Greek alphabet and pronunciation

  • practically the same as Latin
  • unique to Greek
  • false friend (looks like Latin, means something else)
Example
Α α άλφα apple
Β β βήτα van
Γ γ γάμμα garden (fricative g/y)
Δ δ δέλτα the
Ε ε έψιλον egg
ΑΙ αι e egg
Ζ ζ ζήτα zoo
Η η ήτα equal
Θ θ θήτα thing
Ι ι γιώτα equal
Κ κ κάππα cat
Λ λ λάμδα lamp
Μ μ μι milk
Ν ν νι net
Ξ ξ ξι taxi
Ο ο όμικρον off
Π π πι pizza
Ρ ρ ρο rose (Spanish pero / perro)
Σ σ/ς σίγμα sun
Τ τ ταυ tea
Υ υ ύψιλον equal
ΕΙ ει i equal
ΟΙ οι i equal
ΥΙ υι i equal
Φ φ φι fish
Χ χ χι German ich / Bach
Ψ ψ ψι psyche
Ω ω ωμέγα off

Vowels and vowel combinations

  • αι → /e/ as in “egg”
  • ου → /u/ as in “food”
  • ο and ω → both /o/ as in “off”
  • η, ι, υ, ει, οι, υι → all /i/ as in “equal” (“iotacism”)

Consonants that sound different from what you expect

  • β → /v/ as in “van”, not /b/
  • δ → voiced English th as in this
  • θ → voiceless English th as in thing
  • γ → usually a fricative, roughly between English “g” and “y”
  • χ → like German “ch” in “Bach” or “ich”, depending on the following vowel
  • ρ → a rolled or briefly tapped r

Γ and Χ change before front vowels

Before ε, αι, η, ι, ει, οι, υ, υι they are pronounced further forward:

  • γε, γι roughly like a soft English y
  • χε, χι roughly like German ch in “ich”

Before α, ο, ω, ου they sound further back:

  • γα, γο as a throaty γ
  • χα, χο like “ch” in “Bach”

αυ and ευ

Pronunciation depends on the next sound:

  • αυ → /av/ or /af/
  • ευ → /ev/ or /ef/

Before voiceless consonants, f is used:

  • αυτό → aftó
  • ευχαριστώ → efcharistó

Otherwise usually v:

  • αύριο → ávrio
  • Ευρώπη → Evrópi

Combinations for b, d, and g

Because β, δ, γ are no longer pronounced /b d g/ today, those sounds are made with combinations:

  • μπ → /b/ or /mb/
  • ντ → /d/ or /nd/
  • γκ → /g/ or /ng/
  • γγ → usually /ng/ or /g/

At the start of a word, usually closer to plain stops:

  • μπαρ → bar
  • ντομάτα → domáta
  • γκολ → gol

Inside a word, some speakers also add a preceding m or n.

Other letter combinations

  • τσ → /ts/
  • τζ → /dz/
  • ξ → /ks/
  • ψ → /ps/

Sigma

  • σ appears at the beginning and in the middle of a word.
  • ς appears only at the end of a word.
  • Both are pronounced the same.

Before voiced consonants, σ can sound like /z/:

  • κόσμος → roughly kózmos

Accent mark

The ´ mark shows the stressed syllable:

  • άνθρωπος → ánthropos
  • Ελλάδα → Elláda
  • ευχαριστώ → efcharistó

That is very helpful, because stress in Greek can distinguish meaning.

Two dots above a vowel

The diaeresis shows that two vowels are pronounced separately:

  • αι → normally /e/
  • αϊ → /ai/

Example:

  • Μαΐου → Ma-íu

The main pitfalls, then, are really: iotacism, ο/ω, αι/ει/οι/ου, αυ/ευ, the modern pronunciation of β γ δ, and the combinations μπ ντ γκ.