Learning Greek for and from trips to Greece and Cyprus

 

I started learning Greek on duloingo.com 

I copied the alphabet from Wikipedia.

Some of the letters were also familiar from Hebrew and Russian. Russian and Bulgarian are very similar to each other. Bulgarian is like modified Russian with only a few different letters. Cyrillic, invented by Cyril and his brother, used letters from the Greek and Russian alphabets.

For many English speaking people, the Greek alphabet is challenging. My husband knew theta from mathematics. (His first degree was in mathematical physics.)

On a trip to mainland Greece, I started to recognize the signpost word for Athens. 

I still muddled up the two letters which looked like a circle. On my recent trip to Cyprus in May-June 2022, I saw many motorway signs in Greek and English. I started getting familiar with the letters. I discovered or created a key to remembering which is which.

These are my memory aids

P and R in BULGARIA & GREECE & CYPRUS

The Greek R is written as if they and you are either lazy or in a hurry. The R is half written without the last downward stroke, so that R looks like P. I just keep saying PR, the abbreviation for public relations. I see P and say PR and know that a P is R.

 Another reminder is the name Maria which in Greek looks like MAPIA. Look at it and say PR, and you know it is MARIA. 

I remember my joy in finding that worked in Bulgaria. We were looking for a landmark building, Saint of Maria something. We looked at two imposing buildings on the right and left of the pedestrianized street where we were standing with our maps. I then realized that the building bearing the sign MAPIA was the church of Maria. 

L which I learned CYPRUS

In Cyprus I devised a way of remembering the capital letter L. I thought of it as Italic or joined up lower case L. You make an upward stroke and then come down to the line. Don't think of it as an upside down V because that will muddle you. As I kept reading the signs for Larnaka and Lemossos, each time they started what looked like my imaginary lower case l.

G like a gun

The letter G is an upright like an arm held above your head and a line to the right like pinting a gun. G for gun.

Useful Websites

Duolingo

https://www.duolingo.com

Duolingo Greek

https://www.duolingo.com/skill/el/Warm-Up

 Wikipedia

European Languages Pocket book Berlitz

Please share links to your favourite posts.

What to See In Cyprus

 Cyprus, the Greek part, has wine and wineries.

I am making a list of place to see for my return visit. Top of my list is the Rose centre. I shall be trying and buying. top of my husband's list is the wineries.

Greek Food and Drink

Savoury

Taramosalata

Sweet

I shall also be looking forward to the food. Baklava. Loukaoumi. (Don't call it Turkish delight, which is in any case a brand name.) And Greek coffee. (Don't call it turkish coffee.)

Time to brush up on the Greek alphabet. My husband knows it because he is a statistician and maths was one of his favourite subjects at school . (Yes, Americans say math, singular. The Brits say maths. short for mathematics!)

You can fly into one of the two airports. On Ryanair or another budget airline.

The four major towns are Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaka, Paphos. The official languages are Greek and Turkish with English widely spoken. You will find Greek Orthodox churches, a Russian  Orthodox church as well as Catholic and other churches, and a mosque or a synagogue.

See museums, Roman ruins, Churches, Waterparks, Wineries and breweries, beaches, shopping.

Other interesting areas:

Lafkara, the lace village.

The Troodos mountains.

Useful Websites

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greek_alphabet

Letter	Traditional Latin transliteration[31]
Α α	A a
Β β	B b
Γ γ	G g
Δ δ	D d
Ε ε	E e
Ζ ζ	Z z
Η η	Ē ē
Θ θ	Th th
Ι ι	I i
Κ κ	C c, K k
Λ λ	L l
Μ μ	M m
Ν ν	N n
Ξ ξ	X x
Ο ο	O o
Π π	P p
Ρ ρ	R r, Rh rh
Σ σ/ς	S s
Τ τ	T t
Υ υ	Y y, U u
Φ φ	Ph ph
Χ χ	Ch ch, Kh kh
Ψ ψ	Ps ps
Ω ω	Ō ō

How can you remember the different letters?

Baby b looks like a 'b' on  stick.

Instead of C, Greek has a G. Very simplified, as if you wrote it in a hurry with nail file on a wax tablet.

H reminds me of the word he. The h is an e sound.

Th looks like your mouth with the tongue under your top teeth making the TH sound.

Useful Websites

https://wikitravel.org/en/Cyprus

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyprus

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g190372-Activities-oa90-Cyprus.html

See next post about Easter in Cyprus.

More details about Cyprus will be in a later post.

How to remember the last letters of the Greek alphabet: up to omega!

We finally made it.

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega

Υυ Upsilon
		Φφ	Phi
		Χχ	Chi
		Ψψ	Psi
		Ωω	Omega

Υυ

Upsilon

The lower case upsilon looks like the letter u. the capital letter looks like y but it is U. Yuppy, uppy.  You. The word you starts with a Y but it's the word you. Up - sil - on. Time is up but we can still carry on. Up-sil-on.

Φφ

Phi

The lower case looks like a p which is spinning or the logo for a company with part of the letter P and part of the letter h and the capital letter i I. Phil.

Χχ

Chi

The Chinese city XIAN is pronounced she-Ann. The X is like the x in Christmas which is spelled with CH at the start and the letter I in the middle.

Ψψ

Psi

This is a spinning sign for P with the top of the P blown off (sigh!) Turn your head righ and left and try to attract attention by saying ps-s-s.

Ωω

Omega

From the alpha to the omega, from the start to the finish. We have finished. Thank you for your company. 

Quick revision

Toay's lesson

Υυ

Upsilon

Φφ
Phi


Χχ
Chi


Ψψ
Psi


Ωω
Omega

Now, the whole alphabet:

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega

Do you have any more suggestions on how to remember Greek? Would like me to write posts about learning any other language? Or would you like me to write about any other topic of interest to travellers? If so, please message me.  You can contact me here or on Facebook or LinkedIn.

Author

Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, author and speaker, learner and teacher of languages. Please share links to your favourite posts.

How to remember the autumn six letters of the Greek alphabet: Xi, omicron, Pi, Rho, Sigma, Tau

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega

Xi

Ξξ

Xi

The hardest letter. Sh!

Omicron

Οο

Omicron

O is an easy letter to recognize in both capital letters and lower case.

Pi

Ππ

Pi

Think of it as a portal or door.

Mathematicians find this one easy.

Rho

Ρρ

Rho

How do you remember that what looks like a P is really an R. You know all those sign writers who get the signs wrong on signposts and signs on the road. They go home early and don't finish the letters. The Russian sign writer went off for a cup of tea, or vodka. He forgot to put the last part of the letter R. It looks like P but he meant R. The two related letters are PR, as in the initials for Public Relations. P is R. Rho - row, row, row your boat, as the Eton boating song says.

Sigma

Σσς

Sigma

How do you distinguish the Greek  Sigma from the Greek Zeta? Easy. The Zeta is like the English Z. It faces left, looks backward, like the last letter of the English alphabet. The Sigma may be angular like a z, but the top half or face - it faces forwards, to the right, like the English S. You start writing an S with a curve like the letter c in mid-air above the line. The lower case sigma starts the same way with a c shape. C is pronounced s in our English words police and palace.

The second small s is the final s at the end of the word. Imagine that instead of a full stop, in a signature you end with a flourish. So a person called James would write the final s with a twist on the end of the last letter. In joined up writing there's no room on the other letters but the letter with nothing after it can end with a squiggle.

Tau

Ττ

Tau

The letter looks the same as the English Tee. How do you remember it is Tau? Like a towel. Like a taurus.

Glossary

capital letters - the big ones, used in English to start a sentence, as initials for proper names of people such as John. (German uses capital letters for all nouns, but English only bother to use capitals for names of people or objects such as a ship's name. In an English dictionary the words start with a lower case or small letter so that you can see whether you need a capital. For example, the word Elizabeth needs the capital letter at the start. Sometimes handwritten notices are in capitals for clarity and to draw attention. For example: NO SMOKING.

lower case - small letters used in the middle of a word, for joined-up writing.

How to remember the Greek Alphabet - Alpha, beta, Gamma, delta - and Epsilon, zeta

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega

Problem
How do you learn the Greek alphabet? Use Tiny Cards from Duolingo. Once you've grasped the letters you can start their learning Greek course, for free.

They start by asking you to identify the letters on their reversing cards. You learn about four to six letters at a time.  You could do just one card a day. One every hour. Or the whole lot in one go first thing every morning. (Or when you wake at night and want to do something useful.)

You have five lots of four letters, then three. Let's start with six.

Αα	Alpha
Ββ	Beta
Γγ	Gamma
Δδ	Delta
Εε	Epsilon
Ζζ	Zeta

You have four ways to learn.
1 REPETITION - ALPHA BETA GAMMA DELTA

Αα	Alpha
Ββ	Beta
Γγ	Gamma
Δδ	Delta

Rote learning. Just keep going through and reading what the cards say. The first two letters are easy, similar to alphabet, alpha beta.

Αα	Alpha
Ββ	Beta

After that, alpha beta, gamma, delta. Say it aloud.

Αα	Alpha
Ββ	Beta
Γγ	Gamma
Δδ	Delta

All four letters end in an 'a' sound, two syllables. Not B but Beta. Like the girl's name, Elizabeth. The draft or try-out of a system is the Beta version, like a B road before you build the motorway or A road.

Now let's look at the letters while we say them. Gamma rays on the Delta. You can just say it.

Alternatively, visualize the letters A B shot like gamma rays across the delta or flat land. Alpha beta gamma delta. Emphasis on the first syllable for all four.
AL-pha
BE-ta
GA-ma
DEL-ta.

Αα	Alpha
Ββ	Beta
Γγ	Gamma
Δδ	Delta

But what does the letter gamma look like? Rather like a squared off C. (ABC).

Γγ

Gamma

The top points forwards.  The writer is lazy or in a hurry and doesn't finish it. Once you have seen the top half  pointing horizontally to the right, and the left pole, you know which letter it is, C or G. How do you remember it is G n Greek and not C? Cagoule? The letter C is in a cage? Maybe think of it like a signpost, saying Go! Alpha beta gamma delta. I remember, Alpha Beta Greek (alphabet).

You keep getting it wrong. It's rather disheartening. Eventually you get there. It's time consuming. A lesson in persistence. Greek and other children are drilled every day until they get it right.

Δδ

Delta

The D is a squashed D, not a neatly rounded D, a triangle. That is easier for a kid to write in a hurry on a hard slate. Like the doorway of a tent, back when writing was invented. A triangular Doorway to a tent on the Delta.

2 Learn the letters in sets of three or four with a sentence or vision of an action or object, or remember the sounds.
I'm going to tell you how to remember individual letters.

I'd been doing the cards for several days before I realised that the little card on the left before you start has all the letters.It is a bit blurred and looks like a symbol just to tell you want you are learning. But consider it part of the course.

Before you start each card, in Tinycards, look back at the symbol card of the Greek Alphabet on the left.

3 The next two letters are easy. E Z. (The Brits or British speakers say Zed but the Americans call the letter Z Zee, which makes it even easier for them to remember this rhyme.)
 Epsilon Zeta.

Εε	Epsilon
Ζζ	Zeta

How do you remember the letter E is called epsilon? Why do I need it? You won't need it later, unless you are spelling your name for somebody.

Okay. I might need it. I need it for the Tinycards exercise. They ask you to type in the name of the letter.

Okay. Absolute silence whilst I think. (Ep - solute silence, ep - silon. I have learned the ep- sil. How about the last syllable? Absolute silence while we carry on learning. Epsilon.

Now let's look at all six letters.

Αα	Alpha
Ββ	Beta
Γγ	Gamma
Δδ	Delta

Εε	Epsilon
Ζζ	Zeta

Alpha Beta Gamma Delta Epsilon Zeta.

Zeta rhymes with beta.
Alpha beta
Gamma delta
Epsilon Zeta.

That's enough for a coffee break session.  Read it again.
Alpha beta
Gamma delta
Epsilon Zeta.

I went into Wiki looking for Greek letters to copy. But the Greek letters are all in complicated tables, for example, comparing Greek with Phoenician - which is very similar to Hebrew. However, Wiki added one handy thought. For the benefit of mathematicians:
(PS - Greek symbols are used as symbols in mathematics, physics and other sciences. Many symbols have traditional uses, such as lower case epsilon (ε) for an arbitrarily small positive number.)

So, I went into Simple Wiki and found a simple table. Here it is:

Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσς	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega

How To Remember Lower Case Letters
Now we can recognize the capital letters, we need to know the little letters.

A alpha is easy, the same as the English.

Beta, looks like a letter b carried around like a flag on a pole so everybody can see it.

Gamma is harder because the lower case reminds me of a y. Think of it as like the lower part of the right side of the letter G. It has a hanging tail like a lower case g (which I write facing the other way to the printed g you see here). We'll just have to go back to the idea that early writers simplified the letters. 

Just keep looking at the first three letters, the pairs of upper and lower case, then the first four, then the first five, then the first six.

The lower case d and e are easy. But the person who write the lower case z must have been an art student, adding a fancy squiggle on the end. Or maybe he or she fell asleep while writing. ZZZZ zzz
Ζζ.
 When you are ready, go on to the next letters in my next post.

Author
Angela Lansbury, travel writer and photographer, learner and teacher of languages.