By the end of this quick article, you’ll learn the biblical Greek alphabet in just a few minutes, enabling you to read scriptures in Greek!
Isn’t it strange how many of us still remember learning the alphabet song in elementary school?
I remember sitting Indian-style with all the other kids, looking up at the letters that were wrapped around the border of the ceiling.
I knew how to talk, but I didn’t really know how to read or which sound each letter made.
But thanks to that little song and taking the time to learn my letters (and maybe eating alphabet soup), I’m proud to say that I still have my English alphabet down!
How to Learn Biblical Greek Alphabet
Your desire to know a little Biblical Greek is noble. You want to better understand God’s Word and thus build your relationship with Him.
When many Christians want to learn Biblical Greek, they usually just try to search online resources.
But the problem with this is that they usually don’t start you in a place where you should begin: The alphabet.
Just as we learned English, it’s no different from Biblical Greek. You need to start with your ABCs.
The good news is that you can learn the alphabet in just a few minutes, which will enable you to read most of the New Testament scriptures.
Learn Biblical Greek Alphabet PDF
We’ll start with a helpful PDF that you can also download and keep with you.
You can probably see a lot of similarities in some of the Greek letters with English ones.
Now, let’s learn these letters in the form of a song!
I memorized the Greek alphabet with this song (the same way I learned my English alphabet!).
Please review your PDF and listen to the song as much as you need before proceeding with this article.
One thing you’ll need to know is that practice makes perfect! If you really want to memorize and learn the alphabet, you’ll need to look over these resources a few times.
Now, let’s put a pen to some paper!
You MUST write the lowercase letters down yourself and sound them out.
When you’re writing them, don’t focus so much on perfection. Just do your best.
For now, only pay attention to the lowercase letters, as these are the most frequent in the scriptures.
Practice Reading and Writing Some Words
Here’s your first word: ἀγάπη (agape, love)
Let’s sound it out.
ἀ → ah
γά → gah
πη → pay
How were you able to read this? You knew your alphabet and the sound that each word makes.
Just remember that each word (as they do in English) has syllables. Syllables are just the beats of sound in a word.
“Apple” has two syllables. Clap your hands when you say the word. How many claps do you make? Two → “A (one clap) + pul (one clap).
Agape has three → ah (one clap) + gah (one clap) + pay (one clap)
Also, don’t worry about the little marks above the alphas. They do mean something and will affect the pronunciation of some words, but for now, just try to say them as they would sound without the marks.
Let’s try a word together: κατά (kata, down from, according to, throughout, during)
What’s the first sound? That’s right. Kah.
Next is tah.
κα → kah
τά → tah
Now, you try this one by yourself: κεφαλή (kephale, head)
Here’s the answer:
κε → keh
φα → fah
λή → lay
Let’s Read a Scripture
John 11:35
Jesus wept.
That’s the shortest scripture in the Bible, so why not start there?
Here it is in Greek:
John 11:35
Ἐδάκρυσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς
Here we go. Let’s sound it out:
Ἐ → eh
δά → dah
κρυ → krue
σεν → sen
ὁ → ho (that little mark above the o is a rough breathing mark → “h” sound before saying it)
Ἰ → ee
η → ay
σοῦς → soos
We’ll do one more:
1 John 4:7
… God is love…
Ὁ Θεὸς ἀγάπη ἐστίν
ὁ → ho
Θε → theh
ὸς → os
ἀ → ah
γά → gah
πη → pay
ἐσ → es
τίν → tin
Conclusion
You did awesome!
Keep learning and growing in your Bible knowledge to enhance your relationship with God!
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