How Greek writing works

Greek runs left to right, with spaces between words. Each letter stands for a consonant or a vowel.

Here are water and mum. Tap play and listen. These pages have no test, and you can come back to them whenever you need.

The alphabet has 24 letters with capital partners. A capital and its small letter spell the same sound.

One lowercase letter has two shapes: σ inside a word and ς at the end. They are the same letter. κόσμος, world, has both.

A tonos accent marks the strong vowel in words with two or more syllables: τομάτα.

Some two-letter teams represent one sound: μπ in μπάλα, ball, is a single b. Learn each team as one reading unit rather than guessing two separate sounds.