This table gives the common English pronunciation of Greek letters using the International Phonetic Alphabet (see Wikipedia:IPA for English.) It is the pronunciation of the ancient Greek names of the Greek letters using the English teaching pronunciation. Sometimes, especially in the sciences, the vowels will be pronounced closer to the Greek, for example /ˈpsiː/ instead of /ˈsaɪ/ for psi.
| Greek | Ancient Greek name |
English name |
English pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α α | ἅλφα | Alpha | /ˈælfə/ |
| Β β | βῆτα | Beta | /ˈbiːtə/, US /ˈbeɪtə/ |
| Γ γ | γάμμα | Gamma | /ˈɡæmə/ |
| Δ δ | δέλτα | Delta | /ˈdɛltə/ |
| Ε ε | ἔψιλόν | Epsilon | /ˈɛpsɨlɒn/, UK also /ɛpˈsaɪlən/ |
| Ζ ζ | ζῆτα | Zeta | /ˈziːtə/, US /ˈzeɪtə/ |
| Η η | ῆτα | Eta | /ˈiːtə/, US /ˈeɪtə/ |
| Θ θ | θῆτα | Theta | /ˈθiːtə/, US /ˈθeɪtə/ |
| Ι ι | ἰῶτα | Iota | /aɪˈoʊtə/ |
| Κ κ | κάππα | Kappa | /ˈkæpə/ |
| Λ λ | λάμβδα | Lambda | /ˈlæmdə/ |
| Μ μ | μῦ | Mu | /ˈmjuː/, US less commonly /ˈmuː/ |
| Ν ν | νῦ | Nu | /ˈnjuː/, US /ˈnuː/ |
| Ξ ξ | ξεῖ | Xi | /ˈzaɪ/, /ˈksaɪ/ |
| Ο ο | ὄμικρόν | Omicron | /ˈɒmɨkrɒn/, traditional UK /oʊˈmaɪkrɒn/ |
| Π π | πεῖ | Pi | /ˈpaɪ/ |
| Ρ ρ | ῥῶ | Rho | /ˈroʊ/ |
| Σ σ ς (final) |
σῖγμα | Sigma | /ˈsɪɡmə/ |
| Τ τ | ταῦ | Tau | /ˈtaʊ/, also /ˈtɔː/ |
| Υ υ | ὔψιλόν | Upsilon | /juːpˈsaɪlən/, /ˈʊpsɨlɒn/, UK also /ʌpˈsaɪlən/, US /ˈʌpsɨlɒn/ |
| Φ φ | φεῖ | Phi | /ˈfaɪ/ |
| Χ χ | χεῖ | Chi | /ˈkaɪ/ |
| Ψ ψ | ψεῖ | Psi | /ˈsaɪ/, /ˈpsaɪ/ |
| Ω ω | ὦμέγα | Omega | US /oʊˈmeɪɡə/, traditional UK /ˈoʊmɨɡə/ |
Famous quotes containing the words english, greek and/or letters:
“A blind man will not thank you for a looking-glass.”
—Eighteenth-century English proverb. Collected in Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia (1732)
“Make room, Roman writers, make room for Greek writers; something greater than the Iliad is born.”
—Propertius Sextus (c. 50–16 B.C.)
“Certainly, young children can begin to practice making letters and numbers and solving problems, but this should be done without workbooks. Young children need to learn initiative, autonomy, industry, and competence before they learn that answers can be right or wrong.”
—David Elkind (20th century)