Elementary Modern Greek/Lesson I

This is the first lesson in Elementary Modern Greek. This lesson will cover the Greek Alphabet, pronunciation, Greek typography, as well as some introductory phrases.

The Alphabet

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There are 24 characters in the modern Greek alphabet. They are shown below, along with their pronunciations.

Character Name Pronunciation Notes
Α α Alpha 'a' as in 'father'
Β β Beta 'v' as in 'vespa'
Γ γ Gamma between a soft 'g' and a 'y'
Δ δ Delta 'th' as in 'this' or 'd' as in 'drab'
Ε ε Epsilon 'e' as in pet
Ζ ζ Zeta 'z' as in 'zap'
Η η Eta 'ee' as in 'screen'
Θ θ Theta 'th' as in 'think
Ι ι Iota 'ee' as in 'screen'
Κ κ Kappa 'k' as in 'kick'
Λ λ Lambda 'l' as in 'light'
Μ μ Mi 'm' as in 'morbid'
Ν ν Ni 'n' as in 'new'
Ξ ξ Xi 'x' as in 'excellent'
Ο ο Omicron 'o' as in 'organize'
Π π Pi 'p' as in 'pot'
Ρ ρ Rho 'r' as in 'road' Often rolled like in Spanish
Σ σ ς Sigma 's' as in 'sick' The 'σ' is used at the beginning or in the middle of a word, and the 'ς' is used at the end.
Τ τ Tau 't' as in 'touch'
Υ υ Upsilon 'ee' as in 'screen' or 'i' as in 'pit'
Φ φ Phi 'f' as in 'fit'
Χ χ Chi 'ch' as in 'loch' or 'h' as in 'human'
Ψ ψ Psi 'ps' as in 'lapse'
Ω ω Omega 'o' as in 'ode' or 'o' as in 'lord'

Two Letter Sounds

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