How to pronounce οι in Greek
οι says ee, as in “see”, exactly like η, ι, υ and ει. It is not the “oy” of “boy”.
Two letters, one sound: φίλοι is [FEE-lee], friends. You don’t say the ο and the ι separately, so the ending does not rhyme with “boy”, even though English “oi” sounds that way in “coin” and “oil”.
The fifth way to write ee
Greek writes the ee sound in five ways: η, ι, υ, ει and οι. They all sound the same, so you learn the spelling together with the word. More on this: how the ee sound is spelt. You will see οι most often at the end of plural words: φίλοι, friends, όλοι, everyone. That ending says ee, whatever the English “oi” tells you.
Examples
In the first five words οι says ee; in the last two the letters are said apart.
- φίλοιFEE-lee · friends
- όλοιO-lee · everyone, all
- φοιτητήςfee-tee-TEES · student (a man)
- λοιπόνlee-PON · so, well then
- αυτοίaf-TEE · they
- ρολόιro-LO-ee · clock; watch
- προϊόνpro-ee-ON · product
The capitals in a respelling mark the stressed syllable: in [fee-tee-TEES], say TEES louder.
When οι is said apart
As with αι, when the pair is stressed the accent mark goes on the second letter: οί. If the mark sits on the ο (όι), or the ι has two dots (ϊ), the letters are said separately, o and then ee. Compare φοιτητής [fee-tee-TEES] with ρολόι [ro-LO-ee] and προϊόν [pro-ee-ON]. Only then do you hear something close to “oy”.
Check yourself
How do you say κήποι (gardens)?
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κήποι is [KEE-pee]: ή says ee, and οι says ee too.
How do you say ποιητής (poet)?
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ποιητής is [pee-ee-TEES]: οι gives ee, and η gives ee as well.
How do you say μοίρα (fate)?
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μοίρα is [MEE-rah]: the accent sits on the second letter (οί), so οι says ee.