How to pronounce ει in Greek
ει says ee, as in “see”, exactly like η, ι and υ. It is not the “ay” of “eight”.
Two letters, one sound: κλειδί is [klee-DHEE], key. You don’t say the ε and the ι separately. If you need an English anchor, take the “ei” in “receive” or “ceiling”, not the one in “vein” or “height”.
One more way to write ee
Greek writes the ee sound in five ways: η, ι, υ, ει and οι. They all sound the same, so for each word you just have to learn the spelling. More on this: how the ee sound is spelt. A habit that helps: learn every word together with its spelling and its audio.
Examples
In all of these words ει says ee.
- χειμώναςhyee-MO-nahs · winter
- κλειδίklee-DHEE · key
- εικόναee-KO-nah · picture; icon
- εισιτήριοee-see-TEE-ree-o · ticket
- ειρήνηee-REE-nee · peace
- είκοσιEE-ko-see · twenty
The capitals in a respelling mark the stressed syllable: in [ee-REE-nee], say REE louder. In χειμώνας the χ before an ee sound softens to hy, the soft h of “huge”.
Don’t mix it up with αι
ει and αι are different pairs: ει says ee and αι says eh. They are easy to swap, because in English “ai” and “ei” often sound the same (“rain”, “vein”). In Greek they never do. Compare χειμώνας [hyee-MO-nahs], winter, with παιδί [peh-DHEE], child.
Check yourself
How do you say χείλη (lips)?
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χείλη is [HYEE-lee]: ει gives ee, and so does η.
How do you say κλείνω (I close)?
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κλείνω is [KLEE-no]: ει gives ee.
Which word has an eh sound, not ee?
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παίζω has αι, which says eh. πείνα and λείπω have ει, and that says ee.