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Hellenistic Greek © 2008
Lesson 1: The Alphabet (Lower Case Letters)

This Lesson at a Glance

Recognize	You will learn to recognize the lower case Greek letters.
Pronounce	You will begin the process of learning to pronounce Greek words.
Write	You will learn to write the lower case letters of the Greek alphabet.

Pronunciation and Recognition

This lesson introduces you to most of the sounds and letters necessary to read Hellenistic Greek.

Only the lower case letters are included in the chart below. The upper case (capital) letters will be introduced in the next lesson. In class you should repeat the sound associated with each letter following the example of your instructor.

In the table below two pronunciation systems are provided. The first is the pronunciation used by Modern Greek speakers. The second is the artificial (“Erasmian”) pronunciation used in many Biblical Greek classes.

While Modern Greek pronunciation is actually closer to the way Greek speakers spoke in the Hellenistic period, the artificial pronunciation has some value for classroom use. It is included here only for purposes of comparison. The discussion that follows focusses on the Modern pronunciation.

The Lower Case Greek Letters, Their Names and Pronunciations

Lower Case Letter	Name	Modern Pronunciation	Erasmian Pronunciation
α	ἄλφα alpha	/a:/ as in “father”	/a:/ as in “father” or sometimes /æ/ as cat
β	βῆτα Beta	/v/ as in “vat”	/b/ as in “bat”
γ	γάμμα gamma	/g/ as in “go” but /y/ as in “yet” before /i/ or /e/ sounds	/g/ as in “go”
δ	δέλτα Delta	/ð/ (th) as in “then” but not /θ/ as in “thin” (Contrast below.)	/d/ as in “dog”
ε	ἒψιλόν E-psilon	/e/ as in “set”	/e/ as in “set”
ζ	ζῆτα Zeta	/z/ as in “daze”	/z/ as in “daze”
η	ῆτα Eta	/i/ as in “machine” and "seen"	/eɪ/ as in “daze” and "weight"
θ	θέτα Theta	/θ/ as in “thin” but not /ð/ as in “then” (Contrast δ above.)	/θ/ as in “thin” but not /ð/ as in “then”
ι	ἰῶτα Iota	/i/ as in “machine” and "seen"	/i/ as in “machine” (long) or /ɪ/ as in “fit” (short)
κ	κάππα Kappa	/k/ as in “kitchen”	/k/ as in “kitchen”
λ	λάμβδα Lambda	/l/ as in “little”	/l/ as in “little”
μ	μῦ Mu	/m/ as in “me”	/m/ as in “me”
ν	νῦ Nu	/n/ as in “knee”	/n/ as in “knee”
ξ	ξεῖ Xi	/ks/ as in kicks or x as in ax	/ks/ as in kicks or x as in ax
ο	ὂμικρόν O-micron	/o/ as in tote or boat	/ɒ/ as in not or cot
π	πεῖ Pi	/p/ as in pan	/p/ as in pan
ρ	ῥῶ Rho	/R/ more like the Spanish trilled r than English r.	/r/ as in read.
σ, ς	σῖγμα Sigma	/s/ as in sister	/s/ as in sister
τ	ταῦ Tau	unaspirated /t/ as in stop (but unlike top)	/t/ as in stop or top
υ	ὒψιλόν U-psilon	/y/ like German ü	/y/ like German ü, or sometimes /u/ as in rule or even /ʊ/ as in hook
φ	φεῖ Phi	/f/ as in fan or phone	/f/ as in fan or phone
χ	χεῖ Chi	/χ/ Not found in English. Much like Spanish "j"	/χ/ Not found in English. Much like Spanish "j"
ψ	ψεῖ Psi	/ps/ as in lips	/ps/ as in lips
ω	ὦμέγα O-mega	/o/ as in tote	/o/ as in tote

Notice that there are two forms of lower case sigma. One (ς) is used only as the final letter in a word and is thus called “final sigma." The other (σ) may be used anywhere else. Some examples are: σῶμα (body), ἐκκλησία (church), ἥλιος (sun).

Diphthongs. Several common combinations of two vowel letters have traditionally been called diphthongs. By the Hellenistic period, they were no longer pronounced as true diphthongs, however (two vowel sounds slurred together into one continuous, yet shifting sound). Several would more properly be called “digraphs” (two letters used together to represent a single sound). Others represent the combination of one vowel sound with a consonantal sound. In this course we will use the traditional terminology, calling these groups of letters diphthongs.

The traditional diphthongs are as follows.

Representing a single vowel sound in the Hellenistic Period:

Letter Combination	Modern Pronunciation	Erasmian Pronunciation	Greek Example
αι	/e/ as in “bet”	/aɪ/ as in aisle	αἰτέω (request, demand)
ει	/i/ as in machine	/eɪ/as in eight	εἰρήνη (peace)
οι	/i/ as in machine	/oɪ/ as in oil	οἶκος (house, home)
ου	/u/ as in “boot” or “soup”	/u/ as in “boot” or “soup”	οὐρανός (heaven, sky)

Representing a semivowel plus a vowel in the Hellenistic Period:

Letter Combination	Modern Pronunciation	Erasmian Pronunciation	Greek Example
υι	/yɛ/ as in yet	/uɪ/ as in suite	υἱός (child, descendant, son)

Representing a vowel sound plus a consonantal sound in the Hellenistic Period:

Letter Combination	Modern Pronunciation	Erasmian Pronunciation	Greek Example
αυ	/av/ as in “of” before s, voiced consonants (b,g,d,z,l,m,n,r), or any vowel; /af/ as in “prof” (short for “professor”) before all other letters	/au/ as in "out" or "house"	αὐτός (he, she, it)
ευ	/ev/ as in “ever” or /ef/ as in “effort” following the same rule as for αυ	/ɪu/ as in feud	εὐθύς (immediately)

Diaeresis. A diaeresis (¨) is placed over the second letter of a pair of vowels which would otherwise form a diphthong to indicate that they do not form a diphthong and are to be pronounced individually. Example: Ἰσαΐας (Isaiah).

Double Consonants. Several combinations of two consonant letters are worth special attention. These are as follows:

Letter Combination	Modern Pronunciation	Erasmian Pronunciation	Greek Example
γγ	/ŋg/ as in “anger” or “sing”	/ŋ/ as in “anger” or “sing”	ἄγγελος (angel) is pronounced as angelos.
γκ	/ŋk/ as in “ink”	/ŋk/ as in “ink”	ἀγκάλη (arm) is pronouned ankali.
γχ	/ŋχ/ Not found in English. You may substitute /ŋk/ as “ink” or “anchor”	/ŋχ/ Not found in English. You may substitute /ŋk/ as “ink” or “anchor”	ἐγχρίω (I annoint) may be pronounced enkrio.
μπ	/mb/ in the middle of words. /b/ elsewhere	/mp/ (no change from the separate letters)	πέμπω (I send) is pronounce pembo in Modern Greek, but pempo in the Erasmian system.
ντ	/nd/ in the middle of words. /d/ elsewhere	/nt/ (no change from the separate letters	Ἀντιπας (Antipas) is pronounced andipas in Modern Greek, but antipas in the Erasmian system.

Learning Aids. Learn to pronounce the name of each letter. In pronouncing the name you also say the sound the letter represents.

A few lower case Greek letters look like, but are not pronounced like some English letters. These should be learned carefully to avoid confusion. They are: η—which should not be confused with an English n. υ is NOT pronounced like an English u. ν should not be confused with the English v. It is pronounced like an English n. ρ should be carefully distinguished from English p. It is pronounced similar to an r. χ must be distinguished from English x. It is pronounced like a Spanish j. ω must be differentiated from English w. β resembles an upper case English B, but sounds more like an English v in Modern Greek. δ resembles the English d, but in Modern Greek it is pronounced more like the th in “then”. Learn these letters especially well.
    γ resembles an English y but is pronounced like one only when it appears before certain vowels (those that sound like the i in “machine” or e in “bet”). In most other places it is pronounced like the English g in “go”.
    Some other letters resemble English letters and are pronounced similarly to their English counterparts. α, ε, κ, ο", and τ, for example, should pose few problems.
    The rest of the letters, while not causing special confusion, must simply be memorized. λ, μ, ξ, π, φ, and ψ bear no particular resemblance to English letters. Look at each one and pronounce it several times. Learn the name for each letter.

Exercises

Exercise 1

Click here to practice reading a few Greek words.

Exercise 2

The words in the following exercise may be entirely unfamiliar to you, but in each case we have an English word that is in some sense derived from the Greek word you will see. The words in parenthesis do not represent the meaning of the Greek word, but may help you remember the correct meaning.

Click here to practice reading three more Greek words.

Writing the Greek Alphabet

Note the relationship of each letter to the line below it. Some letters extend below the bottom line. Also notice that some letters are taller than others, just like h is taller than n in English. A few letters both extend below the line and above the top of the other letters.

α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ (ς) τ υ φ χ ψ ω

Take a piece of paper and practice writing these letters. You should be able to write all but three of these letters with a single continuous stroke. The three that require two strokes areτ, χ, and ψ.

If you are learning Greek in a classroom setting, your instructor may ask to see your work. Write as neatly as you can.

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