Eight Greek letters look and sound much like their English twins: α (a), ε (e), ι (i), κ (k), μ (m), ο (o), τ (t) and ζ (z). Almost every word also carries one accent mark, the τόνος (ά, έ, ί, ό), which shows the stressed syllable - and it matters: μετρό is the metro, μέτρο is a metre.
Examples
- ταξί
- taxi - the stress is on the end: ta-XI
- μετρό
- metro, the subway - me-TRO
- μέτρο
- metre - ME-tro
The mistake to avoid
Read the stress mark every time: moving the stress can turn one word into another.
Where this fits in
The Greek alphabet, Greek A1: Read Greek letters and sound out your first words - many of them you already know.