Greek alphabet: all 24 letters with stroke order
Greek has 24 letters, each with a capital and a lowercase form. Open a letter to see both written stroke by stroke, how it sounds in modern Greek, and an example word written in the same hand.
Several Greek capitals look exactly like Latin ones (A, B, E, Z, H, I, K, M, N, O, P, T, Y, X), but their sounds differ: Β is v, Η is ee, Ρ is r, Χ is a breathy kh. The pages call these out.
Lowercase is where the work is: α, β, γ, δ, ε, ζ, η, θ and the rest have shapes that are not like Latin lowercase. Practising them on ruled lines, as on the pages here, is the quickest way to make them automatic.
All letters
How to practise greek letters
Learn the 24 letters in alphabetical order first; it is the order used in dictionaries, in maths and on Greek street signs.
Start with the letters you already know from Latin: Α, Β, Ε, Ζ, Η, Ι, Κ, Μ, Ν, Ο, Ρ, Τ, Υ, Χ. Then add the new shapes: Γ, Δ, Θ, Λ, Ξ, Π, Σ, Φ, Ψ, Ω.
Greek is written left to right, like English, and modern Greek is spelled close to how it sounds, so once you can read the letters you can read the words.
The transliterator tool converts a Greek word to Latin letters and back, which is handy for checking a name or a street sign.
Pronunciation guide
| Letter | Name | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| Α α | alpha | a as in "father" |
| Β β | beta | v as in "vet" |
| Γ γ | gamma | a soft, throaty g; like y before e and i |
| Δ δ | delta | th as in "this" |
| Ε ε | epsilon | e as in "bet" |
| Ζ ζ | zeta | z as in "zoo" |
| Η η | eta | ee as in "machine" |
| Θ θ | theta | th as in "think" |
| Ι ι | iota | ee as in "machine" |
| Κ κ | kappa | k as in "kite" |
| Λ λ | lambda | l as in "lamp" |
| Μ μ | mu | m as in "map" |
| Ν ν | nu | n as in "net" |
| Ξ ξ | xi | ks as in "box" |
| Ο ο | omicron | o as in "or" |
| Π π | pi | p as in "pen" |
| Ρ ρ | rho | a tapped or rolled r |
| Σ σ | sigma | s as in "sun" |
| Τ τ | tau | t as in "ten" |
| Υ υ | upsilon | ee as in "machine" |
| Φ φ | phi | f as in "fun" |
| Χ χ | chi | a breathy h, like "loch" |
| Ψ ψ | psi | ps as in "lips" |
| Ω ω | omega | o as in "or" |
A short history
The Greek alphabet took shape around the 8th century BCE, adapted from the Phoenician script, and was the first alphabet to write vowels as letters of their own. Latin, Cyrillic and many mathematical and scientific symbols descend from it.