English pronunciation of Greek letters
This table gives the common English pronunciation of Greek letters using the International Phonetic Alphabet (see Wikipedia:IPA for English.) It is the pronunciation of the ancient Greek names of the Greek letters using the English teaching pronunciation. Sometimes, especially in the sciences, the vowels will be pronounced closer to the Greek, for example /ˈpsiː/ instead of /ˈsaɪ/ for psi.
| Greek | Ancient Greek name[1] |
English name |
English pronunciation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α α | Template:Polytonic | Alpha | /ˈælfə/ |
| Β β | Template:Polytonic | Beta | /ˈbiːtə/, US /ˈbeɪtə/ |
| Γ γ | Template:Polytonic | Gamma | /ˈɡæmə/ |
| Δ δ | Template:Polytonic | Delta | /ˈdɛltə/ |
| Ε ε | Template:Polytonic | Epsilon | /ˈɛpsɨlɒn/, UK also /ɛpˈsaɪlən/ |
| Ζ ζ | Template:Polytonic | Zeta | /ˈziːtə/, US /ˈzeɪtə/ |
| Η η | Template:Polytonic | Eta | /ˈiːtə/, US /ˈeɪtə/ |
| Θ θ | Template:Polytonic | Theta | /ˈθiːtə/, US /ˈθeɪtə/ |
| Ι ι | Template:Polytonic | Iota | /aɪˈoʊtə/ |
| Κ κ | Template:Polytonic | Kappa | /ˈkæpə/ |
| Λ λ | Template:Polytonic | Lambda | /ˈlæmdə/ |
| Μ μ | Template:Polytonic | Mu Mew | /ˈmjuː/ |
| Ν ν | Template:Polytonic | Nu new | /ˈnjuː/, US /ˈnuː/ |
| Ξ ξ | Template:Polytonic | Xi zz-eye | /ˈzaɪ/, /ˈksaɪ/ |
| Ο ο | Template:Polytonic | Omicron | /ˈɒmɨkrɒn/, traditional UK /ˈoʊmaɪkrɒn/ |
| Π π | Template:Polytonic | Pi pie | /ˈpaɪ/ |
| Ρ ρ | Template:Polytonic | Rho row | /ˈroʊ/ |
| Σ σ ς (final) |
Template:Polytonic | Sigma | /ˈsɪɡmə/ |
| Τ τ | Template:Polytonic | Tau tawh | /ˈtaʊ/, also /ˈtɔː/ |
| Υ υ | Template:Polytonic | Upsilon oopsilon | /juːpˈsaɪlən/, /ˈʊpsɨlɒn/, US /ˈʌpsɨlɒn/ |
| Φ φ | Template:Polytonic | Phi fie or fy | /ˈfaɪ/ |
| Χ χ | Template:Polytonic | Chi kai | /ˈkaɪ/ |
| Ψ ψ | Template:Polytonic | Psi sie or sigh | /ˈsaɪ/, /ˈpsaɪ/ |
| Ω ω | Template:Polytonic | Omega | US /oʊˈmeɪɡə/, traditional UK /ˈoʊmɨɡə/[2] |