The Greek alphabet with pronunciation

Updated 28 October 2026

All 24 letters

Press the button on the right to hear the name of the letter. The capital and the small letter are shown together, capital first. Next to the Greek name is how to say it: the syllable in CAPITALS is the stressed one, so in [AHL-fah] you say the first syllable louder.

• ΑαΆλφαAHL-fah · sounds: ah, as in “father”
• ΒβΒήταVEE-tah · sounds: v, as in “van”Looks like B, but says v. The b sound is written with two letters, μπ.
• ΓγΓάμμαGHAH-mah · sounds: gh, a soft growl in the throatNot the g of “go”. Before ee and eh sounds it turns into y: γεια is [yah], hi.
• ΔδΔέλταDHEHL-tah · sounds: dh, the th of “this”Not d: the tip of your tongue sits between your teeth. The d sound is written ντ.
• ΕεΈψιλονEHP-see-lon · sounds: eh, as in “bed”Always a short eh, never the “ee” of “me”: με is [meh].
• ΖζΖήταZEE-tah · sounds: z, as in “zoo”
• ΗηΉταEE-tah · sounds: ee, as in “see”Looks like H, but it is a vowel: ee. Greek has no letter for h. The small η looks like n, but n is ν.
• ΘθΘήταTHEE-tah · sounds: th, as in “think”Always the th of “think”, never the th of “this”: that one is δ.
• ΙιΙώταYO-tah · sounds: ee, as in “see”Never the “eye” of “ice”.
• ΚκΚάππαKAH-pah · sounds: k, as in “kite”
• ΛλΛάμδαLAHM-dhah · sounds: l, as in “love”
• ΜμΜιmee · sounds: m, as in “map”
• ΝνΝιnee · sounds: n, as in “net”The small ν looks like v, but it says n.
• ΞξΞιksee · sounds: ks, as in “taxi”
• ΟοΌμικρονO-mee-kron · sounds: o, a short, pure “oh”No w at the end: say it like the o of Spanish “no”.
• ΠπΠιpee · sounds: p, as in “pen”The small π is the pi of maths.
• ΡρΡοro · sounds: r, one quick tap of the tongueLooks like P, but says r. Tap it once, like the tt in American “butter”.
• ΣσςΣίγμαSEEG-mah · sounds: s, as in “sun”At the end of a word it is written ς; at the start and in the middle, σ.
• ΤτΤαυtaf · sounds: t, as in “top”
• ΥυΎψιλονEEP-see-lon · sounds: ee, as in “see”Looks like Y or u, but says ee. The oo sound is written with two letters, ου.
• ΦφΦιfee · sounds: f, as in “fun”
• ΧχΧιhyee · sounds: kh, as in Scottish “loch”Looks like X, but it is never ks. Before ee and eh sounds it softens to hy, like the h of “huge”: that is why its name is [hyee].
• ΨψΨιpsee · sounds: ps, as in “lapse”Say the p even at the start of a word, unlike English “psychology”.
• ΩωΩμέγαo-MEH-ghah · sounds: o, the same sound as οThe small ω looks like w, but says o. Greek has no long and short o: ο and ω sound the same.

What’s familiar and what isn’t

Look like English and sound as you expect: Α, Ε, Ζ, Ι, Κ, Μ, Ν, Ο, Τ. The consonants are easy. With the vowels, read them the way Spanish or Italian does: Α is [ah], Ε is [eh], Ι is [ee], Ο is [o]. Not the way English names its letters A, E, I and O (“ay”, “ee”, “eye”, “oh”).

Look familiar, say something else. These are where beginners slip most often:

• Β says v. The b sound is written μπ.
• Η says ee. It looks like H, but Greek has no letter for h at all.
• Ρ says r. It looks like P, but the p sound is Π.
• Χ says kh, the breathy sound of “loch”. The ks sound is Ξ.
• Υ says ee. It looks like Y, but it is a vowel, and the oo sound is written ου.

The small letters have their own traps: ν looks like v but says n, ρ looks like p but says r, ω looks like w but says o, and η and υ, which look like n and u, both say ee.

Η, Ι and Υ all give the same sound, ee. Greek has three letters for one sound (and two letter pairs as well), so you learn which one a word uses together with the word. More on this in the ee sound.

Good news about th. English writes two different sounds as th: the one in “this” and the one in “think”. Greek has a letter for each: Δ is the th of “this” (on this site, [dh]) and Θ is the th of “think” ([th]). You already know both sounds; just don’t read Δ as d.

Two sounds English doesn’t have. Γ is a soft growl in the throat, written [gh], and Χ is the kh of Scottish “loch” or German “Bach”, written [kh]. Neither is a plain g or k: keep the air flowing.

Read your first words

Try to read each word yourself first, then press the button and check against the recording.

• ψωμίpso-MEE · bread
• ΚύπροςKEE-pros · Cyprus
• ταξίtah-KSEE · taxi
• σπίτιSPEE-tee · house, home
• ώραO-rah · hour, time
• ψάριPSAH-ree · fish

What next

The alphabet is only the start. Next come letter pairs and stress: the stress mark tells you which syllable to say louder. These rules are just as regular and quick to learn. Each pair has a page of its own.

Consonant pairs:

• How to pronounce μπ: b at the start of a word.
• How to pronounce ντ: d at the start of a word.
• How to pronounce γκ and γγ: g at the start of a word, ng inside.
• How to pronounce τσ: ts, as in “cats”.
• How to pronounce τζ: dz, as in “kids”.

Vowel pairs:

• How to pronounce ου: oo, as in “food”.
• How to pronounce αι: eh, not “eye”.
• How to pronounce ει: ee, not “ay”.
• How to pronounce οι: ee, not “oy”.
• How to pronounce αυ and ευ: av, af, ev or ef.

General topics:

• Stress in Greek: how to read the mark ´.
• The ee sound: five ways to write one sound.

Tools:

• Greek alphabet trainer: letters and words, with a hint after every mistake.
• Greek to English letters: paste a Greek text and see how to read it.

Once you know the alphabet and these pairs, you can read the rest without guessing.

Check yourself