The Greek Alphabet: All 24 Letters, Sounds, and How to Learn It

The modern Greek alphabet has 24 letters, and the first eight, αβγδεζηθ, are alpha, beta, gamma, delta, epsilon, zeta, eta and theta. Here is the full set with names and sounds, followed by the letters that trip up English speakers and a simple way to learn them.

What does the Greek alphabet look like?

Letter	Name	Sounds like
Α α	alpha	a in "father"
Β β	vita	v in "van"
Γ γ	gamma	a soft, voiced g (like a gargle); y before e or i
Δ δ	delta	th in "this"
Ε ε	epsilon	e in "bed"
Ζ ζ	zita	z
Η η	ita	ee in "see"
Θ θ	thita	th in "think"
Ι ι	iota	ee in "see"
Κ κ	kappa	k
Λ λ	lamda	l
Μ μ	mi	m
Ν ν	ni	n
Ξ ξ	xi	ks in "box"
Ο ο	omicron	o in "more" (short)
Π π	pi	p
Ρ ρ	ro	a tapped r, like Spanish pero
Σ σ/ς	sigma	s (ς only at the end of a word)
Τ τ	taf	t
Υ υ	ipsilon	ee in "see"
Φ φ	fi	f
Χ χ	hi	a breathy h, like ch in Scottish "loch"
Ψ ψ	psi	ps in "lips"
Ω ω	omega	o in "more" (same as Ο)

Names are given in their modern Greek form. In maths and science you will see the ancient forms (beta, theta), which is why they sound slightly different.

Which letters do English speakers get wrong?

Some letters look like Latin ones but sound different. These cause most beginner mistakes:

• Β β looks like B, sounds like V (vita).
• Ρ ρ looks like P, sounds like R.
• Η η, Ι ι, Υ υ are three separate letters that all sound like "ee".
• Χ χ looks like X, sounds like a breathy H.
• Ν ν looks like a v, but it is an N.
• Ο ο and Ω ω are two letters for the same "o" sound.

Greek also gives its two "th" sounds separate letters: Θ θ is the soft th in "think" and Δ δ is the voiced th in "this".

How do you learn the Greek alphabet?

1. Start with what you know. Α, Β, Γ, Δ, Π, Σ, Φ and Ω are familiar from maths and science. That is a head start.
2. Learn four to six letters at a time, saying each aloud as you write it. Don't just recognise them. Produce them.
3. Read real words you already know: taverna, gyro, Athína, menu items, street signs.
4. Read aloud, a lot. Fluent reading comes from repetition, and silent reading skips the sounds.

Greek spelling is fairly consistent, so once the sounds are in place you can read most words aloud even when you don't know their meaning. A few vowel pairs (such as ει, οι and αι) have their own sounds, which you can pick up as you go.

Reading Greek is not speaking Greek

Being able to read the alphabet is a real milestone, but it is a different skill from talking. Plenty of learners can sound out a menu and still freeze when someone speaks to them. If that sounds like you, the same gap is explained in understand but can't speak, and the practical routine for closing it applies to Greek as much as anything else.

If you grew up hearing Greek at home, you may know more spoken Greek than you think. Reading the letters can be the quickest way to attach a spelling to words you already understand.

Where Cadentia fits

Cadentia is a voice tutor you talk to out loud, including in Greek. Once you can read the letters, you can start saying real sentences, get corrected on what you actually said, and see each mistake come back in Review.

It is not a Greek grammar course, and it is best once you can already read and understand some Greek. If you are completely new, learn the alphabet and basic phrases first, then bring them here to practise speaking.

In the GTA? See Greek tutoring in Toronto.

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