Learn This Little Song
(To the Tune 1 Little, 2 Little 3 Little Indians)
Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, 
Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, 
Iota, Kappa, Lamba, Mu
Learning Greek is Fun
Nu, Xsi, Omicron, Pi,
Rho, Sigma, Tau, Upsilon
Phi, Chi, Psi, Omega
See how far we've come.

Now learn this better version of the same song:
a b g d,   e z h vq,   i k l m,  Learning Greek is Fun
n x o p,   r s t u,   f c y w,  See how far we've come.

(In our home a 3 year old learned this song, you can do it)

A Review of the Alphabet

Memorize the Greek Alphabet   
a
b
g
d
e
z
h
vq
i
k
l
m
 Alpha
Beta
Gamma
Delta
Epsilon
Zeta
Eta
Theta
Iota
Kappa
Lamba
Mu
a as in father
b as in Bible
g as in gone
d as in dog
e as in met
z as in daze
e as in obey
th as in thing
i as in intrigue
k as in kitchen
l as in law
m as in mother
 n
x
o
p
r
sV
t
u
f
c
y
w
 Nu
Xsi
Omicron
Pi
Rho
Sigma
Tau
Upsilon
Phi
Chi
Psi
Omega
n as in new
x as in axiom
o as in not
p as in peach
r as in rod
s as in study
t as in talk
oo as in book
ph as in phone
ch as in loch
ps as in lips
o as in toneBE

Be Careful! Don't confuse h (eta) with English "n", the n (nu) with the "v", the r (rho) with the "p", the c (chi) with the "x" or the w (omega) with the "w."

There are two sigmas in Greek, V occurs only at the end of a word and the s occurs within the word.

The vowels in Greek are  a, e, h, i, o, u, w.

Gamma (g) usually has a hard "g" sound, as in "get."  However, when it is immediately followed by g, k, c or   x it is pronounced as a "n." For example, the word aggeloV is pronounced "angelos."  This is called the gamma nasal.

Alpha and iota may be either long or short.  Epsilon and omicron are always short, while eta and omega are always long.

All words beginning with a vowel or a rho should have a breathing mark.  A rough breathing mark,   J , adds a "h" sound to the word.  A smooth breathing mark, j , is placed over the first vowel and is not pronounced.  Thus uJpevr  is pronounced "huper" and ujpevr would be pronounced "uper" if it were a real Greek word.  Don't confuse the accent symbol and remember all rho and upsilons have rough breathings.

DIPTHONGS
  
ai
ei
oi
au
ou
ui
eu,hu
 as in aisle
as in eight
as in oil
as in sauerkraut
as in soup
as in suite
as in feud
 aij vrw
eij
oijkiva
aujtovV
oujdev
uijovV
eujquvV
Note the breathing mark over the second letter of the dipthong
.
An improper dipthong is an iota placed beneath an alpha, eta or omega ending.  It does not effect pronunciation but is essential for proper translation so watch for them.

Practice Pronunciations

Prouounce a letter at a time, and watch for the dipthongs
( It will make you eager to learn  sylablification in the next lesson )

John 1:1 (GTR) en arch hn o logoV kai o logoV hn proV ton qeon kai qeoV hn o logoV 

According to  Matthewt 1:7- 17
  KATA MATQAION 1:7 solomwn de egennhsen ton roboam roboam de egennhsen ton abia abia de egennhsen ton asa
 8 asa de egennhsen ton iwsajat iwsajat de egennhsen ton iwram iwram de egennhsen ton ozian
 9 oziaV de egennhsen ton iwaqam iwaqam de egennhsen ton acaz acaz de egennhsen ton ezekian
 10 ezekiaV de egennhsen ton manassh manasshV de egennhsen ton amwn amwn de egennhsen ton iwsian
 11 iwsiaV de egennhsen ton ieconian kai touV adeljouV autou epi thV metoikesiaV babulwnoV
 12 meta de thn metoikesian babulwnoV ieconiaV egennhsen ton salaqihl salaqihl de egennhsen ton zorobabel
 13 zorobabel de egennhsen ton abioud abioud de egennhsen ton eliakeim eliakeim de egennhsen ton azwr
 14 azwr de egennhsen ton sadwk sadwk de egennhsen ton aceim aceim de egennhsen ton elioud
 15 elioud de egennhsen ton eleazar eleazar de egennhsen ton matqan matqan de egennhsen ton iakwb
 16 iakwb de egennhsen ton iwshj ton andra mariaV ex hV egennhqh ihsouV o legomenoV cristoV
 17 pasai oun ai geneai apo abraam ewV dabid geneai dekatessareV kai apo dabid ewV thV metoikesiaV babulwnoV geneai dekatessareV kai apo thV metoikesiaV babulwnoV ewV tou cristou geneai dekatessareV


   
 According to  Matthewt 1:7-17
According to  Matthew 1: 7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
 9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
 10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
 11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
 12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
 13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;



14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;


 15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
 16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
 17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
 (KJV)

Do Dr. Decker Lesson One

Lesson One pdf fileon Chap 3-4 by Dr.Decker

Back to Index or Sylablification in the Next Lesson 4 )