Chapter 2
Alphabet
Greek Grammar
The Greek alphabet is the foundational building block for learning the language. Learn the alphabet well before you move on to the next lesson. It is recommended that students first focus on learning the small (minuscule) letters, picking up the capital (uncial) letters as they appear later.
2.1 Greek Letters
There are 24 letters in the Greek alphabet. The Greek letters and names are listed in the table below. The “Name” column is a English transliteration of the “Greek” name:
| Name | Greek | Capital | Small |
| Alpha | ἄλφα | Α | α |
| Beta | βῆτα | Β | β |
| Gamma | γάμμα | Γ | γ |
| Delta | δέλτα | Δ | δ |
| Epsilon | ἒψιλόν | Ε | ε |
| Zeta | ζῆτα | Ζ | ζ |
| Eta | ἦτα | Η | η |
| Theta | θῆτα | Θ | θ |
| Iota | ἰῶτα | Ι | ι |
| Kappa | κάππα | Κ | κ |
| Lambda | λάμβδα | Λ | λ |
| Mu | μῦ | Μ | μ |
| Nu | νῦ | Ν | ν |
| Xi | ξῖ | Ξ | ξ |
| Omicron | ὂμικρόν | Ο | ο |
| Pi | πῖ | Π | π |
| Rho | ῥῶ | Ρ | ρ |
| Sigma | σίγμα | Σ | σ, ς |
| Tau | ταῦ | Τ | τ |
| Upsilon | ὖψιλόν | Υ | υ |
| Phi | φῖ | Φ | φ |
| Chi | χῖ | Χ | χ |
| Psi | ψῖ | Ψ | ψ |
| Omega | ὦμέγα | Ω | ω |
2.2 Greek / English
English speakers are learning Greek in this grammar. We will be utilizing English letters to teach the Greek letter pronunciation and transliteration. It is important to distinguish how the English letters are being used.
2.2.1 Appearance
Do not to confuse these Greek letters with similar-looking English letters:
| Greek | English | |
| η | ≠ | n |
| ν | ≠ | v |
| ρ | ≠ | p |
| χ | ≠ | x |
| ω | ≠ | w |
2.2.1 Transliteration
Transliteration is the process of writing out the sounds of one language using the letters of another language. This is helpful when you see Greek words discussed in English books, articles, or commentaries. The transliteration for each Greek letter below shows the English letter(s) used to represent it:
| Greek | English | Greek | English |
| Α | A | α | a |
| Β | B | β | b |
| Γ | G | γ | g |
| Δ | D | δ | d |
| Ε | E | ε | e |
| Ζ | Z | ζ | z |
| Η | Ē | η | ē |
| Θ | TH | θ | th |
| Ι | I | ι | i |
| Κ | K | κ | k |
| Λ | L | λ | l |
| Μ | M | μ | m |
| Ν | N | ν | n |
| Ξ | X | ξ | x |
| Ο | O | ο | o |
| Π | P | π | p |
| Ρ | R | ρ | r |
| Σ | S | σ, ς | s |
| Τ | T | τ | t |
| Υ | U | υ | y |
| Φ | PH | φ | ph |
| Χ | CH | χ | ch |
| Ψ | PS | ψ | ps |
| Ω | Ō | ω | ō |
Using this table, Greek words can be transliterated using English letters to aid in its pronunciation or to represent the Greek word to those who do not read Greek. For example, the transliteration of the Greek word λόγος is logos.
2.3 Writing Greek Letters
Memorizing the Greek alphabet is essential if you want to learn Greek and read the New Testament in its original language. Learning to write the letters by hand is one of the best ways to memorize them. Practice sheets can be downloaded and printed out by selecting the PDF icon above.
