Reading Greek road signs

Road signs in Greece and Cyprus show the Greek name first and a Latin spelling under it, and the two often do not match the way you would expect. Many Greek letters are familiar from maths and science; a handful look Latin but are read differently.

Learn those and names like Θεσσαλονίκη (Thessaloniki) or Ηράκλειο (Heraklion) read themselves, even on the small signs that only give the Greek.

Greek at a glance

Greek is the alphabet of Greece and Cyprus. Our own alphabet grew out of it, so it is read left to right and many capitals look familiar.

Each letter, or pair of letters, stands for one sound, so a name can be read straight off the sign.

Letters you already know

These look like their Latin twins and sound like them too. The small mark over a vowel, as in έ, only shows which syllable is stressed.

• Α αa
• Ε εe
• Ζ ζz
• Ι ιi
• Κ κk
• Μ μm
• Ο οo
• Τ τt

False friends

These look Latin but are read differently. Watch the small letters: ν is n, not v, and η is ‘i’, not n.

• Β βv
• Η ηi
• Ν νn
• Ρ ρr
• Υ υy
• Χ χch

New shapes

The rest are new, but many will be familiar from maths. Σ is written ς at the end of a word.

• Γ γg
• Δ δd
• Θ θth
• Λ λl
• Ξ ξx
• Π πp
• Σ σ ςs
• Φ φf
• Ψ ψps
• Ω ωo

Vowels that come in pairs

Some vowel pairs make a single sound. English spellings mostly keep both letters, so read them as pairs.

Two change more: ευ is ev or ef, and αυ is av or af.

• ουou
• αιai
• ειei
• οιoi
• ευev, ef
• αυav, af

Consonants that come in pairs

μπ sounds like b, ντ like d or nd, and γκ and γγ like g or ng. Spellings vary, so the reading here keeps them letter by letter: Kalampaka is mostly written Kalambaka.

• μπmp
• ντnt
• γκgk
• γγng
• τσts

Accents and dots

The small accent marks the stressed syllable and changes nothing else. Signs in capitals leave it out.

Two dots over ι mean it is read on its own and not as part of a pair.

• άa
• έe
• ήi
• ίi
• όo
• ύy
• ώo
• ΐi

Name parts worth knowing

Some pieces come back again and again. Spot them and half the name is read.

Some places are better known by an English name: Λευκωσία is Nicosia, Κέρκυρα Corfu and Ρόδος Rhodes. When you type, the Greek reading counts too.

Try it

Which city is on the sign?

All the letters

Alphabet

• Ααa
• Ββv
• Γγg
• Δδd
• Εεe
• Ζζz
• Ηηi
• Θθth
• Ιιi
• Κκk
• Λλl
• Μμm
• Ννn
• Ξξx
• Οοo
• Ππp
• Ρρr
• Σσςs
• Ττt
• Υυy
• Φφf
• Χχch
• Ψψps
• Ωωo

Letter pairs

• ουou
• αιai
• ειei
• οιoi
• γγng
• γκgk
• γχnch
• γξnx
• μπmp
• ντnt
• τσts
• τζtz
• αυav, af
• ευev, ef

Said aloud: αι = e, ει and οι = i, ου = u, μπ = b, ντ = d, γκ = g.

The 200 places in the quiz

The quiz has 200 cities, towns and islands of Greece and Cyprus: the large cities, some suburbs of Athens and Thessaloniki, and well-known smaller places.