Fillable Printable Greek Letters
Fillable Printable Greek Letters
Greek Letters
GREEK LETTERS
Learn the names of Greek letters – not just the obvious ones like alpha,
beta, and pi, but the more obscure psi, xi, tau, omega.
[. . . ]
Learn not just
to recognize these letters,but how to pronounce them. Even if you are not
reading mathematics out loud, it is hard to think about formulas if ξ, ψ, τ, ω, ϕ
are all “squiggles” to you.
J. Hubbard
Below is a table of the Greek alphabetical order, with pronunciation guides for the letter
names and sounds that match how mathematicians pronounce them in English.This is not
always the same as Greek pronunciation, e.g., the sound of the letter β in modern Greek
is v rather than b, so βoλτ is Greek for volt, not bolt. If Greek borrows a foreign word
with a b sound in it, they transcribe that sound using the two-letter combination µπ, so
barbershop is µπαρµπ ´ερικo = barberiko and blues (the musical style) is µπλoυζ. (Compare
with Greek’s single letter θ where English uses two letters th.If your alphabet doesn’t have
a letter representing the sound you need, you have to improvise.)
Letter Name Sound
Aα
´αλϕα (alpha) a
Bβ
β ´ητ α (beta) b
Γγ γ ´αµµα (gamma) g
∆δ δ ´ελτ α (delta) d
Eε
´εψιλoν (epsilon) e
Zζ
ζ ´ητ α (zeta) z
Hη
´ητ α (eta) ee
Θθ θ ´ητ α (theta) th
Iι
ι´ωτ α (iota) i
Kκ
κ´αππα (kappa) k
Λλ λ´αµβδα (lambda) l
Mµ
µ´υ (mu) m
Nν
ν ´υ (nu) n
Ξξ ξ´ι (xi) ks
Oo
´oµικρoν (omicron) o
Ππ π´ι (pi) p
P ρ
ρ´ω (rho) r
Σσ σ´ιγµα (sigma) s
T τ
τ α´υ (tau) t
Υυ ´υψιλoν (upsilon) oo
Φϕ ϕ´ι (phi) f
Xχ
χ´ι (chi) kh (or h)
Ψψ ψ´ι (psi) ps
Ωω ωµ´εγα (omega) o
1
2 GREEK LETTERS
Gain familiarity with the Greek letters by figuring out how to pronounce each Greek
word below. Its meaning is in the next column over. The words are in Greek alphabetical
order across the rows. Some of the words are loan words from English rather than native
Greek words.
Once you get used to the letters, you’ll see a lot of the words in the table are really the
same in Greek and English, but a few words have been included where the Greek is only a
root for words in English (like Greek for “heart” and “wood.”) Try hiding the English and
see if you can figure out the Greek words by themselves.(Note: ω (omega) is o, not w!! For
instance, ωκεανoγραϕ´ια is not wkeanografia, but rather okeanografia = oceanography.)
Greek Translation Greek Translation Greek Translation
αρ´
ωµα
aroma ´
ατ oµo
atom βιβλ´ιo book
βασικ´
o
basic Boστ ´
ωνη
Boston γεωµετ ρ´ια geometry
γλ´
ωσσα
language Γαλλικ´
α
French δηµoκρατ´ια democracy
δ´
oντ ι
tooth εν ´
εργεια
energy Eλληνικ´
α
Greek
εγ ´
ω
ego ζ ´
ωo
animal ζωδιακ´
o
zodiac
ηθικ´
η
ethics ηλεκτ ρικ´
o
electric ηχ´
ω
echo
´
ηλιoν
helium θεωρ´
ηµα
theorem θεoλoγ´ια theology
θεωρ´ια theory ιστ oρ´ια (hi)story ιδ ´
εα
idea
καρδι´
α
heart κατ αστ ρoϕ´
η
catastrophe λ´
αµπα
lamp
λoγικ´
o
logic µαν´ια madness µoυσικ´
η
music
µπ´ιρα beer νε´
υρo
nerve ν ´
εo
new
νoστ αλγ´ια nostalgia N´ικη sneaker goddess ξ ´
υλo
wood
ξενoϕoβ´ια xenophobia oκτ ´
ω
eight ´
oνoµα
name
πεντ ´
αγωνo
pentagon πρ´
oβληµα
problem Πλ´
ατ ων
Plato
ρoκ
rock (music) ρητ oρικ´
o
rhetorical ραψωδ´ια rhapsody
στ ´
oµα
mouth
σεξ
sex σεισµικ´
o
seismic
τ ρ´ιγωνo triangle τ ετ ρ ´
αγωνo
square τ ραγωδ´ια tragedy
υπν ´
ωση
hypnosis υδρoγ ´
oνo
hydrogen ϕoβ´ια fear
ϕ´
υλλo
leaf χηµε´ια chemistry χιπ-χoπ hip-hop
χoρωδ´ια chorus χρ´
ωµα
color ψυχ´
η
soul
ψευδ ´
ωνυµo
pseudonym ´
ωρα
hour Ωρ´ιων Orion
