Learn the Greek alphabet

The alphabet is the single best place to start — once you can read Greek, everything else gets easier. Modern Greek has 24 letters, and most learners read them within a week.

The 24 letters

Α α (álfa, “a”) · Β β (víta, “v”) · Γ γ (gámma, “gh/y”) · Δ δ (délta, “th” as in this) · Ε ε (épsilon, “e”) · Ζ ζ (zíta, “z”) · Η η (íta, “i”) · Θ θ (thíta, “th” as in thin) · Ι ι (yóta, “i”) · Κ κ (káppa, “k”) · Λ λ (lámda, “l”) · Μ μ (mi, “m”) · Ν ν (ni, “n”) · Ξ ξ (ksi, “ks”) · Ο ο (ómikron, “o”) · Π π (pi, “p”) · Ρ ρ (ro, “r”) · Σ σ/ς (sígma, “s”) · Τ τ (taf, “t”) · Υ υ (ípsilon, “i”) · Φ φ (fi, “f”) · Χ χ (chi, “ch”) · Ψ ψ (psi, “ps”) · Ω ω (oméga, “o”).

False friends to watch for

A few letters look like Latin letters but sound different:

• Η η is “i”, not “h”.
• Ρ ρ is “r”, not “p”.
• Χ χ is “ch” (as in Scottish loch), not “x”.
• Υ υ is “i”, not “u”.
• Ω ω is “o”, not “w”.

A few quirks

• σ vs ς: sigma is written ς at the end of a word and σ everywhere else.
• Several letters sound like “i” (Η, Ι, Υ, plus some combinations) — context tells them apart.
• Stress is marked with an accent (ά, έ, ή…), and it always tells you which syllable to emphasise.

How to actually memorise it

Don’t just read the table once — practise with spaced repetition until recognition is automatic, then start sounding out real words. Lambda Lingua starts you at A1 with the alphabet and builds from there, with audio on every card.

Next: how hard is Greek really? and how long it takes. Or see all Greek guides.