The Greek alphabet has been used to write the Greek language since the late 9th or early 8th century BC. It was derived from the earlier Phoenician alphabet, and is the earliest known alphabetic script to systematically write vowels as well as consonants. The Greek alphabet is the ancestor of several scripts, such as the Latin, Gothic, Coptic, and Cyrillic scripts.
1 - Alpha
The first letter of the Greek alphabet, it sounds like the "a" in "father" or "apple". It is often used in science to denote angles or coefficients.
2 - Beta
Pronounced like the English "v" in modern Greek, though it was a "b" sound in classical Greek. It is used in mathematics and finance (as "the Greeks").
3 - Gamma
Sounds like the English "g" in "game". The uppercase form (Γ) is a common symbol for the gamma function in math.
4 - Delta
Sounds like the English "d". The uppercase delta (Δ) often signifies a change or difference in science, while the lowercase delta (δ) can represent a "very small" non-zero number.
5 - Epsilon
Sounds like the short "e" in "bed" or "get". The lowercase epsilon (ε or ϵ) is used in calculus to denote a small quantity or error.
7 - Zeta
Pronounced like the English "z".
8 - Eta
The sound has evolved over time; in modern Greek, it's pronounced like the "ee" in "feet".
9 - Theta
Pronounced with a "th" sound, as in "theta" itself or "math". It is widely used to represent angles in geometry and trigonometry.
10 - Iota
Sounds like the "ee" in "feet" or the "i" in "it". The English word "jot" (or "iota") means a very small amount.
20 - Kappa
Sounds like the English "k".
30 - Lambda
Sounds like the English "l". The lowercase lambda (λ) is a common symbol for wavelength in physics.
40 - Mu
Sounds like the English "m". The lowercase mu (μ) is used as the prefix "micro" in units of measurement, or for the mean in statistics.
50 - Nu
Sounds like the English "n".
60 - Xi
Pronounced like "ks" or "x" (as in "xylophone"). The uppercase form is used in various sciences.
70 - Omicron
Sounds like the short "o" in "pot" or "omicron".
80 - Pi
Sounds like the English "p". The lowercase pi (π) is universally known as the mathematical constant (approximately 3.14159...) representing the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.
100 - Rho
Sounds like the English "r". The lowercase rho (ρ) is often used to represent density.
200 - Sigma
Sounds like the English "s". The uppercase sigma (Σ) is a widely used symbol for summation in mathematics. The lowercase form has two variants: σ is used generally, and ς is used at the end of a word.
300 - Tau
Sounds like the English "t".
400 - Upsilon
Sounds can vary, often like the "u" in "put" or a sound similar to the German "ü".
500 - Phi
Pronounced like the English "f" (in modern Greek). The lowercase phi (φ) is famously used to represent the golden ratio.
600 - Chi
Pronounced like the "ch" in "Bach" or "loch".
700 - Psi
Pronounced like the "ps" sound in "lapse". The uppercase form (Ψ) is the universal symbol for psychology, from the Greek word psyche, meaning "soul" or "mind".
800 - Omega
last letter of the Greek alphabet; it sounds like the long "o" in "saw" or "omega". It can denote the last, the end, or infinite ordinals in set theory.