How to Pronounce the Greek Letters
Alphabets and Numerals
The 7 Greek Vowels
The ancient Greek grammarians believed the seven vowels contained pneuma (spirit) or the “breath of life” because the sound of each vowel could be sustained as long as one had breath in his lungs. There are three types of vowels: long (Η and Ω), dual (Α, Ι, and Υ), and short (Ε and Ο). In the Book of Revelation, there is some evidence that the seven Greek vowels were viewed as the “Seven Spirits of God.”
| Uncial (uppercase) | Minuscule (lowercase) | Name | Pronunciation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Α | α | Alpha αλφα | like the a in father like the a in bat | The Greeks classified the two different a sounds as long and short. |
| Ε | ε | Epsilon εψιλον | like the e in bet | ehhh |
| Η | η | Eta ητα | like the e in they | “Aaayy” (long a) as said by the “Fonz” on the old TV show Happy Days |
| Ι | ι | Iota ιωτα | like the i in machine like the i in sit | the Greek long I is the English long E |
| Ο | ο | Omicron ομικρον | like the o in rot | short o, has kind of an “ahhh” sound |
| Υ | υ | Upsilon υψιλον | like the oo in deja vu like the u in universe | youooo |
| Ω | ω | Omega ωμεγα | like the o in no | ohhh |
The Seven Greek Diphthongs
A diphthong is two vowels that combine to make a single sound. The second vowel of a diphthong is always an iota (ι) or an upsilon (υ). In all other vowel combinations, the vowels are pronounced separately.
| Diphthong | Pronunciation |
|---|---|
| αι | “eye” as in aisle |
| ει | “ay” as in freight |
| οι | “oi” as in foil |
| υι | “we” as in sweet |
| αυ | “ow” as in kraut or “av” as in avenge |
| ευ | “you” as in feud or “ev” as in ever |
| ου | “oo” as in group |
The 8 Semi-Vowel Consonants
The semi vowels are divided into two groups, single and double sound consonants. These letters have properties like the vowels because their sound can be sustained by a hum, purr, or a hiss. Virtually every single Greek word ends with a vowel or the following five pure-sound, semi-vowel consonants.
The 5 Pure Semi-Vowel Consonants
| Upper | Lower | Name | Pronunciation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Λ | λ | Lambda | like the l in lamb | |
| Μ | μ | Mu | like the m in me | |
| Ν | ν | Nu | like the n in new | |
| Ρ | ρ | Rho | like the r in more | pronounced “hhrrr” with a hard h before the r — but the r can also be trilled |
| Σ | σ / ς | Sigma | like the s in sing | σ regular sigma used anywhere but the end of a word; ς final sigma is only used at the end of a word |
The 3 Semi-Vowel Double Consonants
Some Greek words end with a ξ (ks) or a ψ (ps) but since the final sound in these double consonants is an “s” the final letter is still considered to be an “s.”
| Upper | Lower | Name | Pronunciation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ζ | ζ | Zeta | like the “dz” in cords or adz | zeta (dzeta) is a double consonant |
| Ξ | ξ | Xi | like the “ks” sound in tacks or tax | xi (ksee) is a double consonant |
| Ψ | ψ | Psi | like the “ps” in lips | psi is a double consonant |
The 9 Mute Consonants
These letters are classified as mute because they can only be uttered for an instant ... their sound can not be sustained. They are divided into three subgroups. The aspirates Θ, Φ, and Χ contain a small amount of breath or spirit because they possess the “h” sound (th, ph, ch). The intermediates Β, Γ, and Δ have even less spirit because the “a” sound they emit lasts for just an instant. The inaspirates Κ, Π, and Τ have no spirit at all because the sound of these letters have no vowel to help them “speak” ... only a short, explosive, mute burst of air. Some foreign proper names (like Gog and Magog) end in mute consonants.
| Upper | Lower | Name | Pronunciation | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Β | β | Beta | like the b in bat | the first consonant and second source name for the word alpha-bet |
| Γ | γ | Gamma | like the g in god | the double gamma “γγ” has an “ng” sound, like in king or triangle |
| Δ | δ | Delta | like the d in devil | |
| Θ | θ | Theta | like the th in theology | |
| Κ | κ | Kappa | like the k in kill | |
| Π | π | Pi | like the p in peek | |
| Τ | τ | Tau | like the t in taught | |
| Φ | φ | Phi | like the f in phone | |
| Χ | χ | Chi (Khee) | like the ch in loch | a gutteral German “kh” sound like Aachen; never like the ch in chap |
Greek Breathing Marks
Any Greek word that begins with a vowel is always accompanied by a little raised comma called a breathing mark. If the tail of the comma is to the right, the vowel is pronounced with an h-sound, which is called a rough breathing. If the tail is to the left, there is no h-sound, which is called a smooth breathing.
Example: The Greek word for sin (harmatia) is pronounced “har-ma-tee-a”
Rule of Thumb Pronunciation Guide
To pronounce a Greek word:
- First, identify all the vowels in the word
- Then, identify pairs of vowels that form diphthongs
- Next, count each diphthong as one syllable, and every other vowel as another syllable
- The total number of vowel sounds is the number of syllables in the word.
- If the word begins with a vowel, look for the rough or smooth breathing mark
- Pronounce the word syllable by syllable. A syllable begins with any consonant or combination of consonants that can begin a Greek word. A syllable ends with a vowel or with one of the five semi-vowel consonants (λ, μ, ν, ρ, σ) that can end a Greek word.
- If the word has an accent mark, pronounce the whole word and stress the accented syllable.
Problems of Greek-English Transliteration
The decision of how to spell a foreign word in English so that its native pronunciation is preserved is called transliteration. This is very difficult to do in English because English text does not produce phonetic results. For example, the letters in the words grove, move, and love all end with “ove,” but the pronunciation of each word is very different. A lot of double vowels and dashes have to be used in order to approximate the sound of a Greek word. The internet involves even more complications because people do not have adequate Greek fonts installed on their browsers and operating systems.