Greek alphabet

The Greek alphabet (/ˈgri:k ˈælfəbet/) is an alphabet used to write Greek languages, particularly Ancient Greek and Modern Greek.

The 24 letters of this alphabet are Α α, Β β, Γ γ, Δ δ, Ε ε, Ζ ζ, Η η, Θ θ, Ι ι, Κ κ, Λ λ, Μ μ, Ν ν, Ξ ξ, Ο ο, Π π, Ρ ρ, Σ σ/ς, Τ τ, Υ υ, Φ φ, Χ χ, Ψ ψ, and Ω ω.

Table

Upper case	Lower case	Name	Pronunciation of name	Number	Name in Greek	Consonant or vowel?
Α	α	Alpha	/ˈæl.fə/	1	αλφα	Vowel
Β	β	Beta	/ˈbiːtə/	2	βητα	Consonant
Γ	γ	Gamma	/ˈɡæmə/	3	γαμμα	Consonant
Δ	δ	Delta	/ˈdɛltə/	4	δελτα	Consonant
Ε	ε	Epsilon	/ˈɛpsɪlɒn/	5	εψιλον	Vowel
Ζ	ζ	Zeta	/ˈziːtə/	6	ζητα	Consonant
Η	η	Eta	/ˈiːtə/	7	ητα	Vowel
Θ	θ	Theta	/ˈθiːtə/	8	θητα	Consonant
Ι	ι	Iota	/aɪˈoʊtə/	9	ιωτα	Vowel
Κ	κ	Kappa	/ˈkæpə/	10	καππα	Consonant
Λ	λ	Lambda	/ˈlæmdə/	11	λαμβδα	Consonant
Μ	μ	Mu	/mjuː/	12	μυ	Consonant
Ν	ν	Nu	/njuː/	13	νυ	Consonant
Ξ	ξ	Xi	/zaɪ/	14	ξι	Consonant
Ο	ο	Omicron	/ˈɒmɪkrɒn/	15	ομικρον	Vowel
Π	π	Pi	/paɪ/	16	πι	Consonant
Ρ	ρ	Rho	/rəʊ/	17	ρο	Consonant
Σ	σ/ς	Sigma	/ˈsɪɡmə/	18	σιγμα	Consonant
Τ	τ	Tau	/taʊ/	19	ταυ	Consonant
Υ	υ	Upsilon	/ˈjuːpsɪlɒn/	20	υψιλον	Vowel
Φ	φ	Phi	/faɪ/	21	φι	Consonant
Χ	χ	Chi	/kaɪ/	22	χι	Consonant
Ψ	ψ	Psi	/saɪ/	23	ψι	Consonant
Ω	ω	Omega	/ˈəʊmɪɡə/	24	ωμεγα	Vowel

The Greek alphabet is the ancestor of the Latin alphabet, and some letters are recognisably similar. Not being able to read Greek however is the origin of the English idiom "it’s (all) Greek to me"!

In English, Greek letters are sometimes used (1) in scientific nomenclature, e.g. β-carotene, γ-ray, or(2) statistics, where Greek letter represents a statistic and a Latin letter a parameter (3) in linguistics texts where the audience is assumed to understand Greek.