Greek spelling alphabet
The Greek spelling alphabet is a spelling alphabet (or "phonetic alphabet") for Greek, i.e. a set of names given to the alphabet letters for the purpose of spelling out words. It is used by the Greek State, the Greek army, the navy and the police.
Motivation
The names for Greek letters are easily confused in noisy conditions; potential collisions include:
- beta, zeta, eta, theta
- epsilon, upsilon
- mu, nu
- pi, xi, phi, chi, psi
Also the names 'alpha' and 'delta' are avoided to not be confused with the NATO alphabet.
The spelling alphabet
| Letter | letter name | spelling name | meaning of word |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α | alpha | αστήρ | astír ('star') |
| Β | beta | Βύρων | Výron ('Byron') |
| Γ | gamma | γαλή | galí ('cat') |
| Δ | delta | δόξα | dóxa ('glory') |
| Ε | epsilon | Ερμής | Ermís ('Hermes') |
| Ζ | zeta | Ζεύς[1] | Zeús ('Zeus') |
| Η | eta | Ηρώ | Iró ('Hero') |
| Θ | theta | θεά | theá ('goddess') |
| Ι | iota | ίσκιος | ískios ('shadow') |
| Κ | kappa | κενό | kenó ('blank') |
| Λ | lambda | λάμα | láma ('blade') |
| Μ | mu | μέλι | méli ('honey') |
| Ν | nu | ναός | naós ('church') |
| Ξ | xi | Ξέρξης | Xérxis ('Xerxes') |
| Ο | omicron | οσμή | osmí ('smell') |
| Π | pi | Πέτρος | Pétros ('Peter') |
| Ρ | rho | ρήγας | rígas ('king') |
| Σ | sigma | σοφός | sofós ('wise') |
| Τ | tau | τίγρης | tígris ('tiger') |
| Υ | ipsilon | ύμνος | ímnos ('hymn') |
| Φ | phi | φώκια | fókia (the animal seal) |
| Χ | chi | χαρά | hará ('joy') |
| Ψ | psi | ψυχή | psihí ('soul') |
| Ω | omega | ωμέγα | oméga |
References
- ↑ Alternative Police variant "Ζωή" (Zoi)
- Efimeris tis kiverniseos tis Ellados (Greek National Gazette), 18 December 2002. (Specifies phonetic alphabet recommended for use by the amateur radio service.)
See also
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