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New
Testament Greek Alphabet and Pronunciation |
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Phonemic Koinê Greek (R. Buth)* |
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| Majuscule |
Miniscule |
Greek |
English |
Historical / |
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Transliteration |
Historical Pronunciation of |
http://www.biblicalulpan.com/ |
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| or Uncial |
or Cursive |
Name |
Name |
Phonemic |
Transliteration |
B-Greek |
Greek (Modern Greek) |
(= means identical to Historical) |
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| A |
a |
a[lfa |
alpha |
alpha |
a |
A |
ah, or o as in love |
= |
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| B |
b |
bh:ta |
bêta |
vita / vêta |
b / v |
B |
v as in vat |
= |
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| G |
g |
gavmma |
gamma |
ghamma |
g |
G |
gh as in ghost; y as in yes before |
gh as in ghost; tending toward y as in yes |
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h, i, u, ei, oi ("ee"); e, ai ("eh") |
before h ("ay");
i, ei ("ee"); e, ai ("eh") |
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| D |
d |
devlta |
delta |
delta |
d / d |
D |
th as in this |
= |
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| E |
e |
e] yilovn |
epsilon |
epsilôn |
e |
E |
eh - e as in bet |
= |
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| Z |
z |
zh:ta |
zêta |
zita / zêta |
z |
Z |
z as in zoo |
= |
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| H |
h |
h\ta |
êta |
ita / êta |
ê / i |
H |
ee - i as in machine |
ê = ay as in say |
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| Q |
q |
qh:ta |
thêta |
thita / thêta |
th |
Q |
th as in thin |
= |
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| I |
i |
ijw:ta |
iota |
iôta |
i |
I |
ee - i as in machine |
= |
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| K |
k |
kavppa |
kappa |
kappa |
k |
K |
soft k as in skit |
= |
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| L |
l |
lavmbda |
lambda |
lamvda |
l |
L |
l as in lamb |
= |
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| M |
m |
mu: |
mu |
mi / mu |
m |
M |
m as in man |
= |
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| N |
n |
nu: |
nu |
ni / nu |
n |
N |
n as in no |
= |
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| X |
x |
xi: |
xi |
xi |
x |
X |
x as in six |
= |
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| O |
o |
o] mikrovn |
omicron |
ômicrôn |
o |
O |
ô = o as in got, hope, ore |
= |
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(pronounce o
and w the same) |
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| P |
p |
pi: |
pi |
pi |
p |
P |
soft p as in spot |
= |
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| R |
r |
rJw: |
rho |
rrrô |
rh, r |
R |
rolled/trilled r |
= |
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| S or C |
s, V** |
sivgma |
sigma |
sigma |
s |
S |
s as in song |
= |
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| T |
t |
tau: |
tau |
tahf |
t |
T |
soft t as in stop |
= |
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| U |
u |
u\ yilovn |
upsilon |
ipsilon / upsilon |
i, u, y*** |
U |
ee - i as in machine |
u = French u ("ee" with lips tightly |
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rounded) |
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| F |
f |
fi: |
phi |
phi |
ph |
F |
f as in fast |
= |
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| C |
c |
ci: |
chi |
chi |
ch |
C |
hard "h" before "ee" or "eh," |
= |
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otherwise German ch as in Bach |
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| Y |
y |
yi: |
psi |
psi |
ps |
Y |
ps as in lapse |
= |
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| W |
w |
w\ mevga |
omêga |
ômega |
ô |
W |
ô = o as in got, hope, ore |
= |
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(pronounce o
and w the same) |
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| * See: |
http://www.biblicalulpan.com/PDF%20Files/PRONSYS1%202005.pdf |
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V when final letter, s everywhere else |
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| ***
u is transliterated as y if
it occurs as a single vowel, and as u if it occurs with another vowel |
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e.g.: musthvrion = mystêrion; oujranovV = ouranos |
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| Breathing
marks are ignored in Historical Greek and Phonemic Koinê |
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| aJ, ouJ |
J |
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h |
no sound (silent) = a, oo |
= |
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| aj, ouj |
j |
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-- |
no sound (silent) = a, oo |
= |
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| Diphthongs
(two vowels pronounced as a single sound) |
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| Ai |
ai |
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ai |
AI |
same as e (e
as in bet) |
= |
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| Au |
au |
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au |
AU |
af, ab (ahf, ahv)* |
= |
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| Ei |
ei |
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ei |
EI |
same as i (ee
- i as in machine) |
= |
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| Eu |
eu |
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eu |
EU |
ef, eb (ehf, ehv)* |
= |
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| Oi |
oi |
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oi |
OI |
same as i (ee
- i as in machine) |
same as u (French
u) |
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| Ou |
ou |
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ou |
OU |
ou as in you |
= |
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| Hu |
hu |
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êu |
HU |
hf, hb (eef, eev)* |
hf, hb (ayf, ayv)* |
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| Ui |
ui |
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ui |
UI |
ii (ee-ee) |
ui (u-ee) |
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| improper > |
a/ |
a + i subscript |
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ai or âi |
Ai |
same as a |
= |
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| diph- > |
h/ |
h + i subscript |
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êi |
Hi |
same as h |
= |
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| thongs > |
w/ |
w + i subscript |
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ôi |
Wi |
same as w |
= |
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| ou&, wu& |
A dieresis & (diaeresis) indicates the two vowels are to be pronounced
separately |
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ab (ahv), eb (ehv), hb (eev / ayv) before vowels and
voiced consonants, af
(ahf), ef (ehf), hf (eef / ayf) elsewhere |
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| Pronunciation
of g + velar (palatal): g, k, x, c |
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spelling |
pronunciation |
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gg |
ng |
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ng |
ng as in angle |
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gk |
nk |
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nk |
nk as in ankle |
beginning of word: g as
in go (see note below on Syllabification)** |
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gx |
nx |
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nx |
nx as in phalanx |
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gc |
nc |
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nch |
nch as in anchor |
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| Other
consonant combinations (based on Modern Greek pronunciation) (see note below
on Syllabification): |
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| mp |
beginning of word = b as
in boy; middle of word = mb as in tomboy** |
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| nt |
beginning of word = d as
in dog; middle of word = nd as in under** |
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| tz |
dz as in adz (adze)** |
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| Ellision: = at end of word indicates a dropped letter: |
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ajll=
= ajllav (final a was dropped) |
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| Accents
indicate the stressed syllable, regardless of type of accent |
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| av (acute), a: (circumflex: : or ~), a; (grave) |
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| Distinguish
between accents & breathing marks if over same letter: |
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a[, a{, a\, a|, a], a} |
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| Punctuation: |
English |
Greek |
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| period |
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God. |
qeovV. |
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| comma |
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God, |
qeovV, |
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| semicolon
or colon |
God; God: |
qeovV` |
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| question
mark |
God? |
qeovV~ |
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| Syllabification
(dividing words into syllables) is similar to English. |
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Note: Consonant blends that can begin a word (e.g., st,
pr, etc.) are not divided, E.g., ajm-pe-lw:n, not aj-mpe-lw:n. |
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| However,
no words in the BDAG or LSJ lexicons begin with mp, nt, or gk, so these letters do not stay
together. |
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