The Greek Alphabet: A Beginner’s Guide to Reading Greek

Learn the 24 Greek letters, their sounds, and your first Greek words.

Greek can look unfamiliar when you first see it written. Some letters look completely new, while others may look familiar but represent a different sound from the one you expect.

The good news is that you do not need to memorise everything before you can start reading.

Once you learn the Greek alphabet and a few basic pronunciation rules, you can begin sounding out Greek words almost immediately.

This guide introduces all 24 Greek letters and gives you simple examples to help you recognise them in real Greek words.

The 24 Letters of the Greek Alphabet

The Greek alphabet consists of 24 letters. The table below shows each letter in its uppercase and lowercase form, together with its name, basic pronunciation, and an example from Modern Greek.

Practise Uppercase and Lowercase Letters

Now that you have seen all 24 Greek letters, practise matching their uppercase and lowercase forms.

Try these two short activities on Wordwall:

Match the uppercase and lowercase letters

Match the uppercase and lowercase letters

Take your time and focus on recognising each letter in both forms. You do not need to memorise them all at once.

A Closer Look at Γ γ

The Greek letter γ does not have one single English equivalent.

When it is followed by α, ο, ω or ου, it has a sound similar to the sound represented by w in English words such as we and went:

γάλα
γόνατο
γώ?

When it is followed by ε, η, ι, αι, ει, οι or υ, it becomes a softer sound, similar to the sound represented by y in English words such as year and yet:

γεια
γέλιο
γύρος

You will hear this difference many times as you learn Greek, so it is worth becoming familiar with it from the beginning.

A Few Other Sounds That Need Special Attention

Some Greek letters have sounds that do not correspond exactly to English letters.

Δ δ

Greek δ is not pronounced like English d.

It has the voiced th sound found in English words such as the and this:

δέντρο
δεν
δρόμος

Θ θ

Greek θ has the unvoiced th sound found in English words such as theatre and think:

θέατρο
θέλω
θάλασσα

Χ χ

Greek χ does not have one exact equivalent in English.

In words such as:

χαρά
χρόνος
χώρα

it has a sound that may remind you of the h/ch sound in some English pronunciations.

Its pronunciation changes slightly depending on the vowel that follows it, so listening is particularly helpful when learning this letter.

Ρ ρ

Greek ρ represents an r sound.

It is different from the English r, because the Greek sound is produced with the tongue closer to the roof of the mouth.

You can hear it in:

ρόδα
νερό
καρότο

Don’t worry if this sound does not feel natural at first. It becomes easier with practice.

Greek Vowels

Greek has seven vowel letters:

α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω

However, several different letters and letter combinations can represent the same vowel sound in Modern Greek.

For example, the sound ee can be written as:

η, ι, υ, ει, οι, υι

You can see this in words such as:

ήλιος
ιστορία
ύπνος
είμαι
οικογένεια

There are also other spelling patterns to learn:

ε, αι → the same e sound

ο, ω → the same o sound

This is one reason why Greek spelling can be more difficult than Greek reading. Once you know the letters and their sounds, you can often read a new word. Knowing which spelling to use is something you gradually learn with vocabulary and practice.

A Small Detail About Σ σ ς

The Greek letter sigma has two lowercase forms:

• σ is used at the beginning or in the middle of a word.
• ς is used only at the end of a word.

For example:

σπίτι — house
θάλασσα — sea
φως — light

They represent the same sound: s.

Reading Greek for the First Time

Once you know the basic letter-sound correspondences, you can begin reading simple Greek words even if you do not know their meaning yet.

Try sounding out the following words:

γάλα – νερό – ψωμί – σπίτι – ζωή – ξέρω – καφές – ώρα

Focus first on the pronunciation, rather than on understanding the vocabulary. Use the letters you have just learned to work out how each word is pronounced.

This is an important transition in learning to read Greek: moving from recognising individual letters to decoding complete words.

Greek Letters That May Surprise English Speakers

Some Greek letters look familiar but represent a different sound from the one you might expect.

Β β represents v, not English b.

Ρ ρ represents the Greek r, not the English r.

Χ χ is not the same as English x.

And Η η represents a vowel sound, not an English h.

This is completely normal. When learning a new alphabet, try to learn each letter by its Greek sound and name, rather than by the letter it resembles in English.

Practise the Greek Alphabet with Avdi

You do not need to write the entire alphabet dozens of times.

Instead, start by listening to the letters and their sounds, and then practise recognising them in Greek words.

1. Watch and listen

Before you start the exercises below, watch the Greek alphabet Reels on Instagram. Listen carefully to the pronunciation of each letter and repeat the sounds aloud.

Greek Alphabet – Part 1

Greek Alphabet – Part 2

You do not need to memorise everything after watching them once. Listen again if you need to, and pay attention to the way the letters sound in actual Greek words.

2. Find the letter

Look at each word and find the target letter. The letter may appear at the beginning, in the middle, or at the end of the word.

β → βιβλίο – βουνό – βόλτα – βήμα = book – mountain – walk – step

θ → θέατρο – μάθημα – Αθήνα – καθόλου = theatre – lesson / course – Athens – at all / not at all

ψ → ψωμί – απόψε – κάψιμο – σκέψη = bread – tonight – burning / burn – thought

ξ → ξέρω – έξω – λέξη – ταξί = to know – outside / out – word – taxi

δ → δέντρο – παιδί – Ελλάδα – δηλαδή = tree – child – Greece – meaning / in other words

3. Which word contains the letter?

Choose the word that contains the target letter.

α
i. νερό
ii. καφέ
iii. μήλο

θ
i. σπίτι
ii. μάθημα
iii. πόρτα

ψ
i. σκέψη
ii. βιβλίο
iii. νερό

ξ
i. φίλος
ii. λέξη
iii. θέατρο

δ
i. Ελλάδα
ii. Αθήνα
iii. καφέ

4. Find the odd one out

In each line, three words contain the target letter and one does not. Which word is different?

β: βιβλίο – καφέ – βράδυ – καβούρι

θ: θέατρο – μάθημα – Αθήνα – νερό

ξ: ξανά – έξω – φίλος – λέξη

δ: σπίτι – παιδί – δάσος – δέντρο

What Comes After the Alphabet?

Once you are comfortable with the Greek letters, the next step is learning some of the most common letter combinations, such as:

• αι
• ει
• οι
• ου
• αυ
• ευ
• μπ
• ντ
• γκ

These combinations will help you read and pronounce a much wider range of Greek words.

Learning the alphabet is not about memorising 24 symbols and stopping there. It is the beginning of being able to read, recognise patterns and make sense of Greek.

If you are ready to continue, explore the A1 Greek course and start building your Greek step by step.