Master the GREEK ALPHABET and DIPHTHONGS: Full Pronunciation Guide
Today we’ll study the Greek alphabet and Diphthongs. This way you’ll learn how to pronounce every Greek word!
If you are traveling to Greece, it’s very useful to know how to pronounce the Greek words. Imagine you are eating in a local Greek restaurant. It’s good to know how to read the menu written in Greek. Or maybe you’re just walking around and want to read the road or shop signs.
If you’re a beginner Greek learner, then this is the first step you need to take – learn the Greek alphabet and the diphthongs.
One of the best things about learning the Greek language is that words are pronounced the way they are written. There are no silent letters.
If you are traveling to Greece, it’s very useful to know how to pronounce the Greek words. Imagine you are eating in a local Greek restaurant. It’s good to know how to read the menu written in Greek. Or maybe you’re just walking around and want to read the road or shop signs.
If you’re a beginner Greek learner, then this is the first step you need to take – learn the Greek alphabet and the diphthongs.
One of the best things about learning the Greek language is that words are pronounced the way they are written. There are no silent letters.
The Greek Alphabet
The Greek alphabet has 24 letters, 17 consonants and 7 vowels.
Here’s a short guide in pronouncing the Greek Alphabet.
A, α (alpha) is pronounced “a” and an example is Άννα (Anna)
Β, β (vita) is pronounced “v” and an example is Βασίλης (Vasilis)
Γ, γ (gama) is pronounced “y” when it comes before e, u, i;,
otherwise like a soft gargle “gh” and an example is Γιάννης (Yianis)
Δ, δ (thelta) is pronounced “th” as in “this” and an example is Δημήτρης (Thimitris)
Ε, ε (epsilon) is pronounced “e” as in “pen” and an example is Ελένη (Eleni)
Ζ, ζ (zita) is pronounced “z” and an example is Ζωή (Zoi)
Η, η (ita) is pronounced “i” and an example is Ηλίας (Ilias)
Θ, θ (thita) is pronounced “th” as in “think” and an example is Θανάσης (Thanasis)
Ι, ι (yiota) is pronounced “i” and an example is Ιόλη (Ioli)
Κ, κ (kapa) is pronounced “k” and an example is Κατερίνα (Katerina)
Λ, λ called (lamtha) is pronounced “L” and an example is Λίζα (Liza)
Μ, μ (mi) is pronounced “m” and an example is Μάνος (Manos)
Ν, ν (ni) is pronounced n and an example is Νίκος (Nikos)
Ξ, ξ (ksi) is pronounced “x” as in “fox” and an example is Ξένια (Ksenia)
Ο, ο (omicron) is pronounced “o” and an example is Όλγα (Olgha)
Π, π (pi) is pronounced “p” and an example is Πέτρος (Petros)
Ρ, ρ (ro) is pronounced as a rolled “R” and an example is Ρόζα (Roza)
Σ, σ, ς (sigma) is pronounced “s” and an example is Σωτήρης (Sotiris)
Τ, τ (taf) is pronounced “T” and an example is Τάσος (Tasos)
Υ, υ (ipsilon) is pronounced “I” and an example is πολύ (poli)
Φ, φ (fi) is pronounced “F” and an example is Φένια (Fenia)
Χ, χ (chi) is pronounced a strong “h” and an example is όχι (ohi)
Ψ, ψ (psi) is pronounced “ps” as in “shops” and an example is ψωμί (psomi)
Ω, ω (omega) is pronounced “o” and an example is τώρα (tora)
A, α (alpha) is pronounced “a” and an example is Άννα (Anna)
Β, β (vita) is pronounced “v” and an example is Βασίλης (Vasilis)
Γ, γ (gama) is pronounced “y” when it comes before e, u, i;,
otherwise like a soft gargle “gh” and an example is Γιάννης (Yianis)
Δ, δ (thelta) is pronounced “th” as in “this” and an example is Δημήτρης (Thimitris)
Ε, ε (epsilon) is pronounced “e” as in “pen” and an example is Ελένη (Eleni)
Ζ, ζ (zita) is pronounced “z” and an example is Ζωή (Zoi)
Η, η (ita) is pronounced “i” and an example is Ηλίας (Ilias)
Θ, θ (thita) is pronounced “th” as in “think” and an example is Θανάσης (Thanasis)
Ι, ι (yiota) is pronounced “i” and an example is Ιόλη (Ioli)
Κ, κ (kapa) is pronounced “k” and an example is Κατερίνα (Katerina)
Λ, λ called (lamtha) is pronounced “L” and an example is Λίζα (Liza)
Μ, μ (mi) is pronounced “m” and an example is Μάνος (Manos)
Ν, ν (ni) is pronounced n and an example is Νίκος (Nikos)
Ξ, ξ (ksi) is pronounced “x” as in “fox” and an example is Ξένια (Ksenia)
Ο, ο (omicron) is pronounced “o” and an example is Όλγα (Olgha)
Π, π (pi) is pronounced “p” and an example is Πέτρος (Petros)
Ρ, ρ (ro) is pronounced as a rolled “R” and an example is Ρόζα (Roza)
Σ, σ, ς (sigma) is pronounced “s” and an example is Σωτήρης (Sotiris)
Τ, τ (taf) is pronounced “T” and an example is Τάσος (Tasos)
Υ, υ (ipsilon) is pronounced “I” and an example is πολύ (poli)
Φ, φ (fi) is pronounced “F” and an example is Φένια (Fenia)
Χ, χ (chi) is pronounced a strong “h” and an example is όχι (ohi)
Ψ, ψ (psi) is pronounced “ps” as in “shops” and an example is ψωμί (psomi)
Ω, ω (omega) is pronounced “o” and an example is τώρα (tora)
The Greek Diphthongs or Combinations
Let’s now focus on the Greek Diphthongs or Combinations.
The Greek alphabet doesn’t include all the sounds like the English one. It’s not complete. There are sounds in Greek, like the b, d, g, that aren’t formed by 1 Greek letter.
In that case we’ll use a diphthong or combination of 2 letters. If you want to create sounds not included in the alphabet, 2 letters are combined. A diphthong is a sound that is formed by the combination of 2 letters.
We’ll study 10 combinations. Let’s see them one by one in detail.
The b sound
There is no b in the Greek alphabet.
So, if you want to make the b sound, you combine these two letters, μπ.
μπ = b
For example:
μπάνιο – banio – bathroom
μπαμπάς – babas – dad
So, if you want to make the b sound, you combine these two letters, μπ.
μπ = b
For example:
μπάνιο – banio – bathroom
μπαμπάς – babas – dad
The d sound
There is no d in the Greek alphabet.
So, if you want to make the d sound, you combine these two letters, ντ.
ντ = d
For example:
Ντίνα – Dina
νταντά – dada – nunny
So, if you want to make the d sound, you combine these two letters, ντ.
ντ = d
For example:
Ντίνα – Dina
νταντά – dada – nunny
The g sound (as in “game”)
There is no g in the Greek alphabet.
If you want to make the g sound, you combine these two letters, γκ.
γκ = g
For example:
άγκυρα – agira – anchor
γκολ – gol – goal
If you want to make the g sound, you combine these two letters, γκ.
γκ = g
For example:
άγκυρα – agira – anchor
γκολ – gol – goal
γκ or γγ
The g sound is also formed by this combination, γγ. The sound g is formed by γκ or γγ.
γκ = g γγ = g
It’s just a matter of spelling which combination we’ll use.
Some words use γκ and some other use γγ.
For example
άγκυρα (agira)
άγγελος (agelos)
γκ = g γγ = g
It’s just a matter of spelling which combination we’ll use.
Some words use γκ and some other use γγ.
For example
άγκυρα (agira)
άγγελος (agelos)
QUICK NOTE ...
Note that one γ is pronounced like in the alphabet.
“y” when it comes before e, u, i, otherwise like a soft gargle “gh”
But with double γ the pronouncing will completely change to a g sound.
Check the difference here.
άγγελος – agelos
άγελος – ayelos
The i sound
There are 3 different letters (η, ι, υ) in the Greek alphabet which are all pronounced as i.
For example:
τυρί – tiri – cheese
ήταν – itan – it was
The truth is that there are totally 5 different ways to form the I sound in Greek! It’s the 3 letters in the Greek alphabet (η, ι, υ) PLUS 2 combinations (ει and οι). It’s just a matter of spelling which one we’ll use. Let’s see them one by one..
ει = i
For example:
εικόνα – ikona – picture
είκοσι – ikosi – twenty
οι = i
For example:
πολλοί – poli – many
καλοί – kali – good
So all the following will be pronounced in the same way.
η = ι = υ = ει = οι
For example:
τυρί – tiri – cheese
ήταν – itan – it was
The truth is that there are totally 5 different ways to form the I sound in Greek! It’s the 3 letters in the Greek alphabet (η, ι, υ) PLUS 2 combinations (ει and οι). It’s just a matter of spelling which one we’ll use. Let’s see them one by one..
ει = i
For example:
εικόνα – ikona – picture
είκοσι – ikosi – twenty
οι = i
For example:
πολλοί – poli – many
καλοί – kali – good
So all the following will be pronounced in the same way.
η = ι = υ = ει = οι
The e sound (as in “pen”)
We saw the letter E, ε (epsilon) in the Greek alphabet. This letter is pronounced e as in “pen”.
There is one more way to produce this sound. We’ll use the combination αι.
αι = ε = e as in “pen”
For example
καιρός – keros – weather
καινούριος – kenurios – new
αι = ε = e as in “pen”
For example
καιρός – keros – weather
καινούριος – kenurios – new
The u sound
The sound u is made by the combination ου.
ου = u as in “put”
For example:
ουρανός – uranos – sky
πουλί – puli – bird
ου = u as in “put”
For example:
ουρανός – uranos – sky
πουλί – puli – bird
QUICK NOTE…
The Greek letter Υ, υ looks like Y, y or U, u in English. That might be confusing in the beginning.
The letter Υ, υ is pronounced “i” and not “u”.
The combination ου will form the “u” sound.
Υ υ – i
Ου, ου – u
The letter Υ, υ is pronounced “i” and not “u”.
The combination ου will form the “u” sound.
Υ υ – i
Ου, ου – u
TIP ...
Diphthongs or Combinations are 2 letters that when combined together, they form one sound.
For example, let’s take the combination αι. That (according to the greek alphabet rules) should be pronounced ai. But when α and ι are combined, then the sound is not ai but it’s i. So we have 2 letters forming 1 sound.
For example
καιρός – keros – weather.
Although we see 2 letters, the sound is 1.
For example, let’s take the combination αι. That (according to the greek alphabet rules) should be pronounced ai. But when α and ι are combined, then the sound is not ai but it’s i. So we have 2 letters forming 1 sound.
For example
καιρός – keros – weather.
Although we see 2 letters, the sound is 1.
Now you know how to pronounce all Greek words!
Congratulations!
Now you can read everything in Greek with no problems at all. Imagine you’re in Greece sitting at a café reading the menu in Greek. How would that feel?
That’s all for today! Until next time, keep exploring, leep learning.
Τα λέμε,
Θανάσης
(If you like my free lessons and you’d like to donate and support this website, treat me a Greek coffee☕ Your contribution helps me continue to create great free content.)
Now you can read everything in Greek with no problems at all. Imagine you’re in Greece sitting at a café reading the menu in Greek. How would that feel?
That’s all for today! Until next time, keep exploring, leep learning.
Τα λέμε,
Θανάσης
(If you like my free lessons and you’d like to donate and support this website, treat me a Greek coffee☕ Your contribution helps me continue to create great free content.)
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