You now know 14 of 24 Greek letters — all the ones with Latin or Cyrillic lookalikes. This lesson adds the five letters that are genuinely new: no Latin shape to anchor on, no Cyrillic parallel. They're not hard — just unfamiliar. Each one has a visual hook to help it stick.
After this lesson you'll know 19 of 24 letters and can read most of what you'll see in Greece on GeoGuessr — including ΦΑΡΜΑΚΕΙΟ (pharmacy), ΣΧΟΛΗ (school), and ΕΛΛΑΣ (Greece).
Sigma is the one Greek letter with two different lowercase versions — used depending on where it appears in a word. The sound is identical: always a plain "S".
Example: σπίτι (house — σ at start) vs. Ελλάς (Greece — ς at end). When you see ς, it tells you you're at the last letter of the word — useful visual marker for parsing text.
Γ is the only letter in this lesson with context-dependent pronunciation. The rule is simple: before Ε, Η, or Ι → say Y (like "yes"). Everywhere else → say G (like "go").
| Γ followed by… | Sound | German anchor | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α, Ο, consonant | G (go) | DE: Gut | ΓΑΛΑ = GA-la (milk) |
| Ε, Η, Ι, Υ | Y (yes) | DE: Ja | ΓΕΙΑ = YA (hello/cheers) |
For GeoGuessr reading you won't need to produce the sound, just recognize which words contain Γ. You'll encounter it in ΑΓΟΡΑ (a-GO-ra, market), ΛΙΜΑΝΙ (port), and city names across Greece.
Υ alone sounds like EE. But inside the pairs ΑΥ and ΕΥ, it shifts into V or F — never "AI" or "EI". This is why ΑΥΓΟ sounds like AV-go, not AI-go.
| Pair | + voiced sound (Γ Β Ν Μ Ρ…) | + voiceless sound (Κ Π Τ Σ Χ…) |
|---|---|---|
| ΑΥ | AV ΑΥΓΟ (egg) | AF ΑΥΤΟ (this / car) |
| ΕΥ | EV ΕΥΡΩ (Euro) | EF ΕΥΧΑΡΙΣΤΩ (thank you) |
The full diphthong picture — including ΟΙ, ΕΙ, ΑΙ, ΟΥ — is covered in Lesson 5: Diphthongs & Special Pairs, once all 24 letters are in place.
After three lessons you know 19 of 24 Greek letters — almost the full alphabet.
Grey = L1–2 · Green = Lesson 3 · Remaining 5 (Δ Θ Ξ Ψ Ω) in Lesson 4
See a letter, say its sound aloud — then reveal to check.
All 19 letters in play. Real words from Greek signs. Say each one aloud before revealing.
Space to reveal
1/2/3 to score