Learning to Read Again

Starting Greek has reminded me how strange it feels to look at a language and not immediately be able to read it. 

I have to admit to thinking of myself as a strongly text-based language learner. I usually want to see a word written down and writing things out helps me remember them. Greek complicates that slightly because, at the moment, the written form is almost completely unfamiliar. I’m interested to see whether that changes the way I learn - whether I rely more on sound than I normally would, or whether written Greek simply becomes my anchor again once I’m comfortable with the alphabet. Maybe I don’t actually learn best from writing at all; perhaps I’ve just always had the luxury and privilege of being able to read from Day 1.

I’ve been using Judith Meyer’s Greek Script Hacking, which introduces the alphabet gradually and gets you decoding words rather than just memorising 24 letters in isolation. I’ve found that approach really useful, especially because some Greek letters feel instantly familiar while others are deceptively familiar: Ρ looks like p but gives /r/, Β is /v/, and Η is pronounced like i.

I wanted more practice with that transition from recognising letters to actually processing them, so I used AI to help me build the interactive activity below.

The part I’ve found most useful is hearing a Modern Greek word and then choosing the correct written form. It forces me to connect the sounds I hear directly with the new script, rather than thinking about each letter separately. At this very early stage, even recognising a short word from its pronunciation feels like a small but quite satisfying step towards the script becoming less of a code and more like something I can actually read.

Knowing several other languages definitely helps with spotting patterns and being comfortable with unfamiliarity, but a new writing system still creates a very particular kind of beginner experience.

Try the activity below if you want to have a go too.

Learn the Greek Alphabet

Learn the letters first, then test yourself in both directions.

Click a card to reveal its name and sound. Choose Again to see it again later, or Got it to move on.

Card 1 of 24

Look at the Greek letter and choose its name.

Question 1 of 12

What is the name of this Greek letter?

Β

Read the letter name and choose the correct Greek letter.

Question 1 of 12

Which Greek letter is:

alpha

Listen to the Greek word and choose the spelling you hear. Play it again as often as you need.

Question 1 of 50

Which word do you hear?

🔊

Modern Greek pronunciation is used. Watch the false friends: Β = v, Η = ee, Ρ = r, Χ = ch. Final sigma ς is used only at the end of a word.

Greek pronunciation audio: Wikimedia Commons pronunciation recordings. Individual source and licence information is retained on each Wikimedia file page.