The charts below show how the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents the Ancient Greek (AG) and Modern Greek (MG) pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. The Ancient Greek pronunciation shown here is a reconstruction of the Attic dialect in the 5th century BC. Do not use the same symbols for other Ancient Greek dialects, such as Doric, Aeolic, or Koine Greek, as they may be inaccurate.

See Ancient Greek phonology and Modern Greek phonology for a more thorough look at their sounds.

Consonants[1]
IPA AG MG Example English approximation
c κ κιόλας[2] skew
k κ, ξ κατά, ξένος[3][2] scar
χ χάρτης[2] car
x χ similar to hat,
Scottish English: loch
ç χέρι[2] hue
j ι εη[4] toy yacht
ʝ γ γη[2] yes
ɣ γάλα[2] similar to woman,
but with spread lips
ɡ γ again
γκ
γγ
εγκώμιο[2][5]
ɟ άγγελος[2][5] argue
p π, ψ πέτρα, ψυχή[3] spy
φ φως paint
f φ four
v β, υ[6] βέλος vet
b β about
μπ μπαμπάς[5]
w υ παύω[4] well
t τ τάφος stay
θ θεός take
θ θ thought
ð δ δούλη the
d δ today
ντ εντάξει[5]
h ῾◌ ρως[7] hat
l λ λόγος look
ʎ λ ελιά million
m μ μοίρα mole
n ν ναι no
ɲ ν νιότη onion
ŋ γ άγχος sing
r ρ ώρα trilled r like in Spanish
ίζα similar to train
s σ, ς
ξ, ψ
σοφός, ψυχή, ξένος[3] sow, usually retracted
z ζ, σ κόσμος, ζωή[3] zoo, usually retracted
t͡s τσ τσάι cats, retracted in most cases
d͡z ζ τζ τζάκι pads, retracted in most cases
Dialectal segments
IPA English approximation
ʃ shame
ɕ
ʒ vision
ʑ
t͡ʃ check
t͡ɕ
d͡ʒ jam
d͡ʑ
æ cat
IPA Explanation
◌ː marks a consonant produced twice as long[1]
Vowels
Monophthongs
IPA AG MG Example English approximation
a α άρτος father, but shorter
χώρ father
ɛː η ψυχή[8] met, but longer
e ε[9] θεός met
ει εἰμί[8] bay
i ι[8] ίδιος like neat
πίνω[8] like need
ω ἐγώ[9] boil
o ω similar to note (American English)
ο[9] οδός
ου μου similar to mood
u ου pool
y φύσις[8] few
ψυχή[8] fume
Diphthongs[4]
IPA AG MG Example English approximation
ai̯ αι αἴτιος, πάλαι, ψῡχαί[9] tie
αϊ[10]
au̯ αυ αὐτός[6] how
αου
ei̯ ει εἴη[8] hey
έι[11]
eu̯ ευ εὖ[6] Italian and Spanish neutro
εου
oi̯ οι οἶδα, λόγοι[8] toy
όι[12]
yi̯ υι υἱός[8]
aːi̯ δω, χώρ[13]
ɛːi̯ ς, ψυχ[8][13]
ɔːi̯ δή, λόγ[13]
Suprasegmentals
IPA[14] AG MG Example Explanation
◌́ ´ γάλα ála] high tone
◌̌ ´ ἐγώ [eɡɔ̌ː] rising tone
` μν [men] mid tone
◌̂ γ ɛ̂ː] falling tone
ˈ ΄ άλλος [ˈa.los] stress
. syllable break
  1. 1.0 1.1 Ancient Greek had geminate consonants, pronounced longer than single ones, which may be transcribed by a double consonant letter ⟨ss⟩ or the length symbol ⟨⟩. Modern Standard Greek does not have geminate consonants, but some nonstandard dialects do.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 In Modern Greek, ⟨κ; γκ, γγ; γ; χ⟩ are pronounced as palatal [c, ɟ, ʝ, ç] before the front vowels [e i], and velar [k, g, ɣ, x] in other cases.
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 ζ⟩ represented the cluster [zd] in Classical Attic, but it represents [z] in Modern Greek. In both Ancient and Modern Greek, ⟨σ⟩ is pronounced as voiced [z] before a voiced consonant, and ⟨ξ, ψ⟩ represent [ks ps].
  4. 4.0 4.1 4.2 In Ancient Greek, a diphthong before a vowel was realised as a vowel and a double semivowel sequence: [jj, ww].
  5. 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 In Modern Greek, ⟨μπ, ντ, γκ, γγ⟩ are pronounced as prenasalised voiced stops [mb, nd, ɲɟ, ŋɡ] or voiced stops without nasalisation [b, d, ɟ, ɡ].
  6. 6.0 6.1 6.2 In Modern Greek, ⟨υ⟩, in ⟨αυ ευ ηυ⟩, is pronounced as [f] before a voiceless consonant and [v] otherwise. In Ancient Greek, ⟨αυ ευ ηυ⟩ were diphthongs [au̯ eu̯ ɛːu̯].
  7. The rough breathing ⟨⟩ represented [h] before a vowel, and the smooth breathing ⟨᾿⟩ represented the absence of [h].
  8. 8.00 8.01 8.02 8.03 8.04 8.05 8.06 8.07 8.08 8.09 In Modern Greek, ⟨η, ῃ, ει, ι, οι, υ, υι⟩ all represent [i], but they were pronounced [ɛː, ɛːi̯, eː, ei̯, i(ː) oi̯, y(ː), yi̯] in Ancient Greek. The large number of vowel mergers into [i] is called iotacism.
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 In Modern Greek, ⟨ε, αι⟩ represent [e], and ⟨ο, ω⟩ represent [o]. In Ancient Greek, ⟨ε, ο⟩ represented [e, o], ⟨ω⟩ represented [ɔː] and ⟨αι⟩ represented the diphthong [ai̯].
  10. Also ⟨άι⟩ and sometimes ⟨άϊ⟩.
  11. Also ⟨εϊ⟩ and sometimes ⟨έϊ⟩.
  12. Also ⟨οϊ⟩ and sometimes ⟨όϊ⟩.
  13. 13.0 13.1 13.2 In early Ancient Greek, ⟨ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ⟩ were diphthongs, but the second element [i̯] was lost soon after the Classical period, and they merged with ⟨ᾱ, η, ω⟩.
  14. The symbols used here for Ancient Greek pitch accent must be added as combining characters in some cases. Place the numeric character reference after the letter that on which the accent is to be put, press "Show preview" and copy the resulting accented character. ́ is the numeric character reference for combining acute tone mark (high tone), ̌ for combining caron (rising tone), ̂ for combining circumflex (falling tone).