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Alphabet & Pronunciation
Greek alphabet, diphthongs, digraphs, the tonos accent and key pronunciation rules
α, ε, ο
the short vowels a, e, o
ah, eh, oh
Basic Greek vowel sounds
η, ι, υ
the three "i" vowels
ee, ee, ee
Iotacism: η, ι, υ all sound like "i"
ου
the digraph "ou"
oo
ου is always pronounced like English "oo"
μπ, ντ, γκ
voiced stop digraphs b, d, g
b, d, g
Word-initial μπ/ντ/γκ = b/d/g sounds
θ, δ
voiceless/voiced "th"
th (thin), th (this)
θ like English "think"; δ like English "this"
χ, γ
hard "h" and "gh" sounds
kh, gh
χ = guttural h (loch); γ = soft gh sound
ψ, ξ
the letters ps, ks
ps, ks
ψυχή [psee-KHEE], ξένος [KSEH-nos]
ο τόνος
the accent mark (stress)
TOH-nos
Every word of 2+ syllables needs a written accent
Γεια σου! / Γεια σας!
Hi! (informal / formal or plural)
YAH soo / YAH sas
Basic informal and formal greeting
Καλημέρα / Καληνύχτα
Good morning / Good night
kah-lee-MEH-rah / kah-lee-NEEKH-tah
Time-of-day greetings
