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Introduction

The Greek language, although using an unusual set of characters, is surprisingly regular in its pronunciation of words. The following is a subset of the Greek characters, along with a possible pronunciation guide (which can be directly represented in the web application). Note that, like for all languages, each pronunciation system is a personal choice and you will not be able to pick up any system and pronounce the words perfectly, without doing your own groundwork first.

Sound Code 

Foreign Letters 

Pronunciation Guide 

-

.*

Syllable separator

A.

α | ά

‘a’ pronounced  fAther, not mAt

B

μπ

‘b’ as in Bat

D

ντ

‘d’ as in Dog

EE!

η

‘ee’ like fEEt but shortened

EE!

ι

As above

EE!

ει

Two letters representing EE!

EE!

οί

Two letters representing EE!

EH!

αί | αι

Two letters representing EH! (see below)

EH!

έ

Sounds like 'air' but shortened

GY

γ

GRA? Sound but with no ‘R’ - tricky

H

χ

H for harry (slightly stronger, more air in H sound)

K

κ

‘k’ as in Kite

L

λ

‘l’ as in Luck

M

μ

‘m’ as in Mat

N

ν

‘n’ as in Nap

O.

ο | ό

‘o’ as in orange not go.

O.

ω

As above

OO!

ου

Like bOOk but shorter

P

π

‘p’ as in Peter

PS

ψ

say psssss, but very short

R

ρ

Rolling r sound

S

σ

‘s’ for Soup

S

ς$

This S sound but only ever appears at the end, hence the $ pattern

T

τ

‘t’ as in Tiger

THa.

θ

The 'th' sound in 'think', or perhaps 'that'

THe.

δ

Like th  in 'thee' – not hard ‘t’ as in tea

TS

τσ

Say tssssss but very short

V

β

‘v’ for Van (not ‘b’ for Beta)

 

Some sample words

Word or phrase 

Pronunciation Guide 

Translation 

βάτραχος

VA.-TRA.-HO.S

frog

γάτος

GYA.-TO.S

cat

ειρήνη

EE!-REE!-NEE!

peace

θάλασσα

THa.A.-LA.S-SA.

sea

μπαίνω

BEH!-NO.

to enter

μπαλόνι

BA.-LO.-NEE!

balloon

ντομάτα

DO.-MA.-TA.

Tomato

ουρανός

OO!-RA.-NO.S

sky

πλοίο

PLEE!-O.

ship

τσιγάρο

TSEE!-GYA.-RO.

cigarette

ψαλίδι

PSA.-LEE!-THe.EE!

scissors