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The Greek alphabet has seven vowels: alpha, epsilon, eta, iota, omicron, upsilon, and omega. Some pronunciations have changed over time, but the symbols have remained the same.
There are seven vowels found in the Greek alphabet. The Greek vowels are alpha, epsilon, eta, and iota, along with omicron, upsilon, and omega. Although the pronunciations sometimes differ, the alphabet has remained unchanged from Ancient to Modern Greek.
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and is represented in English by the letter “a”. In Greek, the symbol for capital alpha is the same as for capital A. The lowercase alpha symbol looks a bit like a scribbled fish: α. The pronunciation of alpha remained unchanged from Ancient to Modern Greek. It is pronounced like the “a” in Italian or Spanish.
Epsilon is similar to the short “e” in English. The capital epsilon symbol is identical to the capital E. The lowercase epsilon character looks like a rounded, shorter capital E: ε. The pronunciation of epsilon has not changed over the centuries. It is pronounced much like the short “e” sound in American English, as in “set.”
Eta is the seventh Greek letter and the third of the Greek vowels. The symbol for uppercase eta is the same as an uppercase H in English, but the lowercase symbol is similar to a lowercase n: η. Unlike the first two Greek vowels, the pronunciation of eta has changed from ancient to modern times. Although in ancient Greek eta represented a long “e” sound, in modern times, it has been shortened to sound more like epsilon.
Iota provides a long “i” or “e” sound. This vowel has remained unchanged throughout the history of the language. Iota’s symbols closely match its English equivalents. In both English and Greek, the capital letter is written as “I”. The lowercase letter is almost identical, but the Greek symbol is not dotted like the English version.
The only vowel written exactly the same in English and Greek, omicron is the fifteenth letter of the Greek alphabet and the fifth of the Greek vowels. Just like in English, it is represented by a circle for both uppercase and lowercase letters: O, o. The pronunciation, a short “o” similar to that of British English, has remained unchanged.
Written as “u” or “y” in English, upsilon is pronounced similar to eta or iota in modern times, but was pronounced more like the French “u” in ancient Greek. The uppercase symbol looks like an English Y. Lowercase appears similar to the English u: .
Omega is both the final letter and final vowel of the Greek alphabet. In ancient Greek, omega represented a long “o” sound. In modern Greek, however, it was shortened to look much more like omicron. The uppercase symbol for omega looks like an open “O” on a base: Ω. The lowercase letter looks like a rounded “w”: ω.
