How to Write the Greek Alphabet

Last Updated: January 28, 2023 References

Everyone probably knows some of the letters of the Greek alphabet. We see them in certain phrases, in math and science equations, in the names of fraternities and sororities, and in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). In fact, the word "alphabet" itself is made up of the names of the first two Greek letters (alpha + beta).

But would you like to learn the entire Greek alphabet? Depending on how quickly you learn and how much time you have to practice, this could take you anywhere from one week to one month.

Steps

1
Write down the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet in order.[1] Write both the capital letters and the small letters (the list below shows the capital letters first):^{[1]
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- Α α = Alpha (al-fah)^{[2]
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- Β β = Beta (bay-tah)
- Γ γ = Gamma (ga-mah)^{[3]
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- Δ δ = Delta (del-tah)
- Ε ε = Epsilon (ep-si-lon)
- Ζ ζ = Zeta (zay-tah)
- Η η = Eta (ay-tah)
- Θ θ = Theta (thay-tah)
- Ι ι = Iota (eye-o-tah)
- Κ κ = Kappa (kap-pah)^{[4]
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- Λ λ = Lambda (lamb-dah)
- Μ μ = Mu (mew)
- Ν ν = Nu (new)
- Ξ ξ = Xi (zie)
- Ο ο = Omicron (om-e-cron)
- Π π = Pi (pie)
- Ρ ρ = Rho (row)^{[5]
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- Σ σ = Sigma (sig-mah)
- Τ τ = Tau (taw)
- Υ υ = Upsilon (up-si-lon)
- Φ φ = Phi (fy)
- Χ χ = Chi (chy)
- Ψ ψ = Psi (sy)
- Ω ω = Omega (o-meh-ga)
2
Practice learning four to six letters per day.^{[6]
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- Say them out loud, in order.^{[7]
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- Write them down (don't forget to write both capital and small letters).
- Create flashcards with the letter on one side and the name of the letter on the other. Practice until you know them without thinking.^{[8]
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3
Each day, add four to six more letters. Continue to say them, write them, use them for spelling. Don't forget to include the letters you learned previously!
4
By the end of four to six days, you will have learned the entire Greek alphabet. But to get them into your long-term memory, you will have practice at least once a day (e.g. saying them in order, then in reverse order; going through your flashcards) for about a week, and then maybe once a week after that.

Community Q&A

Question

Is the alphabet in order (from A-Z)?

Community Answer

Yes it is. Note that there are different letters, though. English has 26, but Greek has 24.
Question

Does the Greek alphabet match ours?

Community Answer

No, it is very different than the Latin alphabet used by English speakers and Romance languages.
Question

Is there a "v" in the Greek alphabet?

Fay1

Community Answer

No, there isn't, but on the Greek keyboard 'v' key is 'ω' (omega) key.