Greek Pronunciation Guide

By Dick Oakes

A a, B b, Ch ch, D d, E e, F f, G g,
I i, K k, Ks ks, L l, M m, N n, O o, P p, Ps ps,
R r, S s, T t, Th th, Tz tz, U u,
Z z

The Greek alphabet has 24 characters. Two of the letters, Γ γ (gamma) and Χ χ (chi), have no clear English equivalent, the sounds of which should be heard from a Greek-speaking person to be mastered. For our purposes, we transliterate into Latin phonetics.

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, Western Asia Minor, and the Aegean, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records.

Letters not listed are pronounced approximately as in English.

A, a	- a as in father
E, e	- e as in get
I, i	- i as in machine
O, o	- o as in note (omega); o as in gone (omicron)

Ch, ch	- ch (gutteral kh) as in loch (sometimes shown as h or h)
G, g	- g as in go, although sometimes slightly softer
Ps, ps	- ps as in lips
Th, th	- th as in think
Tz, tz	- th as in think

DIPTHONGS:

Ai, ai	- ai as in aisle
Aw, aw	- ow as in cow
Ei, ei	- ei as in freight
Ew, ew	- ew as in beware
Oi, oi	- oi as in oil
Ou, ou	- ou as in bouquet (sometimes shown as oo)
Ui, ui	- uee as in queen

OTHER SOUNDS:

Dh, dh	- th as in that (sometimes shown as th or d)
Dz, dz	- dg as in edge (sometimes shown as tz)