d (word-internally [nd]).	ντομάτα domáta — tomato
γκ / γγ	ɡ / ŋɡ	How Greek writes g; γγ only word-internally.	γκολ gol — goal; Αγγλία Anglía — England
τσ / τζ	t͡s / d͡z	The affricates.	τζατζίκι tzatzíki

Rules of the system

How the signs behave together.

Sequence	Sound	What's going on	Example
γ before κ γ χ ξ	ŋ	A γ before another velar is the nasal [ŋ], never [ɣ].	άγχος ánchos — anxiety

Incompatible combinations

What this writing system does not allow — knowing the impossible prunes the search space.

Sequence	Sound	What's going on	Example
σ at word end	—	Non-final σ cannot end a word — it must switch to ς. Writing *σοφόσ is an error every Greek eye catches instantly.