Greek Resources

The Alphabet

The pronunciation of Koine (Common) Greek at the time of the New Testament is a matter of debate. The system given here is an adaptation of the pronunciation recommended by the Classical Association.

 

NameCapitalSmall PronunciationRemarks
KoineModern
AlphaAα a as in catah as in father 
BetaBβ bv 
GammaΓγ gy or gyhfor γγ, γκ, γχ, γξ the γ is pronounced as the "n" in sing, ink, etc.
DeltaΔδ dth as in then 
EpsilonEε e as in gete as in getthe name means "simple e"
Vau or DigammaϜϝ w or fw the letter dropped out of use before the time of the New Testament. The name "Vau" reflected its Semitic name "vav"; the Greeks called it Digamma because it looked like two superimposed Gammas
ZetaZζ dz as in adzez as in zooif dz is difficult to pronounce, just use z
EtaHη ey as in greyee as in see 
ThetaΘθ th as in thinth as in thin 
IotaIι i as in itee as in seebefore other vowels i can sound as y in yes
KappaKκ kk 
LambdaΛλ ll 
MuMμ mm 
NuNμ nn 
XiΞξ x as in taxix as in taxi 
OmicronOο o as in gotou as in boughtthe name means "little o"
PiΠπ pp 
KoppaϘϙ k the letter dropped out of use before the time of the New Testament.
RhoPρ r as in redr as in veryρ at the beginning of a word is aspirated : "hr"
SigmaΞσ s as in sees as in seeterminal sigma is written ς
TauTτ tt 
UpsilonΥυ u as in putee as in seethe name means "simple u"
PhiΦφ ph or fph or f 
ChiΧχ ch as in (Scots) loch, (German) ach, (Spanish) gente
PsiΨψ ps as in psstps as in psst 
OmegaΩω o as in homeou as in boughtthe name means big (broad) o

Diphthongs

CombinationPronunciation
KoineModern
αιai as in aislee as in get
αυau as in Faustahf or ahv
ειei as in veilee as in see
ευeu as in feudehf or ehv
οιoi as in oilee as in see
ουoo as in bootoo as in boot
υιui as in suiteee as in see

 

Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved

Dr. Rollinson

ENMU Station 19
Portales, NM 88130

Last Updated: April 29, 2020

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