Lesson TWO
The Greek Alphabet
Two-α
We will begin by learning ten Greek letters that are similar to the letters in the Roman alphabet (the alphabet used to write English).
α, β, δ, ε, ι, κ, ο, σ, τ, υ
Read the name of each letter aloud (alpha, beta, delta, ...).
Listen to how each is pronounced and use the pronunciation guide to practice pronouncing the letters correctly.
NB: Greek letters can be pronounced by the sound at the beginning of their name.
Practice writing these letters as indicated by the pattern below.
Say the name of the letter aloud as you write each one.
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N.B. Most Greek letters can be written in one stroke.
alpha
beta
delta
epsilon
iota
kappa
omicron
sigma
tau
upsilon
Rewrite the following words in Greek.
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Then, write the transliteration for each word.
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Transliteration means to write each word as it sounds using the Roman alphabet.
Two-β
The next set of letters you will learn can be pronounced just like the first sound in their names. These can be tricky to get a hang of at first, so, if you need more practice, do so before moving on to the next set.
γ, η, λ, μ, ν, π, ρ, ω
Read the name of each letter aloud (gamma, eta, lamda, ...).
Listen to how each is pronounced and use the pronunciation guide to practice pronouncing the letters correctly.
NB: Greek letters can be pronounced by the sound at the beginning of their name.
Practice writing these letters as indicated by the pattern below.
Say the name of the letter aloud as you write each one.
​
N.B. Most Greek letters can be written in one stroke.
omicron
gamma
eta
lamda
mu
nu
pi
rho
omega
Rewrite the following words in Greek.
Then, write the transliteration for each word.
Two-γ
The final set of letters in the Greek alphabet is created by combining two consonant sounds.
τ, π, and κ combined with the h sound to create θ, φ, and χ.
θ = τ + h
φ = π + h
χ = κ + h
δ, κ, and, π, combine with ς to create ζ, ξ, and ψ.
ζ = ς + δ
ξ = κ + ς
ψ = π + ς
γ, η, λ, μ, ν, π, ρ, ω
θ, φ, χ, ζ, ξ, ψ
Read the name of each letter aloud (theta, phi, chi, ...).
Listen to how each is pronounced and use the pronunciation guide to practice pronouncing the letters correctly.
NB: Greek letters can be pronounced by the sound at the beginning of their name.
Practice writing these letters as indicated by the pattern below.
Say the name of the letter aloud as you write each one.
​
N.B. Most Greek letters can be written in one stroke.
theta
phi
chi
zeta
xi
psi
Rewrite the following words in Greek.
Then, write the transliteration for each word.
Section Two Practice Exercises
You have now learned all of the letters in the Greek alphabet!
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Take time to review and practice each group of letters. Then, come back and complete the following exercises below to practice what you've learned.
Read the following Greek words out loud and transliterate them into their English equivalent.
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You may find words that sound familiar to you! Words that are capitalized are names of people. Words uncapitalized are dictionary words, and their meanings are provided in parentheses.
