How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?

The modern Greek alphabet has 24 letters, running from alpha (Α α) to omega (Ω ω). Each letter has an uppercase and a lowercase form, and sigma has a second lowercase form (ς) used only at the end of a word.

What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet?

Omega (Ω ω) is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Its name literally means 'great O', distinguishing it from omicron ('small o'). That's the source of the phrase 'the alpha and the omega' — the beginning and the end.

What is the first letter of the Greek alphabet?

Alpha (Α α). It comes from the Phoenician letter aleph and gave English the word 'alphabet' when combined with beta.

Is the Greek alphabet the same as the Latin alphabet?

No, but they're related. The Latin alphabet used for English descends from an early Western Greek alphabet by way of the Etruscans, which is why letters like A, B, E, K, M, N, O and T look familiar.

Are there any letters that were dropped from the Greek alphabet?

Yes. Digamma (Ϝ), qoppa (Ϙ) and sampi (Ϡ) were used in early Greek and survive today only as numerals. The alphabet was standardised at 24 letters in Athens in 403 BC.

How is the Greek alphabet used outside Greece?

Constantly. Greek letters label mathematical constants (π, λ, σ), physics quantities (Ω, μ, θ), star brightness in astronomy, fraternity and sorority names, and virus variants like Delta and Omicron.

Do Greek letters have number values?

Yes. In the Greek numeral system alpha is 1, beta is 2, iota is 10, rho is 100, and so on. This system is still used for chapter numbering and on official documents.

The Greek Alphabet: All 24 Letters, Names and Pronunciation

The short answer

The Greek alphabet has 24 letters. It starts with alpha (Α α) and ends with omega (Ω ω), and it has been in continuous use for roughly 2,800 years — longer than any other alphabet still written today. It was also the first writing system to give vowels their own letters, which is why nearly every European alphabet, including the one you're reading, descends from it.

Every letter, in order

#	Letter	Name	Say it	Sound
1	Α α	Alpha	ÁL-fa	'a' as in father
2	Β β	Beta	VEE-ta	'v' in modern Greek, 'b' in ancient
3	Γ γ	Gamma	GHÁ-ma	soft 'gh', or 'y' before e/i sounds
4	Δ δ	Delta	THÉL-ta	'th' as in this
5	Ε ε	Epsilon	ÉP-si-lon	'e' as in bet
6	Ζ ζ	Zeta	ZEE-ta	'z' as in zoo
7	Η η	Eta	EE-ta	'ee' as in see
8	Θ θ	Theta	THEE-ta	'th' as in thin
9	Ι ι	Iota	YO-ta	'ee' as in see
10	Κ κ	Kappa	KÁ-pa	'k' as in kite
11	Λ λ	Lambda	LÁM-tha	'l' as in lamp
12	Μ μ	Mu	mee	'm' as in map
13	Ν ν	Nu	nee	'n' as in net
14	Ξ ξ	Xi	ksee	'ks' as in box
15	Ο ο	Omicron	Ó-mi-kron	'o' as in got
16	Π π	Pi	pee	'p' as in pen
17	Ρ ρ	Rho	ro	rolled 'r'
18	Σ σ / ς	Sigma	SÍGH-ma	's' as in sun; ς only at word end
19	Τ τ	Tau	taf	't' as in top
20	Υ υ	Upsilon	ÍP-si-lon	'ee' as in see
21	Φ φ	Phi	fee	'f' as in fan
22	Χ χ	Chi	hee	guttural 'h', like Scottish loch
23	Ψ ψ	Psi	psee	'ps' as in lapse
24	Ω ω	Omega	o-MÉ-gha	'o' as in got

Pronunciations above are modern Greek. Ancient Greek sounded noticeably different — beta was a hard 'b', eta a long 'e', and chi an aspirated 'k'.

Where you've already seen them

π
The circle constant, 3.14159…
Ω
Ohms in electrical resistance
Δ
Change or difference, in every science class
Σ
Summation in mathematics
μ
Micro — as in micrometre or microgram
λ
Wavelength in physics; anonymous functions in code
α β
Alpha and beta releases in software
Δ Ο
Delta and Omicron, the virus variant names

Common questions

How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?: The modern Greek alphabet has 24 letters, running from alpha (Α α) to omega (Ω ω). Each letter has an uppercase and a lowercase form, and sigma has a second lowercase form (ς) used only at the end of a word.
What is the last letter of the Greek alphabet?: Omega (Ω ω) is the last letter of the Greek alphabet. Its name literally means 'great O', distinguishing it from omicron ('small o'). That's the source of the phrase 'the alpha and the omega' — the beginning and the end.
What is the first letter of the Greek alphabet?: Alpha (Α α). It comes from the Phoenician letter aleph and gave English the word 'alphabet' when combined with beta.
Is the Greek alphabet the same as the Latin alphabet?: No, but they're related. The Latin alphabet used for English descends from an early Western Greek alphabet by way of the Etruscans, which is why letters like A, B, E, K, M, N, O and T look familiar.
Are there any letters that were dropped from the Greek alphabet?: Yes. Digamma (Ϝ), qoppa (Ϙ) and sampi (Ϡ) were used in early Greek and survive today only as numerals. The alphabet was standardised at 24 letters in Athens in 403 BC.
How is the Greek alphabet used outside Greece?: Constantly. Greek letters label mathematical constants (π, λ, σ), physics quantities (Ω, μ, θ), star brightness in astronomy, fraternity and sorority names, and virus variants like Delta and Omicron.
Do Greek letters have number values?: Yes. In the Greek numeral system alpha is 1, beta is 2, iota is 10, rho is 100, and so on. This system is still used for chapter numbering and on official documents.

Can you name all 24 from memory?

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