Pronunciation Guide

Αα	Ββ
Γγ	Δδ
Εε	Ζζ
Ηη	Θθ
Ιι	Κκ
Λλ	Μμ
Νν	Ξξ
Οο	Ππ
Ρρ	Σσ
Ττ	Υυ
Φφ	Χχ
Ψψ	Ωω

Breathings

Consonants

Vowels

	Breathings
Click on a Greek letter or word to hear it pronounced.


῾	Aspirate or rough breathing: a sign placed over an initial vowel or initial rho to indicate an initial h-sound	ἥλιος ὁδός

᾿	Smooth breathing: a sign placed over an initial vowel to indicate the absence of aspiration; hence, no additional sound	ἄνεμος

In the old Attic alphabet Η or heta represented the h-sound. In the Ionic alphabet, the same symbol represented a vowel, eta, because the Ionic dialect had lost aspirations and had no need for heta. When the Ionic alphabet was adopted in Athens (2nd half of the 5th cent. B.C.E.), the h-sound was no longer represented in writing. Subsequently, the rough breathing sign was created by using of the left half of Η to indicate [h], and the smooth breathing sign was created as its mirror image to represent the lack of the h-sound. These signs were introduced by Alexandrian scholars in the 2nd cent. B.C.E. and during the Byzantine period developed into the curved form we now use.