Greek Alphabet

 

The Greek alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Greek language since about the 9th century BC. It was the first true alphabet, that is, an alphabet with a symbol for each vowel and consonant, and is the oldest alphabetic script in use today.

Besides writing modern Greek, today its letters are used as mathematical symbols, particle names in physics, as names of stars, in the names of fraternities and sororities, in the naming of supernumerary tropical cyclones, and for other purposes. The Greek alphabet originated as a modification of the Phoenician alphabet and in turn gave rise to the Gothic, Glagolitic, Cyrillic, Coptic, and possibly the Armenian alphabets, as well as the Latin alphabet.

Capital Lower Case Greek Name English
Α α Alpha (AL-fuh) a
Β β Beta (BAY-tuh) b
Γ γ Gamma (GAM-uh) g
Δ δ Delta (DEL-tuh) d
Ε ε Epsilon (EP-sil-on) e
Ζ ζ Zeta (ZAY-tuh) z
Η η Eta (AY-tuh) h
Θ θ Theta (THAY-tuh) th
Ι ι Iota (EYE-o-tuh) i
Κ κ Kappa (KAP-uh) k
Λ λ Lambda (LAM-duh) l
Μ μ Mu (MYOO) m
Ν ν Nu (NEW) n
Ξ ξ Xi (ZEYE) x
Ο ο Omicron (Oh-mi-kron) o
Π π Pi (PIE) p
Τ τ Rho (ROW) r
Σ σ Sigma (SIG-muh) s
Τ τ Tau (Tow) t
Υ υ Upsilon (Oop-si-lon) u
Φ φ Phi (FIE) ph
Χ χ Chi (K-Eye) ch
Ψ ψ Psi (SIGH) ps