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 mostly on radio voice channels by the Greek army, the navy and the police.
Motivation
The names for Greek letters are easily confused in noisy conditions; potential collisions include:
- víta (β), zíta (ζ), íta (η), thíta (θ)
- épsilon (ε), ýpsilon (υ)
- mi (μ), ni (ν)
- pi (π), xi (ξ), fi (φ), chi (χ), psi (ψ)
The spelling alphabet
| Letter | letter name | spelling name | meaning of word |
|---|---|---|---|
| Α, α | álfa | αστήρ | astír ('star') |
| Β, β | víta | Βύρων | Víron ('Byron') |
| Γ, γ | gámma | γαλή | galí ('cat') |
| Δ, δ | délta | δόξα | dóxa ('glory') |
| Ε, ε | épsilon | Ερμής | Ermís ('Hermes') |
| Ζ, ζ | zíta | Ζευς[1] | Zefs ('Zeus') |
| Η, η | íta | Ηρώ | Iró ('Hero') |
| Θ, θ | thíta | θεά | theá ('goddess') |
| Ι, ι | ióta | ίσκιος | ískios ('shadow') |
| Κ, κ | káppa | κενόν | kenón ('blank') |
| Λ, λ | lámbda | λάμα | láma ('blade') |
| Μ, μ | mi | μέλι | méli ('honey') |
| Ν, ν | ni | ναός | naós ('church') |
| Ξ, ξ | xi | Ξέρξης | Xérxis ('Xerxes') |
| Ο, ο | ómikron | οσμή | osmí ('smell') |
| Π, π | pi | Πέτρος | Pétros ('Peter') |
| Ρ, ρ | ro | ρήγας | rígas ('king') |
| Σ, σ, -ς | sígma | σοφός | sofós ('wise') |
| Τ, τ | taf | τίγρης | tígris ('tiger') |
| Υ, υ | ípsilon | ύμνος | ímnos ('hymn') |
| Φ, φ | fi | Φωφώ | Fofó ('a female diminutive name') |
| Χ, χ | chi | χαρά | chará ('joy') |
| Ψ, ψ | psi | ψυχή | psichí ('soul') |
| Ω, ω | oméga | ωμέγα | oméga ('the last letter of the Greek alphabet') |
References
- Alternative Police variant "Ζωή" (Zoí)
Further reading
- 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.)
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