[I]t['s all] Greek to me[!]— William Shakespeare (1599)
Archimedean pi? Omega hyperons? Dihydrogen sigma bond? A torque of tau? Alpha Centauri? In order to be successful in mathematics, physics, chemistry, engineering, or astronomy, you will need to learn how to read and write in Greek.
I taught myself how to read and write in Greek when I was in middle school. The way I did this was by memorizing a one-to-one transliteration corresponding to Apple Symbol font. Symbol font was originally released by Apple in March 1985 but was also available for Microsoft Windows and became the most common means of typing, displaying, and printing Greek characters on English-language operating systems until Unicode character entities were adopted for Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) 4 in December 1999.[WI1, WI2, W3] The way that Symbol font works is it essentially transforms an English-alphabet keyboard into a Greek-alphabet keyboard. A one-to-one transliteration means that each key on the English keyboard corresponds uniquely to a specific Greek letter. This is possible because there are less letters in the Greek alphabet than in the English alphabet. Apple was able to choose English letters that correspond closely with the phonemes for Greek letters, making transliteration easy.
As of October 2024, Symbol font is still available for Microsoft Office Word on Windows. You can play around with the font on Microsoft Word to display Greek transliterations of English-language text by changing the font face to "Symbol" but I strongly recommend printing out the letters and then writing them by hand if possible. Writing the letters by hand is what worked for me to memorize the alphabet. Specifically what I did was transliterate large blocks of text from the English alphabet to the Greek alphabet. At first this will be painfully slow because you will have to look up each letter over and over every single time but this repitition is what will allow you to eventually memorize the letters. You should be able to memorize the most frequently used letters first so that the least frequently used letters will be the most difficult to memorize. The most difficult letter for me to write is a lowercase zeta because I do not use it very often.
Being able to read and write in Greek is not just limited to math and science but also grants access to etymological word roots for English words plus Greek works of literature which have had a profound impact on Euro-American culture. Of course being able to read and pronounce Greek letters does not mean that you can understand the Greek language. That is the difference between transliteration and translation. But if you did eventually want to learn the Greek language then already knowing the alphabet is the first step. There are many cognates between English and Greek so that you should be able to recognize familiar words such as "μαθηματικός" (mathēmatikós, "mathematical"), "ἀστρονομία" (astronomía, "astronomy"), and "δημοκρατία" (dēmokratía, "democracy"). What happened is that the Romans conquered a vast empire stretching from England to Greece and beyond. So you can ultimately blame the caesars for how so many Greek loanwords ended up in English (via Latin). Note that Classical Greek (grc) and Modern Greek (ell) are two separate languages like Old English and Modern English. Example words on this page are all from Classical Greek which is the source of most English-language Hellenic cognates.
| LATN maj. | GREK maj. | LATN min. | GREK min. | ENG | GRC-GREK | GRC-LATN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | Α | a | α | alpha | ἄλφα | álpha |
| B | Β | b | β | beta | βῆτα | bêta |
| C | Χ | c | χ | chi | χεῖ | kheî |
| D | Δ | d | δ | delta | δέλτα | délta |
| E | Ε | e | ε | epsilon | ἒψιλόν | èpsilón |
| F | Φ | f | ϕ | phi | φεῖ | pheî |
| G | Γ | g | γ | gamma | γάμμα | gámma |
| H | Η | h | η | eta | ἦτα | êta |
| I | Ι | i | ι | iota | ἰῶτα | iôta |
| K | Κ | k | κ | kappa | κάππα | káppa |
| L | Λ | l | λ | lambda | λάμβδα | lámbda |
| M | Μ | m | μ | mu | μῦ | mû |
| N | Ν | n | ν | nu | νῦ | nû |
| O | Ο | o | ο | omicron | ὂμικρόν | òmikrón |
| P | Π | p | π | pi | πεῖ | peî |
| Q | Θ | q | θ | theta | θῆτα | thêta |
| R | Ρ | r | ρ | rho | ῥῶ | rhô |
| S | Σ | s | σ | sigma | σῖγμα | sîgma |
| T | Τ | t | τ | tau | ταῦ | taû |
| U | Υ | u | υ | upsilon | ὖψιλόν | ûpsīlón |
| W | Ω | w | ω | omega | ὦμέγα | ôméga |
| X | Ξ | x | ξ | xi | ξεῖ | xeî |
| Y | Ψ | y | ψ | psi | ψεῖ | pseî |
| Z | Ζ | z | ζ | zeta | ζῆτα | zêta |
The first thing you will probably notice is that many of the majuscule letters appear identical in both English and Greek. This saves some work with memorizing a new alphabet. "Maj." refers to majuscule (uppercase) script whereas "min." refers to minuscule (lowercase) script. Some things to watch out for are listed below.
The English letters "J" and "V" have been omitted from the chart above since these don't correspond to useful letters for learning Greek transliteration.
Chi (Χ, χ) is pronounced as "khai" not as "chee". The most commonly found word in English originating with a chi is likely "christ" from the Greek "χριστός" (khristós) meaning "christ", "messiah", or "anointed one". As a Greek beginner, both chi and kappa are likely going to be pronounced with the same "k" sound. Since the transliteration exercise is to learn how to write the different Greek letters, you can transliterate "c" as chi and "k" as kappa even though the correct Greek pronunciation won't match the transliteration from English.
Eta (Η, η) is a long e, pronounced as "ee" not as "h". A short e ("eh") is epsilon whereas a long e ("ee") is eta. For the transliteration exercise, you can use eta for "h" even though the pronunciation doesn't match because the English majuscule letter "H" looks identical to the Greek majuscule letter eta.
There is no "q" in Greek. Theta (Θ, θ) is used in Symbol font for "q" but is pronounced as "th" not as "q".
There is no "w" in Greek. Omega (Ω, ω) is used in Symbol font for "w" but is pronounced as "oh" (a long o) not as "w". A short o ("aw") is omicron whereas a long o ("oh") is omega.
There is no "y" in Greek. Psi (Ψ, ψ) is used in Symbol font for "y" but is pronounced as "ps" (like in the word "upsilon") not as "y". In English, the word "psi" is sometimes pronounced with a silent p but this isn't the case in Greek.
You may notice that there are two forms for the minuscule letter phi. These are encoded in Unicode as "Greek small letter phi" (φ) and "Greek phi symbol" (ϕ). For math and science, you will typically only see the latter form (ϕ) which is the form used by Symbol font. When handwriting in Greek, I exclusively use "ϕ" and never "φ". "φ" is also known as "curly phi" to distinguish from the phi used as a standard symbol in mathematics (ϕ).
In the Greek language, there are two forms for the minuscule letter sigma. When a minuscule sigma is at the end of a word, it takes the form of "ς" (Unicode "Greek small letter final sigma") and not "σ" (Unicode "Greek small letter sigma"). For starting the transliteration exercise, I recommend using only the regular sigma for "s" and then later on learning to change sigmas occuring at the ends of words to the final sigma form.
The first recorded use of the phrase "Greek to me" (meaning "not understood to me") in the English language was by William Shakespeare in his 1599 work The Tragedie of IVLIVS CÆSAR (The Tragedy of Julius Caesar).[W] Once you learn Greek though, you will have to find a new phrase to refer to things you don't understand! Below is a transliteration of the text where the character of Casca speaks the famous phrase. Transliteration from the Roman alphabet (latn) to the Greek alphabet (grek) is called "Hellenization" whereas transliteration from the Greek alphabet to the Roman alphabet is called "Romanization".
Original text in Shakespearean Early Modern English.
Nay, and I tell you that, I'll ne'er look you i' the face again. But those that understood him smil'd at one another and shook their heads; but for mine own part, it was Greek to me. I could tell you more news too: Marullus and Flavius, for pulling scarfs off Caesar’s images, are put to silence. Fare you well. There was more foolery yet, if I could remember it.
English text Hellenized with Symbol font. The English letters "J" and "V" are left untransliterated.
Ναψ, ανδ I τελλ ψου τηατ, I'λλ νε'ερ λοοκ ψου ι' τηε ϕαχε αγαιν. Βυτ τηοσε τηατ υνδερστοοδ ηιμ σμιλ'δ ατ ονε ανοτηερ ανδ σηοοκ τηειρ ηεαδσ; βυτ ϕορ μινε οων παρτ, ιτ ωασ Γρεεκ το με. I χουλδ τελλ ψου μορε νεωσ τοο: Μαρυλλυσ ανδ Φλαvιυσ, ϕορ πυλλινγ σχαρϕσ οϕϕ Χαεσαρ’σ ιμαγεσ, αρε πυτ το σιλενχε. Φαρε ψου ωελλ. Τηερε ωασ μορε ϕοολερψ ψετ, ιϕ I χουλδ ρεμεμβερ ιτ.
English text Hellenized with Symbol font and then Romanized. This shows some of the problems if trying to use Symbol font for Greek pronunciation: it doesn't work very well. The purpose of using Symbol font is as an exercise to try to memorize the Greek alphabet. Once you have the alphabet memorized then you can use the letters correctly.
Naps, and I tĕll psŏu tēat, I'll nĕ'ĕr lŏŏk psŏu i' tēĕ fakhĕ again. But tēŏsĕ tēat undĕrstŏŏd ēim smil'd at ŏnĕ anŏtēĕr and sēŏŏk tēĕir ēĕads; but fŏr minĕ ŏōn part, it ōas Grĕĕk tŏ mĕ. I khŏuld tĕll psŏu mŏrĕ nĕōs tŏŏ: Μarullus and Flavius, fŏr pulling skharfs ŏff Khaĕsar’s imagĕs, arĕ put tŏ silĕnkhĕ. Farĕ psŏu ōĕll. Τēĕrĕ ōas mŏrĕ fŏŏlĕrps psĕt, if I khŏuld rĕmĕmbĕr it.
Here is an actual Hellenization of the text. Once you learn the alphabet then you should be able to use the letters for proper Hellenization if desired.
Ναη, ανδ I τελλ ου θατ, I'λλ νε'ερ λουκ ου ι' θη ϕας αγαιν. Βυτ θως θατ υνδερστοοδ ηιμ σμιλ'δ ατ ον ανοθερ ανδ σηουκ θειρ ηεαδς; βυτ ϕωρ μιν ων παρτ, ιτ ωασ Γρηκ του μη. I χουλδ τελλ ου μορ νεωσ του: Μαρυλλυς ανδ Φλαβιυς, ϕωρ πυλλινγ σχαρϕσ οϕϕ Χαεσαρ’ς ιμαγεσ, αρ πυτ του σιλενς. Φαρ ου ωελλ. Θερ ωασ μωρ ϕουλερη ύετ, ιϕ I χουλδ ρεμεμβερ ιτ.
A Romanization of the Hellenization. Notice that more of the original English pronunciation is preserved as compared to Symbol font, minus the English phonemes absent in Greek.
Naē, and I tĕll oo that, I'll nĕ'ĕr look oo i' thē fas again. But thōs that undĕrstood ēim smil'd at ŏn anŏthĕr and sēook thĕir ēĕads; but fōr min ōn part, it ōas Grēk too mē. I khoold tĕll oo mŏr nĕōs too: Μarullus and Flabius, fōr pulling skharfs ŏff Khaĕsar’s imagĕs, ar put too silĕns. Far oo ōĕll. Thĕr ōas mōr foolĕrē yĕt, if I khoold rĕmĕmbĕr it.
Computer-generated translation from Modern English to Classical Greek by Microsoft Copilot. I only know the alphabet so this is Greek to me![O]
Οὐ μὴν καὶ λέγω σοι τοῦτο, οὐκ ἐσορῶ σε πάλιν εἰς πρόσωπον. Ἀλλὰ οἱ νοοῦντες αὐτὸν ἔγγελων πρὸς ἀλλήλους καὶ ἔσειον τὰς κεφαλάς· ἐμοὶ δὲ τῷ γὰρ ἦν Ἑλληνικά. Δύναμαι δὲ λέγειν σοι πλείους ἀγγελίας· Μάρουλλος καὶ Φλάβιος, οὓς ἡρώων ἀφαιρέσαντες τοὺς κασίδας, σιωπῶσιν. Εὖ πράττε. Ἦν δὲ καὶ ἄλλα μωρίας, εἰ μνημονεύειν ἠδυνάμην.
Computer-generated Romanization of Classical Greek by Microsoft Copilot.
Oú mḕn kaì légō soi toûto, oúk esorô se pálin eis prósōpon. Allà hoi noûntes autòn éngelōn pròs allḗlous kaì éseion tàs kephalás; emoì dè tôi gàr ên Hellēniká. Dýnamai dè légein soi pleíous angelías; Mároullos kaì Phláuios, hoùs hērṓōn aphaíresantes toùs kasídas, siōpôsin. Eû práttē. Ên dè kaì álla mōrías, eì mnēmoneúein ḗdynámēn.
Computer-generated translation from Modern English to Modern Greek by Google Translate.
Όχι, και σου το λέω, δεν θα σε ξανακοιτάξω στο πρόσωπο. Αλλά εκείνοι που τον κατάλαβαν χαμογέλασαν ο ένας στον άλλο και κούνησαν το κεφάλι τους· αλλά από τη δική μου πλευρά, ήταν ελληνικό για μένα. Θα μπορούσα να σας πω κι άλλα νέα: ο Μάρουλλος και ο Φλάβιος, επειδή τράβηξαν κασκόλ από τις εικόνες του Καίσαρα, σιωπούν. Να είσαι καλά. Υπήρχε ακόμα περισσότερη ανοησία, αν μπορούσα να το θυμηθώ.
Computer-generated Romanization of Modern Greek by Google Translate.
Óchi, kai sou to léo, den tha se xanakoitáxo sto prósopo. Allá ekeínoi pou ton katálavan chamogélasan o énas ston állo kai koúnisan to kefáli tous; allá apó ti dikí mou plevrá, ítan ellinikó gia ména. Tha boroúsa na sas po ki álla néa: o Mároullos kai o Flávios, epeidí trávixan kaskól apó tis eikónes tou Kaísara, siopoún. Na eísai kalá. Ypírche akóma perissóteri anoisía, an boroúsa na to thymithó.