Greek alphabet | History, Definition, & Facts (2024)

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Where did the Greek alphabet come from?

The Greek alphabet is a writing system that was developed in Greece about 1000 BCE. It is the direct or indirect ancestor of all modern European alphabets. It was derived from the North Semitic alphabet via that of the Phoenicians.

How is the Greek alphabet used today?

The Greek alphabet is still used for the Greek language today. The letters of the Greek alphabet are now also used as symbols for concepts in equations of the interrelated fields of mathematics and science—for example, the lowercase alpha (⍺) can be used to represent an angle in mathematics.

Is the Greek alphabet the same as the Cyrillic alphabet?

The Greek alphabet is not the same as the Cyrillic alphabet. But the Cyrillic alphabet was heavily based upon the Greek alphabet, so the two writing systems resemble each other. The Cyrillic alphabet was created during the Middle Ages, and it includes additional letters to account for the sounds which Slavic languages use that aren’t present in Greek. The Cyrillic alphabet is now also used for non-Slavic languages, such as Kyrgyz and Tajik.

Why was the Greek alphabet a significant development?

The Greek alphabet was a significant development because it was a more efficient and accurate way to write a non-Semitic language. It did so through the addition of several new letters and the modification or dropping of several others. Most important, some of the symbols of the Semitic alphabet, which represented only consonants, were made to represent vowels.

Greek alphabet, writing system that was developed in Greece about 1000 bce. It is the direct or indirect ancestor of all modern European alphabets. Derived from the North Semitic alphabet via that of the Phoenicians, the Greek alphabet was modified to make it more efficient and accurate for writing a non-Semitic language by the addition of several new letters and the modification or dropping of several others. Most important, some of the symbols of the Semitic alphabet, which represented only consonants, were made to represent vowels: the Semitic consonants ʾalef, he, yod, ʿayin, and vav became the Greek letters alpha, epsilon, iota, omicron, and upsilon, representing the vowels a, e, i, o, and u, respectively. The addition of symbols for the vowel sounds greatly increased the accuracy and legibility of the writing system for non-Semitic languages.

Before the 5th century bce the Greek alphabet could be divided into two principal branches: the Ionic (eastern) and the Chalcidian (western). Differences between the two branches were minor. The Chalcidian alphabet probably gave rise to the Etruscan alphabet of Italy in the 8th century bce and hence indirectly to the other Italic alphabets, including the Latin alphabet, which is now used for most European languages. In 403 bce, however, Athens officially adopted the Ionic alphabet as written in Miletus, and in the next 50 years almost all local Greek alphabets, including the Chalcidian, were replaced by the Ionic script, which thus became the Classical Greek alphabet.

The early Greek alphabet was written, like its Semitic forebears, from right to left. This gradually gave way to the boustrophedon style, and after 500 bce Greek was always written from left to right. The Classical alphabet had 24 letters, 7 of which were vowels, and consisted of capital letters, ideal for monuments and inscriptions. From it were derived three scripts better suited to handwriting: uncial, which was essentially the Classical capitals adapted to writing with pen on paper and similar to hand printing, and cursive and minuscule, which were running scripts similar to modern handwriting forms, with joined letters and considerable modification in letter shape. Uncial went out of use in the 9th century ce, and minuscule, which replaced it, developed into the modern Greek handwriting form.

Classical Greek alphabet

The table indicates the Classical Greek alphabet.

Classical Greek alphabet
letters				equivalents
capital	lowercase	combinations	name	Britannica preferred	alternatives	approximate Classical Attic pronunciation
*Old-style character.
**Final, ç.
Α	α, α*		alpha	a		are
		αι		ae in proper nouns, ai in common words	e	ice
		αυ		au		now
Β	β		beta	b		baby
Γ	γ		gamma	g		go
		γγ		ng		angle
		γκ		nk	nc	ink
		γξ		nx		thanks
		γχ		nch	nkh	in case
Δ	δ, ∂*		delta	d		dog
Ε	ε		epsilon	e		bet
		ει		ei	e or i	day
		ευ		eu		bet + now
Ζ	ζ		zeta	z		used
Η	η		eta	ē	e	air
		ηυ		ēu	eu	airway
Θ	θ, ϑ*		theta	th		tin
Ι	ι		iota	i		even or pin
Κ	κ		kappa	c in proper nouns, k in common words		pocket
Λ	λ		lambda	l		lily
Μ	μ		mu	m		maim
Ν	ν		nu	n		not
Ξ	ξ		xi	x		ax
Ο	ο		omicron	o		German so
		οι		oe in proper nouns, oi in common words		German so + day
		ου		ou		own
Π	π		pi	p		spin
Ρ	ρ		rho	initial, rh; medial, r		rose
		ρρ		rrh		German Naturrecht
Σ	σ**		sigma	s		sand
Τ	τ		tau	t		stay
Υ	υ		upsilon	y	u	French du
		υι		ui		French concluiez
Φ	ϕ, φ*		phi	ph		pin
Χ	χ		chi	ch	kh	kin
Ψ	ψ		psi	ps		perhaps
Ω	ω		omega	ō	o	call

Classical Greek numerals

The table indicates the Classical Greek numerals.

Classical Greek numerals
Greek	Arabic
α′	1
β′	2
γ′	3
δ′	4
ε′	5
ζ′	6
ξ′	7
η′	8
θ′	9
ι′	10
ια′	11
ιβ′	12
ιγ′	13
ιδ′	14
ιε′	15
ιζ′	16
ιξ′	17
ιη′	18
ιθ′	19
κ′	20
κα′	21
κβ′	22
κγ′	23
κδ′	24
λ′	30
μ′	40
ν′	50
ξ′	60
ο′	70
π′	80
ϙ′	90
ρ′	100
σ′	200
τ′	300
υ′	400
ϕ′	500
χ′	600
ψ′	700
ω′	800
ϡ′	900
_′α	1,000

Modern Greek alphabet

The table indicates the Modern Greek alphabet.

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Modern Greek alphabet
Greek letters
capital	lower case	combinations	name	equivalents	approximate pronunciation
*Old-style character.
**Pronounced with a long a.
***Final, ç.
Α	α, α*		álfa	a	bother
		αι		e	bed
		αï		ai	life
		αυ		av/af	lava**, waft
		αϋ		ai	life
Β	β		víta	v	van
Γ	γ		ghámma	gh before α, ο, ου, ω, and consonants other than γ, ξ, and χ, y before αι, ε, ει, η, ι, οι, υ, υι; n before γ, ξ, and χ	wit, yet, sing
		γκ		initial, g; medial, ng	go, finger
Δ	δ, ∂*		dhélta	dh; d between ν and ρ	then, wondrous
Ε	ε		épsilon	e	bet
		ει		i	even
		εï		eï	day
		ευ		ev/ef	revel, left
Ζ	ζ		zíta	z	zone
Η	η		íta	i	fig
		ηυ		iv/if	even, leaf
Θ	θ, ϑ*		thíta	th	thin
Ι	ι		ióta	i	even
Κ	κ		káppa	k	kin, cook
Λ	λ		lámbdha	l	lily
Μ	μ		mi	m	maim
		μπ		initial, b; medial, mb	bake, ambush
Ν	ν		ni	n	not
		ντ		initial, d; medial, nd	dog, fender
		ντζ		ntz	chintz
Ξ	ξ		xi	x	ax
Ο	ο		ómikron	o	saw
		οι		i	even
		οï		oi	boy
		ου		u	food
Π	π		pi	p	pin
Ρ	ρ		ro	r	rose
Σ	σ***		sígma	s	sand
Τ	τ		taf	t	tie
Υ	υ		ípsilon	i initially and between consonants	even
		υι		i	even
Φ	ϕ, φ*		fi	f	fifty
Χ	χ		khi	kh	German Buch
Ψ	ψ		psi	ps	perhaps
Ω	ω		oméga	o	bone

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

This article was most recently revised and updated by Amy McKenna.