Language/Modern-greek-1453/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

Modern Greek Alphabet and Pronunciation

Hello Polyglots 😀

In today's lesson, you will learn how to write the different letters of the Modern Greek alphabet and how to pronounce these letters, whether it is through the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) or through a video with the pronunciation of the letters by a native speaker. After mastering the alphabet and pronunciation, you can also explore our Modern-greek-1453 Vocabulary - Greetings and Introductions to further enhance your language skills.

You will also find at the end of this lesson a virtual keyboard to be able to type each special character of this language. Enjoy your journey into the world of Modern Greek! 😊

Modern Greek Alphabet and IPA Pronunciation

Letter	Name	Ancient pronunciation		Modern pronunciation
		IPA	Approximate western European equivalent	IPA	Approximate western European equivalent
Α α	alpha, άλφα	Short: [a] Long: [aː]	Short: first a as in English await Long: a as English father	[a]	a as English father, but short
Β β	beta, βήτα	[b]	b as in English better	[v]	v as in English vote
Γ γ	gamma, γάμμα	[ɡ] [ŋ] when used before γ, κ, ξ, χ, and possibly μ	g as in English get ng as in English sing when used before γ, κ, ξ, χ, and possibly μ	[ɣ] ~ [ʝ], [ŋ] ~ [ɲ]	g as in Spanish lago or y as in English yellow, ng as in English long
Δ δ	delta, δέλτα	[d]	d as in English delete	[ð]	th as in English then
Ε ε	epsilon, έψιλον	[e]	e as in English pet
Ζ ζ	zeta, ζήτα	[zd], or possibly [dz]	sd as in English wisdom, or possibly dz as in English adze	[z]	z as in English zoo
Η η	eta, ήτα	[ɛː]	ê as in French tête	[i]	i as in English machine, but short
Θ θ	theta, θήτα	[tʰ]	t as in English top	[θ]	th as in English thin
Ι ι	iota, ιώτα	Short: [i] Long: [iː]	Short: i as in French vite, Long: i as in English machine	[i], [ç], [ʝ], [ɲ]	i as in English machine, but short
Κ κ	kappa, κάππα	[k]	k as in English, but completely unaspirated	[k] ~ [c]	k as in English make
Λ λ	la(m)bda, λά(μ)βδα	[l]	l as in English lantern
Μ μ	mu, μυ	[m]	m as in English music
Ν ν	nu, νυ	[n]	n as in English net
Ξ ξ	xi, ξι	[ks]	x as in English fox
Ο ο	omicron, όμικρον	[o]	o as in German Gott
Π π	pi, πι	[p]	p as in English top
Ρ ρ	rho, ρώ	[r]	trilled r as in Italian or Spanish
Σ σ/ς, Ϲ ϲ	sigma, σίγμα	[s] [z] before β, γ, or μ	s as in English soft s as in English muse when used before β, γ, or μ
Τ τ	tau, ταυ	[t]	t as in English coat
Υ υ	upsilon, ύψιλον	Short: [y] Long: [yː]	Short: u as in French lune Long: u as in French ruse	[i]	i as in English machine, but short
Φ φ	phi, φι	[pʰ]	p as in English pot	[f]	f as in English five
Χ χ	chi, χι	[kʰ]	c as in English cat	[x] ~ [ç]	ch as in Scottish loch ~ h as in English hue
Ψ ψ	psi, ψι	[ps]	ps as in English lapse
Ω ω	omega, ωμέγα	[ɔː]	aw as in English saw	[o]	o as in German Gott, similar to British English soft

Greek (Modern) Online Virtual Keyboard