How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?

Twenty-four. The Greek alphabet has had the same 24 letters since Athens adopted the Ionic version as standard in 403 BC, and Modern Greek still uses every one of them.

What are the 24 Greek letters in order?

Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega.

What is the first letter of the Greek alphabet?

Alpha (Α, lowercase α). Its name gives us the first half of the word “alphabet”, and it sounds like the “a” in father.

What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet?

Omega (Ω, lowercase ω), the 24th letter. Its name means “great O”, and it sounds the same as Omicron, the “o” in got.

What is the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet?

Iota (Ι, lowercase ι). It sounds like the “ee” in see, and it gives us the English word “iota”, meaning a very small amount.

What is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet?

Chi (Χ, lowercase χ). It looks like an English X but sounds nothing like one: it is the rasping “ch” of Scottish loch.

What is the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet?

Psi (Ψ, lowercase ψ). It is a single letter for the “ps” sound in lapse, and it begins the Greek word behind “psychology”.

What is the 24th letter of the Greek alphabet?

Omega (Ω, lowercase ω), the final letter. “From alpha to omega” means from the very beginning to the very end.

Is there a letter C in the Greek alphabet?

No. Greek splits the two jobs English gives to C: Sigma (Σ σ) carries the soft “s” sound and Kappa (Κ κ) the hard “k” sound. The C shape you see on icons and old manuscripts is the lunate sigma, an older way of writing Sigma.

Which Greek letter is I?

Iota (Ι ι) is the direct match, and it is the 9th letter. Two others land on the same “ee” sound in Modern Greek: Eta (Η η) and Upsilon (Υ υ). Greek has three ways to write a sound English writes one way, which is why Greek spelling has to be learned rather than guessed.

Why does Sigma have two lowercase forms?

Write σ anywhere inside a word and ς at the end of one. The word for cosmos shows both: κόσμος. No other Greek letter changes shape by position.

What is the Greek alphabet called in Greek?

The αλφάβητο (alfávito). The name is simply the first two letters said in sequence, άλφα and βήτα, which is exactly how “alphabet” reached English.

Greek Alphabet: all 24 letters in order, with names and sounds

Written by Themios Harmantzis

Why start with the alphabet?

Unlike English, Greek is close to phonetic: letters almost always sound the way they are written. That means a few days with the alphabet is enough to start reading, even before you understand what you read. Each letter below comes with a common Greek word, so you learn your first vocabulary at the same time.

All 24 letters in order

Uppercase and lowercase, the letter's name in English and in Greek, its closest English equivalent, and how it sounds out loud.

The 24 letters of the Greek alphabet in order, with uppercase and lowercase forms, letter names, closest English equivalents, and pronunciation.
#	Upper	Lower	Name	In Greek	English	Sounds like
1	Α	α	Alpha	άλφα	a	"a" as in father
2	Β	β	Beta	βήτα	b / v	"v" as in van
3	Γ	γ	Gamma	γάμα	g	a soft, throaty "gh"; before ε or ι it softens to "y" as in yes
4	Δ	δ	Delta	δέλτα	d	"th" as in this
5	Ε	ε	Epsilon	έψιλον	e	"e" as in bed
6	Ζ	ζ	Zeta	ζήτα	z	"z" as in zoo
7	Η	η	Eta	ήτα	e / i	"ee" as in see
8	Θ	θ	Theta	θήτα	th	"th" as in think
9	Ι	ι	Iota	γιώτα	i	"ee" as in see
10	Κ	κ	Kappa	κάπα	k	"k" as in kite
11	Λ	λ	Lambda	λάμδα	l	"l" as in lamp
12	Μ	μ	Me	μι	m	"m" as in man
13	Ν	ν	Ne	νι	n	"n" as in net
14	Ξ	ξ	Xi	ξι	x	"ks" as in box
15	Ο	ο	Omicron	όμικρον	o	"o" as in got
16	Π	π	Pi	πι	p	"p" as in pen
17	Ρ	ρ	Rho	ρο	r	a lightly tapped "r", closer to Spanish than English
18	Σ	σ / ς	Sigma	σίγμα	s	"s" as in sun
19	Τ	τ	Tuf	ταυ	t	"t" as in top
20	Υ	υ	Upsilon	ύψιλον	y / u	"ee" as in see
21	Φ	φ	Phi	φι	f / ph	"f" as in fish
22	Χ	χ	Chi	χι	ch / kh	the "ch" of Scottish loch
23	Ψ	ψ	Psi	ψι	ps	"ps" as in lapse
24	Ω	ω	Omega	ωμέγα	o	"o" as in got

Greek has no letter for C, H, J, Q, V or W. Those sounds are either carried by a different letter or written as a pair, which is why putting a name into Greek is rarely one letter for one letter.

All 24 letters

Tap any letter to hear its name and the word spoken in Greek.

Common questions about the Greek alphabet

How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?: Twenty-four. The Greek alphabet has had the same 24 letters since Athens adopted the Ionic version as standard in 403 BC, and Modern Greek still uses every one of them.
What are the 24 Greek letters in order?: Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, Nu, Xi, Omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon, Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega.
What is the first letter of the Greek alphabet?: Alpha (Α, lowercase α). Its name gives us the first half of the word “alphabet”, and it sounds like the “a” in father.
What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet?: Omega (Ω, lowercase ω), the 24th letter. Its name means “great O”, and it sounds the same as Omicron, the “o” in got.
What is the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet?: Iota (Ι, lowercase ι). It sounds like the “ee” in see, and it gives us the English word “iota”, meaning a very small amount.
What is the 22nd letter of the Greek alphabet?: Chi (Χ, lowercase χ). It looks like an English X but sounds nothing like one: it is the rasping “ch” of Scottish loch.
What is the 23rd letter of the Greek alphabet?: Psi (Ψ, lowercase ψ). It is a single letter for the “ps” sound in lapse, and it begins the Greek word behind “psychology”.
What is the 24th letter of the Greek alphabet?: Omega (Ω, lowercase ω), the final letter. “From alpha to omega” means from the very beginning to the very end.
Is there a letter C in the Greek alphabet?: No. Greek splits the two jobs English gives to C: Sigma (Σ σ) carries the soft “s” sound and Kappa (Κ κ) the hard “k” sound. The C shape you see on icons and old manuscripts is the lunate sigma, an older way of writing Sigma.
Which Greek letter is I?: Iota (Ι ι) is the direct match, and it is the 9th letter. Two others land on the same “ee” sound in Modern Greek: Eta (Η η) and Upsilon (Υ υ). Greek has three ways to write a sound English writes one way, which is why Greek spelling has to be learned rather than guessed.
Why does Sigma have two lowercase forms?: Write σ anywhere inside a word and ς at the end of one. The word for cosmos shows both: κόσμος. No other Greek letter changes shape by position.
What is the Greek alphabet called in Greek?: The αλφάβητο (alfávito). The name is simply the first two letters said in sequence, άλφα and βήτα, which is exactly how “alphabet” reached English.

Alphabet down. Now read.

The fastest way to make the letters automatic is to read simple stories. Start with an A1-level story: short sentences, everyday words, audio included.

Want the rest of the foundations first? Learn the vowel combinations the alphabet skips, how accents mark stress, the sounds in Greek pronunciation, and your first Greek numbers.

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