Drawing
Draw λ
In the course you draw each letter with your finger or mouse and the app checks its shape. Here you can trace over the template and see the order of the strokes.
Greek alphabet course
Learn the Greek alphabet by listening, drawing and reading
The Greek alphabet in 8 short blocks: you hear each letter, pick it out, type it on a Greek keyboard and draw it with your finger. From the first block you read real Greek words, and by the last one you can read a sign, a taverna menu and a ferry timetable.
The Greek alphabet looks familiar, and that is the trap. ρ is not "p" but "r". η and υ are read "i", ν is "n" and χ is "ch". On top of that, two letters can make one sound: μπ is "b", ου is "u". Learn from a chart and you read "Ρόδος" as "Podos" and wonder why nobody understands you.
This course starts with the letters that really are like ours, then takes on the false friends, and gives the digraphs blocks of their own. You hear every letter, pick it out, type it and draw it, and straight away read whole words with it.
8blocks
37characters and sounds
128words to read
6kinds of exercise
Try the exercises
These are miniatures of the exercises in the course. Try them here, no account needed.
Listening
Which letter do you hear?
Listen to the voice and pick the letter. θ (as in "think") and δ (as in "this") are easy to mix up, so the course puts them side by side.
False friends
How do you read it?
You see a letter and pick its sound. ρ looks like our "p", but it reads as something else entirely.
ρ
Minimal pairs
Parcel or topic?
One letter changes the word. Listen and pick which of the two you heard.
Greek keyboard
Type "well"
In the course you type words on a Greek keyboard, accents included. Type καλά: the accent sits on the last α.
„well”
Look-alikes
ν or υ?
ν is "n", υ is "i". A single sharp corner tells them apart, so the course shows them side by side before you start mixing them up.
The chart
Tap a character to hear it and see the order its strokes are written in.
The course, block by block
Greek 1 — Letters you already know
Seven letters that look and sound almost like ours — you can read your first words straight away.
Greek 2 — False friends
ν, ρ, η, υ and χ look like v, p, n, u and x — but say n, r, i, i and ch.
Greek 3 — Pi, lambda, sigma, omega
π, λ, two sigmas (σ inside a word, ς at its end) and ω — the second o.
Greek 4 — Two letters, one sound
ου says u, αι says e, ει and οι say i — and suddenly half the language opens up.
Greek 5 — New shapes
δ, γ, θ and φ — the letters with no Latin twin; δ and θ are the two English 'th'.
Greek 6 — The last letters
β (a v!), ζ, and the two-sound letters ξ (ks) and ψ (ps) — the alphabet is complete.
Greek 7 — Consonant pairs
Greek writes b, d and g as μπ, ντ and γκ; τσ is ts, τζ is dz, γγ is ng.
Greek 8 — Av and ev
αυ and ευ say av/ev — or af/ef before p, t, k and s. Now you read everything.
How it works
Every letter five ways
You meet each letter with a picture mnemonic, hear it, pick it out among look-alikes, type it and draw it. Each route fixes it from a different side.
Words from the first block
After seven letters you already read τότε (then) and κάτι (something). The course has 128 words, almost all from our Greek course for beginners, so you will meet them again later.
Digraphs and stress
μπ, ντ, ου and αυ get blocks of their own, because that is where everyone who only knows the letters trips up. Minimal pairs such as πότε (when?) and ποτέ (never) train your ear for where the stress falls.
Reviews at the right moment
Letters that slip come back more often, the ones you know less often. You never have to decide what to review.
Who is it for
- You are going to Greece and want to read a sign, a taverna menu and a bus stop instead of guessing.
- You are starting Greek and want to learn the script properly first.
- You know the letters from maths and physics but not how they sound in Greek.
- You mix up η, ι and υ, or wonder why μπ reads as "b".
Method & curriculum
The course has 8 blocks. It starts with seven letters that look and sound almost like ours, then moves to the false friends (ρ, η, υ, ν, χ), to the letters that are entirely new (δ, γ, θ, φ, ψ, ξ) and to final ς.
Three blocks cover combinations that read differently from their letters: vowels (ου, ει, αι, οι), consonants (μπ, ντ, γκ, τσ, τζ), and αυ and ευ. That makes 25 letters and 12 digraphs.
You learn to recognise capitals by sight and to draw lowercase, because that is what people write. After the alphabet you move on to our Greek course for beginners.
What users say
More than 24,000 people drill languages with Taalhammer.
As a polyglot I tested other tools like Anki, Quizlet and Memrise. Taalhammer is in a different league. — Michał
Frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?
The Greek alphabet has 24 letters, and σ also has a final form, ς. To read you also need digraphs such as ου (u) and μπ (b). The course covers 25 letters and 12 digraphs.
How long does it take to learn the Greek alphabet?
The course has 8 short blocks. With ten to fifteen minutes a day most people finish it in one to two weeks, and they read their first words on day one.
Is the Greek alphabet hard?
No, because you already know half the letters from the Latin alphabet, maths and physics. The hard part is the false friends (ρ is "r", η is "i") and the digraphs, so the course drills them separately.
Do I need to learn capital letters?
To recognise them, yes, because you will see them on signs and in headlines. To draw them, no: in the course you write lowercase, the way people write every day.
Can I practise on my phone?
Yes. The script exercises work in the browser on your phone and in the iOS and Android apps, finger drawing included.
Is the course free?
You start for free and try the course with no risk. Full access to every course and collection is paid; see the pricing page for details.