Reading Biblical Greek

lesson One Part Three

Greek Alphabet Complete

Lesson One

Complete Alphabet

We are concluding on the subject of the Greek alphabet and this week we are combining both capital and small letters. I will then give an overall comment on the alphabet and then move to the next topics next week. Therefore, lesson one was in three parts and covered over three weeks.

No	Capital Letters	Small Letters	English equivalence	Name of the letter
1	Α	α	A	Alpha
2	Β	β	B	Beta
3	Γ	γ	G	Gamma
4	Δ	δ	D	Delta
5	Ε	ε	E	Epsilon
6	Ζ	ζ	Z	Zeta
7	Η	η	Long ´E´	Eta
8	Θ	θ	TH	Theta
9	Ι	ι	I	Iota
10	Κ	κ	K	Kappa
11	Λ	λ	L	Lambda
12	Μ	μ	M	Mu
13	Ν	ν	N	Nu
14	Ξ	ξ	X	Xi
15	Ο	ο	O	Omicron
16	Π	π	P	Pi
17	Ρ	ρ	R	Rho
18	Σ	σ/ς	S	Sigma
19	Τ	τ	T	Tau
20	Υ	υ	U	Upsilon
21	Φ	φ	PH	Phi
22	Χ	χ	CH	Chi
23	Ψ	ψ	PS	Psi
24	Ω	ω	Long ´O´	Omega

Notes

You realize that they are 24 Greek letters in the alphabet and some English letters are missing which are these? How do we make up for them in building our Greek word?

First, there is no letter ´c´ in the Greek alphabet. The following letters may hold the position of ´c´ depending on the word; χ usually translated as either ch or kh. Therefore if you want to write Christ-the Ch is represented by χ. There is no need for a separate ´C´ then the Greek letter ´Κ κ´ may be translated as Cc or Kk Second, there is no ´f´ in the Greek Alphabet, the letter ´f´ is represented by the sound of the letter ´Φ, φ- phi

Third, there is no letter ´H h´ in the Greek alphabet. The letter ´h´ at the beginning of the word is therefore represented by the rough breathing (‘ ). For example, the Greek word for holy is hagios and is spelled like this- ἅγιος
Fourth, there is no letter ´j´ in Greek and no sounds represent a ´j´ at all.
Fifth, there is no letter ´q´ in the Greek alphabet and even the sound that represents q is completely not there.
Sixth, there is no equivalent letter to ´v´ in the Greek alphabet. Please do not confuse Nu (v)-n for English-v.
Seventh, there is no letter ´w´ in the Greek alphabet. Please do not confuse omega ´w´ -o for English-w.
Eighth, there is no direct correspondence for ý´ in the Greek alphabet but it is represented by upsilon- Υ υ.
The English letter ´e´ is represented by two Greek letters which are; Εpsilon (E ε) and Eta (Η η)
The English letter ´o´ is represented by two Greek letters which are; Omicron (Ο ο) and Omega (Ω ω)
The English letters ´th´ is represented by the Greek letter; Theta (Θ θ)
The English letters ´ph´ is represented by the Greek letter; Phi (Φ φ)
The English letters ´ch´ is represented by the Greek letter; Chi (Χ χ)
The English letters ´ps´ is represented by the Greek letter; Psi (Ψ ψ)
Therefore the ´h´ takes multiple combinations.
The following are also trick things to note with the Greek alphabet:
Gamma-the small letter is confusing, it is like a ´y´ in English and therefore you need to be watchful. The capital letter is not a problem because it does not have an English resemblance
Eta-both capital letter (Η) and small letter (η) are confusing as the capital letter has some resemblance with the English (H) and (n).
Nu– the small letter is the most confusing as it has resemblances with the English (v).
Sigma-the confusing part is with the small letter. The way you write it depends on its position in the word. For example, when writing sigma at the beginning of the word you should use this variation- σ. Then at the middle or end of the word you use this variation- ς
Chi-both the capital and small letters are confusing because they are similar to the English (X) but in essence they represent-ch.
Omega-the small letter is confusing because it is like the English small letter (w) but it represents an ´o´ in Greek.