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 letters, greek and/or english:
“And graven with diamonds in letters plain
There is written her fair neck round about:
“Noli me tangere for Caesar’s I am,
And wild for to hold though I seem tame.””
—Sir Thomas Wyatt (1503?–1542)
“It is an elegant refinement that God learned Greek when he wanted to become a writer—and that he did not learn it better.”
—Friedrich Nietzsche (1844–1900)
“This seems a long while ago, and yet it happened since Milton wrote his Paradise Lost. But its antiquity is not the less great for that, for we do not regulate our historical time by the English standard, nor did the English by the Roman, nor the Roman by the Greek.... From this September afternoon, and from between these now cultivated shores, those times seemed more remote than the dark ages.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)