Greek spelling alphabet
Appearance
(Redirected from Hellenic phonetic alphabet)
The Greek spelling alphabet is a spelling alphabet (or "phonetic alphabet") for Greek, i.e. an accepted set of easily differentiated names given to the letters of the alphabet for the purpose of spelling out words. It is used mostly on radio voice channels by the Greek army, the navy and the police. The names for some Greek letters are easily confused in noisy conditions.
Similar sounding Greek letters:
- víta (β), zíta (ζ), íta (η), thíta (θ)
- épsilon (ε), ýpsilon (υ)
- mi (μ), ni (ν)
- xi (ξ), pi (π), fi (φ), chi (χ), psi (ψ)
The spelling alphabet
[edit]Letter | Greek name | English name | spelling name | transliteration and translation |
---|---|---|---|---|
Α, α | álfa | alpha | αστήρ | astír ('star') |
Β, β | víta | beta | Βύρων | Víron ('Byron') |
Γ, γ | gámma | gamma | γαλή | galí ('cat') |
Δ, δ | délta | delta | δόξα | dóxa ('glory') |
Ε, ε | épsilon | epsilon | Ερμής | Ermís ('Hermes') |
Ζ, ζ | zíta | zeta | Ζευς[1] | Zefs ('Zeus') |
Η, η | íta | eta | Ηρώ | Iró ('Hero') |
Θ, θ | thíta | theta | θεά | theá ('goddess') |
Ι, ι | ióta | iota | ίσκιος | ískios ('shadow') |
Κ, κ | káppa | kappa | κενόν | kenón ('blank') |
Λ, λ | lámbda | lambda | λάμα | láma ('blade') |
Μ, μ | mi | mu | μέλι | méli ('honey') |
Ν, ν | ni | nu | ναός | naós ('church') |
Ξ, ξ | xi | xi | Ξέρξης | Xérxis ('Xerxes') |
Ο, ο | ómikron | omicron | οσμή | osmí ('smell') |
Π, π | pi | pi | Πέτρος | Pétros ('Peter') |
Ρ, ρ | ro | rho | ρήγας | rígas ('king') |
Σ, σ, -ς | sígma | sigma | σοφός | sofós ('wise') |
Τ, τ | taf | tau | τίγρης | tígris ('tiger') |
Υ, υ | ípsilon | upsilon | ύμνος | ímnos ('hymn') |
Φ, φ | fi | phi | Φωφώ | Fofó (female diminutive name) |
Χ, χ | chi | chi | χαρά | chará ('joy') |
Ψ, ψ | psi | psi | ψυχή | psichí ('soul') |
Ω, ω | oméga | omega | ωμέγα | oméga |
See also
[edit]- NATO/ICAO phonetic alphabet, for the Roman alphabet
- Russian spelling alphabet
References
[edit]- ^ Alternative Police variant "Ζωή" (Zoí)
Further reading
[edit]- Efimeris tis kiverniseos tis Ellados (Greek National Gazette), 18 December 2002. (Specifies a phonetic alphabet recommended for use by the amateur radio service, although in practice it is never used.)