The Greek Alphabet
All 24 Greek letters — uppercase and lowercase — with their names, pronunciation, and what each one commonly represents in mathematics, physics, statistics and engineering. Click any letter to copy it, or open the full Greek keyboard to type whole words.
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Open the Math Keyboard →| Upper | Lower | Name | Pronunciation | Common scientific use |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Α | α | Alpha | AL-fa | Angles, angular acceleration, significance level (α), alpha particles |
| Β | β | Beta | BAY-ta | Angles, beta particles, beta coefficient in finance and regression |
| Γ | γ | Gamma | GAM-a | Gamma rays, Lorentz factor, gamma function (Γ) |
| Δ | δ | Delta | DEL-ta | Change or difference (Δ), Dirac/Kronecker delta (δ) |
| Ε | ε | Epsilon | EP-si-lon | Small quantity in limits, permittivity, strain |
| Ζ | ζ | Zeta | ZAY-ta | Riemann zeta function, damping ratio |
| Η | η | Eta | AY-ta | Efficiency, viscosity, refractive index |
| Θ | θ | Theta | THAY-ta | Angles (especially in trigonometry), temperature |
| Ι | ι | Iota | eye-OH-ta | A very small amount; an index in some notations |
| Κ | κ | Kappa | KAP-a | Curvature, thermal conductivity, dielectric constant |
| Λ | λ | Lambda | LAM-da | Wavelength, eigenvalues, decay constant, Poisson rate |
| Μ | μ | Mu | MEW | Micro prefix (10⁻⁶), coefficient of friction, mean |
| Ν | ν | Nu | NEW | Frequency, kinematic viscosity, neutrino |
| Ξ | ξ | Xi | KSY / ZY | Random variable, damping coefficient |
| Ο | ο | Omicron | OM-i-kron | Rarely used in formulas (looks like Latin o) |
| Π | π | Pi | PIE | Circle constant π (3.14159…), product operator (Π) |
| Ρ | ρ | Rho | ROW | Density, resistivity, correlation coefficient |
| Σ | σ | Sigma | SIG-ma | Summation (Σ), standard deviation and stress (σ) |
| Τ | τ | Tau | TAW | Torque, time constant, shear stress |
| Υ | υ | Upsilon | OOP-si-lon | Upsilon meson in particle physics |
| Φ | φ | Phi | FIE / FEE | Golden ratio, magnetic flux, phase angle |
| Χ | χ | Chi | KY | Chi-squared distribution, electronegativity |
| Ψ | ψ | Psi | SY / PSY | Wave function in quantum mechanics, stream function |
| Ω | ω | Omega | oh-MAY-ga | Ohm and solid angle (Ω), angular frequency (ω) |
How to type Greek letters
The quickest method on any device is to copy the letter you need from the table above or from our Greek keyboard, then paste it into Word, Google Docs, email, chat or code. Because these are standard Unicode characters, they display identically across platforms. In LaTeX, type the letter's name preceded by a backslash (for example \alpha, \Sigma). In Microsoft Word you can type the Unicode hex code and press Alt + X. For a full walkthrough, see our guide on how to type Greek letters.
Frequently asked questions
How many letters are in the Greek alphabet?
Twenty-four, each with an uppercase and a lowercase form, running from alpha (Α α) to omega (Ω ω).
Why are Greek letters used so much in science?
They extend the pool of available symbols far beyond the Latin alphabet, letting scientists label many distinct quantities without clashes — θ for angles, λ for wavelength, σ for standard deviation, and so on.
Which Greek letters are used most in physics?
Among the most common are theta (angles), lambda (wavelength), omega (angular frequency), phi (phase and flux), rho (density), mu (friction and the micro prefix) and delta (change).