Learn How to Write Modern Greek Online

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Let me teach you the basics of reading and writing Modern Greek

Greek Writing: An Introduction

Greek has been written with some form of the Greek alphabet for over 2700 years, beginning with Homer's poetry and continuing now to Demotic Greek, the language of modern Greece. A few changes have been made since classical times. The old, complex system of accents was finally made unofficial in the 1970's, and most changes have simplified the alphabet. Still, the shape of letters and words is strikingly similar to ancient times.

Over the course of this short introductory lesson, you will learn how to write and pronounce Modern Greek alphabet. I encourage you to practice writing and reading individual letters, words and phrases along with me. If you find this page helpful, you can learn and practice more written Greek with our thorough, step-by-step workbook: Learn to Write Modern Greek.

This website has videos, exercises and explanations about Greek writing. It is divided into the following sections:

The Modern Greek Alphabet: lowercase

Greek Letter	Greek Letter Name	Pronunciation
α	άλφα	a in father
β	βήτα	b
γ	γάμμα	g
δ	δέλτα	th in this
ε	έψιλον	e in let
ζ	ζήτα	z
η	ήτα	i in sing
θ	θήτα	th in thing
ι	ιώτα	i in sing
κ	κάππα	k
λ	λάμβ(δ)α	l
μ	μυ	m
ν	νυ	n
ξ	ξι	x in fax, not in example
ο	όμικρον	o in sock
π	πι	p
ρ	ρω	r (trilled)
σ	σίγμα	s
τ	ταυ	t
υ	ύψιλον	i in sing
φ	φι	f
χ	χι	hard h sound
ψ	ψι	ps
ω	ωμέγα	o in sock

Some notes.

Lowercase σίγμα ("sigma") is written ς at the end of a word and σ everywhere else

The letters η, ι and υ are now all pronounced like the "ee" in "meet" or the "i" in "sing", thanks to an old sound change known as iotacism.

Similarly, the letters ο and ω now have the same sound.

It's not hard to spell a few Greek words you already know by putting letters together from alphabet above. Try reading: βιολογία, σκεπτικισμός, θήσαυρος. (Ignore accent marks.)

The Modern Greek Alphabet: UPPERCASE

Uppercase or majuscule letters are used less often than lowercase letters in Greek. They begin sentences or proper nouns (like people and place names), just as in English.

Let's go back more than 2000 years. Originally, the Greeks wrote in what we call UPPERCASE letters only. You will often find signs or statements in all-caps. This recalls the older Greek monumental script, which originally had no lowercase letters. In other words, capitalization is also used to give words and phrases a more classical, ancient or traditional look.

Refer to the video above to see both uppercase and lowercase letters written.

Greek Letters	Greek Names
Α	άλφα
Β	βήτα
Γ	γάμμα
Δ	δέλτα
Ε	έψιλον
Ζ	ζήτα
Η	ήτα
Θ	θήτα
Ι	ιώτα
Κ	κάππα
Λ	λάμβδα
Μ	μυ
Ν	νυ
Ξ	ξι
Ο	όμικρον
Π	πι
Ρ	ρω
Σ	σίγμα
Τ	ταυ
Υ	ύψιλον
Φ	φι
Χ	χι
Ψ	ψι
Ω	ομέγα

Where to Write the Accent Mark

A few decades ago, the Greek language underwent a spelling reform that simplified accents a lot. A written accent mark (a small ' or ´) sits atop the stressed vowel in words with more than one syllable. An accented vowel is emphasized, or spoken a bit louder than the other vowels in the same phrase: εγώ θέλω (e-GO the-LO, not E-go THE-lo).

Meaning-rich words like nouns, verbs and adjectives always have a written accent: (εγώ) θέλω I want. "Little words" like conjunctions, articles and prepositions often have only one syllable and no accent mark: κι and.

Capitalized words are a different story. If the stressed vowel is capitalized, you won't write a mark on top (like if you wrote ΓΙΟΡΓΟΣ George in all-caps). If the first letter is a stressed vowel (like Άννα Anna) write the accent to the left of the vowel.

Trickier Pronunciation Points

Pronouncing Modern, Demotic Greek is usually easy and straightforward once you know the alphabet. But there are a few tricks you need to be aware of as you learn the language:

The Diphthong (vowel + vowel)
Most diphthongs have been reduced to a single, simple vowel sound in Modern Greek.

αι sounds like "e" in "let"
ει and οι sound like "i" in "sing"
ου has the sound of "oo" in "moon"
αυ sounds like "av" before voiced sounds and "af" before voiceless ones
ευ sounds like "ev" before voiced sounds and "ef" before voiceless ones

Double consonants are pronounced like a single consonant: Ελλάδα Greece is pronounced as if written "ελάδα".

μπ (mp), ντ (nt) and γκ (gk) are unique.
μπ sounds like "mb" (or "b" at the beginning of a word), NOT "mp".
ντ sounds like "nd" (or "d" at the beginning of a word), NOT "nt".
γκ sounds like "ng" (or "g" at the beginning of a word), NOT "gk".

Gamma
A γ has a rough g (actually voiced h-like) sound before α or ο. But it's pronounced like "y" in "yes" before ε and ι sounds (including αι, οι, υ, η, ει).
γγ sounds like the "ng" in "sing". γξ sounds like "ngs" in "sings". Similarly, γκ has the "unique", unexpected pronunciation described above.

Handwritten Greek Script

There is no official Greek handwriting, although writers have used striking cursive scripts since the olden days, including ligatures and stunning, stylized forms. Many versions of script are taught and used throughout Greece, and you'll have to develop your own way of writing notes and letters in Greek.