The alphabet, part 1: α to μ

New Testament Greek, also called Koine Greek, is the common Greek spoken and written around the eastern Mediterranean from about 300 BC to AD 300. Koine means common or shared. The books of the New Testament were written in it, and so was the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.

Printed editions of the New Testament use lowercase letters for almost every word, so this course starts with lowercase. The alphabet has 24 letters. This lesson covers the first twelve: α alpha, β beta, γ gamma, δ delta, ε epsilon, ζ zeta, η eta, θ theta, ι iota, κ kappa, λ lambda and μ mu.

Sounds follow the Erasmian pronunciation, which most US seminaries and grammars teach: α a as in father, β b, γ a hard g, δ d, ε e as in met, ζ z, η ay as in obey, θ th as in thin, ι i as in machine, κ k, λ l and μ m. One spelling rule matters at once: γ before γ, κ, ξ or χ sounds ng, so ἄγγελος, messenger or angel, is ANG-ge-los.

Several letters look like English letters but are not the same. η is a long e, not n, and ι has no dot. In handwriting, β, δ, ζ, θ and λ rise above the small letters, while β, γ, ζ, η and μ reach below the line. Watch each stroke model, trace it, then write it from memory before you copy the words on paper.