Lesson 1

Learning to Read

First learn the alphabet. Below are the Greek letters with their corresponding names. Note that sigma (σ) has a final form (ς) when it appears at the end of a word.

Memory tip: I recommend memorizing the letters row by row (α-δ, ε-θ, ι-μ, ν-π, ρ-υ, φ-ω).

Alphabet songs: Greek Alphabet Song by Axle Rod or Greek Alphabet Song by Daily Dose of Greek.

Capital letters for names, places, titles, and beginnings of paragraphs:

Letter Sounds

Individual letter sounds which represent the default way each letter should be sounded out:

Some letters combine together to make a specific sound distinct from if you sounded each letter out individually like usual (known as diphthongs). Watch for these combinations of letters when reading:

A diaeresis mark (¨) placed over a vowel indicates that it is to be pronounced separately from the preceding vowel. It basically just negates a diphthong. Example: Ἠσαΐας (Ēsaïas, "Isaiah"). Not super important, but good to know note.

Breathing Marks

Every word beginning with a vowel or the letter rho (ρ) must have a breathing mark.

A smooth breathing mark (᾿) indicates that the word begins with a normal vowel sound, without an added "h". Example: ἀνθρώπος (anthrōpos, "man").

A rough breathing mark (῾) – adds an "h" sound before the vowel. Example: ἁγιος (hagios, "holy").

Note: the breathing mark can placed on the second vowel as well. Example: αἰών (aiōn, "age").

Accent Marks

Greek uses three different accent marks, written above vowels, to indicate how a word should be pronounced. We will just put stress on the accented syllable when reading, but the stressed syllable is usually intuitive anyway. The accent marks will sometimes differentiate words when reading (e.g. τις means “some/any,” while τίς means “who”).

• Acute (´)
• Grave (`)
• Circumflex (~)

Syllabification

A syllable is formed around a single vowel or diphthong.

• Every syllable must contain one vowel (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω) or one diphthong (αι, ει, οι, αυ, ευ, ου, υι).
• A single consonant between vowels goes with the following vowel. Example: λόγος → λό-γος (lo-gos)
• When two consonants occur together, they usually divide, unless the second is λ, ρ, or a mute + liquid combination (such as βλ, γρ, πλ). Example: ἄγγελος → ἄγ-γε-λος (an-ge-los)
• Double consonants (like λλ, σσ, ττ) are split between syllables. Example: Ἑλλάς → Ἑλ-λάς (Hel-las)
• Prefixes and compound words often divide at their boundary. Example: ἀπόστολος → ἀ-πό-στο-λος (a-po-sto-los)

Punctuation

Greek punctuation is fairly similar to English.

• Period (.) – Functions exactly like the English period, marking the end of a sentence.
• Comma (,) – Functions like the English comma, used to indicate a pause within a sentence or to separate items in a list.
• Raised dot (·) – Functions like the English semicolon (;) or colon (:), marking a stronger pause than a comma but not the end of a sentence.
• Semicolon (;) – Functions like the English question mark. Example: τί ποιήσω; ("What shall I do?")

Reading Practice

Below is the beginning of the Gospel of John in Greek. Practice reading it aloud, and listen to it read by Louis Tyler (you can slow to .75 speed) for an example. Remember to watch for breathing marks, dipthongs, and punctuation.

1 Ἐν ἀρχῇ ἦν ὁ λόγος, καὶ ὁ λόγος ἦν πρὸς τὸν θεόν, καὶ θεὸς ἦν ὁ λόγος. 2 οὗτος ἦν ἐν ἀρχῇ πρὸς τὸν θεόν. 3 πάντα δι’ αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο, καὶ χωρὶς αὐτοῦ ἐγένετο οὐδὲ ἕν. ὃ γέγονεν 4 ἐν αὐτῷ ζωὴ ἦν, καὶ ἡ ζωὴ ἦν τὸ φῶς τῶν ἀνθρώπων· 5 καὶ τὸ φῶς ἐν τῇ σκοτίᾳ φαίνει, καὶ ἡ σκοτία αὐτὸ οὐ κατέλαβεν.

Here are some common names and places in the New Testament to read: