View source for Greek orthography

{{Short description|Writing system of Modern Greek}}{{More citations needed|date=May 2025}}

The [[orthography]] of the [[Modern Greek|modern Greek language]] was standardised in 1976<ref>{{Cite web |title=Demotic Greek language |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Demotic-Greek-language |website=Britannica}}</ref> and simplified the diacritics in 1982. There are relatively few differences between the orthography of [[Ancient Greek]] and [[Modern Greek]].

Some time prior to that, one early form of Greek, [[Mycenaean language|Mycenaean]], was written in [[Linear B]], although there was a lapse of several centuries (the [[Greek Dark Ages]]) between the time Mycenaean stopped being written and the time when the Greek alphabet came into use.

Early Greek writing in the Greek alphabet was [[Phonemic orthography|phonemic]], different in each [[Ancient Greek dialects|dialect]].  Since the adoption of the [[Ionic Greek|Ionic]] variant for [[Attic Greek|Attic]] in 403 BC, however, Greek orthography has been largely conservative and historical.

Given the [[History of Greek|phonetic development of Greek]], especially in the [[Koine Greek|Hellenistic period]], certain modern vowel phonemes have multiple orthographic realizations:
*{{IPA|/i/}} can be spelled η, ι, υ, ει, οι, or υι (see [[Iotacism]]);
*{{IPA|/e/}} can be spelled either ε or αι;
*{{IPA|/o/}} can be spelled either ο or ω.
This affects not only lexical items but also inflectional affixes, so correct orthography requires mastery of [[formal grammar]], ''e.g.'' {{lang|el|η καλή}} {{IPA|/i kaˈli/}} 'the good one ([[feminine gender|fem]]. [[Grammatical number|sing]].)' ''vs.'' {{lang|el|οι καλοί}} {{IPA|/i kaˈli/}} 'the good ones ([[masculine gender|masc]]. [[plural|pl]].)'; {{lang|el|καλώ}} {{IPA|/kaˈlo/}} 'I call' ''vs.'' {{lang|el|καλό}} {{IPA|/kaˈlo/}} 'good ([[neuter gender|neut]]. [[Grammatical number|sing]].)'.<!-- Please don't disambiguate the [[~~ gender]] links, for clarity -->

Similarly, the orthography preserves ancient doubled consonants, though these are now pronounced the same as single consonants, except in [[Cypriot Greek]].

{|cellspacing="0" cellpadding="10" style="text-align:center;"
|style="vertical-align:top;"|

{|class="wikitable"
|-
!rowspan="2"|Letter !! rowspan="2"|Name
!Ancient pronunciation
! colspan="2" |Modern pronunciation
!Transliteration
Ancient Greek
!Transliteration
Modern Greek
|-
! {{smaller|IPA<ref name="woodard_2008_15">{{harvnb|Woodard|2008|pp=15–17}}</ref>}}
! colspan="2" |{{smaller|IPA<ref name="holton_1998_31">{{harvnb|Holton|Mackridge|Philippaki-Warburton|1998|p=31}}</ref>}}
!'''[[ALA-LC romanization|ALA-LC]]'''
<small>(2010)</small>
!'''[[ELOT]] 743, 2nd ed.'''
'''(Type 1 -'''

'''transliteration)'''

<small>(2001)</small>
|-
|style="font-size:120%;"|{{lang|el|Α α}} ||[[alpha|álpha]], {{wikt-lang|el|άλφα}} || Short: {{IPAblink|a}}<br />Long: {{IPAblink|aː}} 
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|ɐ|a}}
| colspan="2" |a
|-
|style="font-size:120%;"|{{lang|el|Β β}} ||[[beta|bēta]], {{wikt-lang|el|βήτα}} || {{IPAblink|b}}<ref name="Mastronarde2013p10">{{harvnb|Mastronarde|2013|page=10}}</ref><ref name="KellerRussell2012p5">{{harvnb|Keller|Russell|2012|page=5}}</ref> 
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|v}}
|b
|v
|-
| rowspan="2" style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Γ γ}} || rowspan="2" |[[gamma|gámma]], {{wikt-lang|el|γάμμα}} || {{IPAblink|ɡ}}
|{{IPAblink|ɣ}} before {{IPAblink|ɐ|a}}, {{IPAblink|o̞|o}}, {{IPAblink|u}}||{{IPAblink|ʝ}} before {{IPAblink|e}}, {{IPAblink|i}}
|g
| rowspan="2" |g
|-
|{{IPAblink|ŋ}} when used before {{lang|el|γ}}, {{lang|el|κ}}, {{lang|el|ξ}}, {{lang|el|χ}}, and possibly μ 
|{{IPAblink|ŋ}}<ref group="ex">For example, ε'''γ'''γραφή.</ref> 
|{{IPAblink|ɲ}}<ref group="ex">For example, ε'''γ'''γεγραμμένος.</ref>
|n
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Δ δ}} ||[[Delta (letter)|délta]], {{wikt-lang|el|δέλτα}}|| {{IPAblink|d}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|ð}}
|d
|d
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ε ε}} ||[[epsilon|épsilon]], {{wikt-lang|el|έψιλον}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|e}}
| colspan="2" |e
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ζ ζ}} ||[[zeta|zēta]], {{wikt-lang|el|ζήτα}}
|[zd] or [dz]
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|z}}
|z
|z
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Η η}} ||[[eta|ēta]], {{wikt-lang|el|ήτα}}|| {{IPAblink|ɛː}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|i}}
|ē
|ī
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Θ θ}} ||[[theta|thēta]], {{wikt-lang|el|θήτα}}|| {{IPAblink|t̪ʰ}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|θ}}
|th
|th
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ι ι}} ||[[iota|iōta]], {{wikt-lang|el|ιώτα}}|| Short: {{IPAblink|i}}<br />Long: {{IPAblink|iː}}
| colspan="2" |often {{IPAblink|i}}, when with "{{Lang|el|ι}}" can be {{IPAblink|ç}},<ref group="ex">For example, πάπ'''ι'''α.</ref> {{IPAblink|ʝ}},<ref group="ex">For example, β'''ι'''α.</ref> {{IPAblink|ɲ}}<ref group="ex">For example, μ'''ι'''α.</ref>
| colspan="2" |i
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Κ κ}} ||[[kappa|káppa]], {{wikt-lang|el|κάππα}}|| {{IPAblink|k}}
|{{IPAblink|k}} before {{IPAblink|ɐ|a}}, {{IPAblink|o̞|o}}, {{IPAblink|u}} and consonant
|{{IPAblink|c}} before {{IPAblink|e}}, {{IPAblink|i}}
|k
|k
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Λ λ}} ||[[lambda|lámbda, lámda, lábda]], {{wikt-lang|el|λάμβδα|λάμβδα, λάμδα, λάβδα}}{{refn|group="note"|name="lambdaorlabda"|The letter {{lang|el|Λ}} is almost universally known today as ''lambda'' ({{wikt-lang|el|λάμβδα}}) except in Modern Greek and in [[Lambda#Character encodings|Unicode]], where it is ''lamda'' ({{wikt-lang|el|λάμδα}}), and the most common name for it during the [[Classical Greece|Greek Classical Period]] (510–323 BC) appears to have been {{tlit|el|labda}} ({{wikt-lang|el|λάβδα}}), without the {{lang|el|μ}}.<ref name="KellerRussell2012p5"/>}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|l}}
| colspan="2" |l
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Μ μ}} ||[[Mu (letter)|my]], {{wikt-lang|el|μυ}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|m}}
| colspan="2" |m
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ν ν}} ||[[Nu (letter)|ny]], {{wikt-lang|el|νυ}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|n}}
| colspan="2" |n
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ξ ξ}} ||[[Xi (letter)|xi]], {{wikt-lang|el|ξι}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPA|[ks]}} 
| colspan="2" |x
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ο ο}} ||[[omicron|ómikron]], {{wikt-lang|el|όμικρον}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|o̞|o}}
| colspan="2" |o
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Π π}} ||[[Pi (letter)|pi]], {{wikt-lang|el|πι}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|p}}
| colspan="2" |p
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ρ ρ}} ||[[rho|ro]], {{wikt-lang|el|ρο}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|r}} ~ {{IPAblink|ɾ}}
| colspan="2" |r
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Σ&nbsp;σ/ς}}{{refn|group="note"|name="nicholas_finalsigma"|The letter [[sigma]] {{angbr|{{lang|el|Σ}}}} has two different lowercase forms in its standard variant, with {{angbr|{{lang|el|ς}}}} being used in word-final position and {{angbr|{{lang|el|σ}}}} elsewhere.<ref name="KellerRussell2012pp56">{{harvnb|Keller|Russell|2012|pages=5–6}}</ref><ref name="Mastronarde2013p12">{{harvnb|Mastronarde|2013|page=12}}</ref><ref name="Nick2004">{{cite web |first=Nick |last=Nicholas |year=2004 |title=Sigma: final versus non-final |url=http://www.opoudjis.net/unicode/letters.html |access-date=2016-09-29 |archive-date=2016-10-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161021094340/http://www.opoudjis.net/unicode/letters.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In some 19th-century typesetting, {{angbr|{{lang|el|ς}}}} was also used word-medially at the end of a [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] morpheme, e.g. {{lang|el|δυςκατανοήτων}}, marking the morpheme boundary between {{lang|el|δυς-κατανοήτων}} ('difficult to understand'); modern standard practice is to spell {{lang|el|δυσκατανοήτων}} with a non-final sigma.<ref name="Nick2004"/>}}
|[[sigma|sígma]], {{wikt-lang|el|σίγμα}} || colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|s}}<br />{{IPAblink|z}} before {{lang|el|β}}, {{lang|el|γ}}, or {{lang|el|μ}}
| colspan="2" |s
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Τ τ}} ||[[tau]], {{wikt-lang|el|ταυ}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPAblink|t}}
| colspan="2" |t
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Υ υ}} ||[[upsilon|ýpsilon]], {{wikt-lang|el|ύψιλον}}|| Short: {{IPAblink|y}}<br />Long: {{IPAblink|yː}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|i}}
|y
|y
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Φ φ}} ||[[phi]], {{wikt-lang|el|φι}}|| {{IPAblink|pʰ}}
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|f}}
|ph
|f
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Χ χ}} ||[[Chi (letter)|khi]], {{wikt-lang|el|χι}}|| {{IPAblink|kʰ}}
|{{IPAblink|x}} before {{IPAblink|ɐ|a}}, {{IPAblink|o̞|o}}, {{IPAblink|u}} and consonant||
{{IPAblink|ç}} before {{IPAblink|e}}, {{IPAblink|i}}
|ch
|ch
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ψ ψ}} ||[[Psi (letter)|psi]], {{wikt-lang|el|ψι}}|| colspan="3" | {{IPA|[ps]}} 
| colspan="2" |ps
|-
| style="font-size:120%;" |{{lang|el|Ω ω}} ||[[omega|ōméga]], {{wikt-lang|el|ωμέγα}} || {{IPAblink|ɔː}} 
| colspan="2" |{{IPAblink|o̞|o}}
|ō
|ō
|}
|}
;Examples
{{reflist|group="ex"}}

;Notes
{{reflist|group="note"}}

== Digraphs and diphthongs ==
A [[Digraph (orthography)|digraph]] is a pair of letters used to write one sound or a combination of sounds that does not correspond to the written letters in sequence. The orthography of Greek includes several digraphs, including various pairs of vowel letters that used to be pronounced as [[diphthong]]s but have been shortened to [[monophthong]]s in pronunciation. Many of these are characteristic developments of modern Greek, but some were already present in Classical Greek. None of them is regarded as a letter of the alphabet.

During the [[Medieval Greek|Byzantine period]], it became customary to write the [[silent letter|silent]] iota in digraphs as an [[iota subscript]].

{|style="text-align:center" class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |'''Letters'''
! colspan="2" |'''Pronunciation'''
|-
!Ancient<br>Greek
!Modern<br>Greek
|-
|{{smallcaps|αι}}, αι||{{IPA|[ai̯]}}||{{IPAblink|e̞}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|ει}}, ει||{{IPA|[eː]}}|| rowspan="3" |{{IPAblink|i}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|οι}}, οι||{{IPA|[oi̯]}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|υι}}, υι||{{IPA|[yː]}}{{efn|The [[diphthong]] υι {{IPA|[yi̯]}} was [[monophthong]]ized to {{IPA|[yː]}} in Classical Attic Greek, but survives in some other contemporary dialects and in early Koine.}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|ᾼ}}, {{lang|grc|ᾳ}}||{{IPA|[aːi̯]}}||[absent]
|-
|{{smallcaps|ηι}}, {{lang|grc|ῃ}}||{{IPA|[ɛːi̯]}}
|[absent]
|-
|{{smallcaps|ωι}}, {{lang|grc|ῳ}}||{{IPA|[ɔːi̯]}}||[absent]
|-
|ΩΙ, ωι
|[absent]
|{{IPA|[oi]}}, [oi̯]
|-
|{{smallcaps|αυ}}, αυ||{{IPA|[au̯]}}||{{IPA|[av]}} before vowel or voiced consonant;<br />{{IPA|[af]}} otherwise
|-
|{{smallcaps|Ᾱυ}}, ᾱυ||{{IPA|[aːu̯]}}
|[absent]
|-
|{{smallcaps|ευ}}, ευ||{{IPA|[eu̯]}}||{{IPA|[ev]}} before vowel or voiced consonant;<br />{{IPA|[ef]}} otherwise
|-
|{{smallcaps|ηυ}}, ηυ||{{IPA|[ɛːu̯]}}||{{IPA|[iv]}} before vowel or voiced consonant;<br />{{IPA|[if]}} otherwise
|-
|{{smallcaps|ου}}, ου||{{IPA|[uː]}}<br />earlier {{IPA|[oː]}}||{{IPAblink|u}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|ωυ}}, ωυ||{{IPA|[ɔːu̯]}}{{efn|The diphthong ωυ {{IPA|[ɔːu̯]}} was found in [[Ionic Greek|Ionic]] and in certain [[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] transcriptions in the [[Septuagint|Greek Bible]], but it did not occur in [[Attic Greek|Attic]], and was gradually lost in [[Koine Greek|Koine]]. Where ωυ was atticized, it was often split into two separate syllables {{IPA|[ɔː.y]}}, hence the [[Latin language|Latin]] transcription ''ōy''. Perhaps the clearest example of this is the [[Septuagint|Biblical Greek]] name {{lang|grc|Μωυσῆς}} {{IPA|[mɔːu̯.sɛ̂ːs]}} ([[Moses]]), which was atticized as {{lang|grc|Μωϋσῆς}} {{IPA|[mɔː.y.sɛ̂ːs]}}, then adapted to early Christian Latin as ''Mōysēs'', from where it became [[Spanish language|Spanish]] ''Moisés'', [[French language|French]] ''Moïse'', etc. The modern Greek form is {{lang|el|Μωυσής}} {{IPA|[mo̞i̯ˈsis]}}, whereas the modern Latin [[Vulgate]] form is ''Mōsēs''.}}||{{IPA|[oi]}}, [oi̯]
|-
|{{smallcaps|αϊ}}, αϊ
|[a.i]
| rowspan="3" |[a.i], [ai̯]
|-
|ΑΗ, αη
|{{IPA|[aɛː]}}
|-
|ΑΫ, αϋ
|[a.y]
|-
|{{smallcaps|εϊ}}, εϊ
|[e.i]
| rowspan="2" |[e.i]
|-
|ΕΗ, εη
|{{IPA|[eɛː]}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|οϊ}}, οϊ
|[o.i]
| rowspan="3" |{{IPA|[oi]}}, [oi̯]
|-
|{{smallcaps|οη}}, οη
|{{IPA|[oɛː]}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|ωη}}, ωη
|{{IPA|[ɔːɛː]}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|γγ}}, γγ||{{IPA|[ŋɡ]}}||{{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} ~ [ɲɟ] in formal [[register (sociolinguistics)|registers]], but often reduced to {{IPAblink|ɡ}} ~ [ɟ] in informal speech;<br />also pronounced {{IPA|[ŋɣ]}} ~ [ɲʝ] in some words (e.g. εγγενής, έγγραφο, συγγραφέας){{efn|name=velar|The [[velar consonant|velars]] {{IPA|[ɡ]}}, {{IPA|[k]}}, {{IPAblink|ɣ}}, and {{IPAblink|x}} are [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatalized]] to {{IPA|[ɟ]}}, {{IPA|[c]}}, {{IPAblink|ʝ}} and {{IPAblink|ç}} respectively before the [[close vowel|close]] and [[mid vowel|mid]] [[front vowel]]s {{IPA|[i]}} and {{IPA|[e̞]}}.

It is discussed among scholars whether the [[velar nasal]] {{IPA|[ŋ]}} ({{lang|grc|ἄγμα}}, ''{{Transliteration|grc|ágma}}'') should be regarded as an allophone of {{IPA|/n/}} or a [[phoneme]] in its own right in Greek.}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|γκ}}, γκ||{{IPA|[ŋk]}}||{{IPA|[ɡ]}} ~ [ɟ] word-initially and in some loanwords; {{IPA|[ŋɡ]}} ~ [ɲɟ] otherwise,<br />often reduced to {{IPA|[ɡ]}} ~ [ɟ] in informal speech{{efn|name=velar}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|γξ}}, γξ||{{IPA|[ŋks]}}||{{IPA|[ŋks]}}
|-
|{{smallcaps|γχ}}, γχ||{{IPA|[ŋkʰ]}}||{{IPA|[ŋx]}}{{efn|name=velar}} ~ [ɲç]
|-
|{{smallcaps|μπ}}, μπ||{{IPA|[mp]}}||{{IPAblink|b}} word-initially and in some loanwords; {{IPA|[mb]}} otherwise,<br />often reduced to {{IPA|[b]}} in informal speech
|-
|{{smallcaps|ντ}}, ντ||{{IPA|[nt]}}||{{IPAblink|d}} word-initially and in some loanwords; {{IPA|[nd]}} otherwise,<br />often reduced to {{IPA|[d]}} in informal speech
|-
|ΤΣ, τσ/τς
|[absent]
|{{IPAblink|t͡s}}
|-
|ΤΖ, τζ
|[absent]
|{{IPAblink|d͡z}}
|}

{{notelist}}

== Hyphenation rules of Standard Modern Greek ==

=== Consonant splitting ===

According to KEME (1983),<ref>This book is the official grammar book of Modern Greek edited by a group of experts and it is a revised edition of Triantafillidis (1941, reprint with corrections 1978).</ref> the splitting of a Modern Greek word into syllables ([[syllabification]]) is governed by the following rules:

* C1: A single consonant between two vowels is hyphenated with the succeeding vowel. 
* C2: A sequence of two consonants between two vowels is hyphenated with the succeeding vowel, if a Greek word exists that begins with such a consonant sequence. Otherwise the sequence is split into two syllables. 
* C3: A sequence of three or more consonants between two vowels is hyphenated with the succeeding vowel, if a Greek word exists that begins with the sequence of the first two consonants. Otherwise it splits; the first consonant being hyphenated with the preceding vowel.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Noussia |first=Theodora I. |date=1997 |title=A Rule-based Hyphenator for Modern Greek |url=https://aclanthology.org/J97-3001 |journal=Computational Linguistics |volume=23 |issue=3 |pages=361–376}}</ref>

Loanword hyphenation is governed by the same grammar rules as the rest of the [[Standard Modern Greek]] language.<ref name=":0" />

=== Vowel splitting ===

The prohibitive hyphenation rules regarding vowel splitting are as follows:

* V1. Double-vowel blends do not split. 
* V2. The combinations αυ, ευ, ηυ, αύ, εύ and ηύ<ref>The ηυ combination is infrequently referred to in grammar books (KEME 1983), possibly because it appears in only a small number of words. However, this combination is also considered, because such words are regularly used e.g., ''εφηύρα'' [efívra] 'I invented'.</ref> do not split.
* V3. Diphthongs do not split. 
* V4. Excessive diphthongs do not split.

All of the above rules are negative in that they indicate impermissible hyphen points within particular substrings of consecutive vowels.<ref name=":0" />

==Diacritics==
{{main|Greek diacritics}}

Polytonic [[spelling]] uses a variety of [[diacritic]]s to represent aspects of the pronunciation of [[ancient Greek]]. Polytonic, along with [[lowercase]] letters, became standard in [[Byzantine Greek]], although the ancient distinctions had disappeared, replaced by a simple stress accent. The [[orthography|orthographies]] of modern Greek, both ''[[katharevousa]]'' and [[Demotic Greek|''dhimotiki'']], used the polytonic system until 1982, when monotonic spelling was introduced.  In some conservative contexts, such as the [[Greek Orthodox Church|Church]], polytonic spellings are still used.

Monotonic orthography, adopted in 1982, replaces the ancient diacritics with just two: the [[acute accent]] (''tónos'', e.g. {{lang|grc|ί}}), used to mark the stressed syllable in polysyllabic words, and the [[Diaeresis (diacritic)|diaeresis]] (''dialytiká'', e.g. {{lang|grc|ϊ}}), which indicates that the vowel is not part of a digraph.

==Punctuation==
=== In Ancient Greek ===

[[Ancient Greek]] was written as {{lang|la|[[scripta continua]]}} without [[space (typography)|spacing]] or [[interpunct]]s. Over time, a variety of symbols appeared. A system of dots credited to [[Aristophanes of Byzantium]] was developed in the 3rd century&nbsp;BC: a [[hypostigme|low dot]] {{angle bracket|.}} marked an occasion for a short breath after a short phrase, a [[stigme mese|middot]] {{angle bracket|·}} marked an occasion for a longer breath after a longer passage, and a [[stigme teleia|high dot]] {{angle bracket|˙}} marked a full stop at the end of a completed thought. Other writers employed [[two dot punctuation]] {{angle bracket|⁚}} to mark the ends of sentences or changing speakers. Less often, arrangements of three {{angle bracket|⁝}}, four {{angle bracket|⁞ or ⁘}}, and five dots {{angle bracket|⁙}} appeared. Such interline punctuation could be noted or replaced by a variety of {{lang|el-Latn|[[paragraphoi]]}}, long marks which trailed between lines of text; these might also mark changes of speakers. Blank lines or various {{lang|el-Latn|[[editorial coronis|coronides]]}} marked the ends of sections. (A separate {{lang|el-Latn|[[coronis (diacritic)|coronis]]}} was used to mark [[crasis|contractions]]; its early forms looked like an apostrophe between the two elided words.) Over time, the main punctuation came to be a [[full stop]] marked by a single dot at varying heights, a [[semicolon|partial stop]] marked by various forms of [[comma]]s, and the {{lang|el-Latn|[[hypodiastole]]}} {{angle bracket|⸒}} and [[papyrological hyphen]] {{angle bracket| ͜ }}. These served to show whether an ambiguous series of letters should be read as (respectively) a pair of words or as a single word.<ref name=nicky>{{cite web |last= Nicolas |first= Nick |date=2005 |title=Greek Unicode Issues: Punctuation |url= http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/punctuation.htm |work= Thesaurus Linguae Graecae  |location= University of California, Irvine |access-date= 2014-10-07 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141010180952/http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/punctuation.html | archive-date= 2014-10-10 | url-status= dead}}</ref><!--ref>Nicolas, Nick. "[http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/punctuation.html Greek Unicode Issues: Punctuation]". 2005. Accessed 7 Oct 2014.</ref--> Later [[Aristarchus of Samothrace]] modified this system (see: [[Aristarchian symbols]]).

=== In printing ===
Following the [[printing#History|advent of printing]], most Greek punctuation was gradually standardized with [[French punctuation|French]]: the {{lang|el-Latn|[[hypodiastole]]}} was fully unified with the comma, the [[comma]] serves as the [[decimal point]] (and in this use is called the {{lang|el-Latn|hypodiastole}}) and it also functions as a [[silent letter]] in a handful of Greek words, principally distinguishing {{wikt-lang|el|ό,τι}} ({{lang|el-Latn|ó,ti}}, "whatever") from {{wikt-lang|el|ότι}} ({{lang|el-Latn|óti}}, "that").<ref name="nicky"/> The [[full stop]] serves as the [[thousands separator]], and [[guillemet]]s ({{lang|el|εισαγωγικά}} ''isagoyika'') and [[em dash|em-length]] [[quotation dash]]es ({{lang|el|παύλα}} ''pavla'') typically serve to indicate direct speech.{{refn|In informal writing, English-style [[quotation mark]]s have also become quite common.<ref name="lookgreek"/>}} When quotations are nested, double apostrophes and turned commas are used for the embedded quotation or word: {{angle bracket|«…“…”…»}}. Right-pointing double guillemets ({{lang|el|ομειωματικά}} ''omiomatiká'') {{angle bracket|»}} serve as a [[ditto mark]]. The principal difference is the [[Greek question mark]] {{angle bracket|;}}, which developed a shape so similar to the [[Latin script|Latinate]] [[semicolon]] {{angle bracket|;}} that [[Unicode]] decomposes its separate code point identically.<ref name="nicky"/> The {{lang|el-Latn|[[ano teleia]]}} middot serves as the Greek semicolon, but is so uncommon that it has often been left off of Greek [[computer keyboard|keyboards]].<ref name="lookgreek">{{cite web |url=http://greek.kanlis.com/script.html |title=The Look of Greek |access-date=8 October 2014 }}</ref>

One of the few places where {{lang|el-Latn|[[ano teleia]]}} exists is on the Microsoft Windows Polytonic Greek keyboard (having the driver name KBDHEPT.DLL).

The [[exclamation mark#Greek|exclamation mark]] ({{lang|el|θαυμαστικό}} ''thavmastikó'') is mostly used as in English. The [[hyphen]], the [[brackets]], the [[colon (punctuation)|colon]], the [[ellipsis]] and the [[slash (punctuation)|slash]] are also in use. The slash has the additional function of forming common abbreviations like {{lang|el|α/φοί}} for {{lang|el|αδελφοί}} 'brothers'. The [[Greek ligatures|ligature]] [[Kai (conjunction)|kai]] (ϗ) is sometimes used for the same function as the English [[ampersand]].

=== In Greek numerals ===
There are special rules for how to write [[Greek numerals]]. In [[modern Greek]], a number of changes have been made. Instead of extending an [[overline]] over an entire number (like {{overline|χξϛ}}), a '''{{lang|el-Latn|keraia}}'''<!--boldface per WP:R#PLA--> ({{lang|el|κεραία}}, <small>lit.</small>&nbsp;"hornlike projection") is placed to its upper right, a development of the short marks formerly used for single numbers and fractions. The modern {{lang|el-Latn|keraia}} is a symbol (<big>ʹ</big>) similar to the [[acute accent]] (´), but has its own [[Unicode]] character, encoded as U+0374. [[Alexander the Great]]'s father [[Philip II of Macedon]] is thus known as {{lang|el|Φίλιππος Βʹ}} in modern Greek. A lower left {{lang|el-Latn|keraia}} (Unicode: U+0375, "Greek Lower Numeral Sign") is now standard for identifying thousands: 2015 is represented as ͵ΒΙΕʹ (2000 + 10 + 5).

==See also==
*[[Ancient Greek phonology]]
*[[Greek braille]]
*[[Obelism]]
*[[Greek grammar (disambiguation)|Greek grammar]]
*[[Greek language question]]
*[[Greek ligatures]]
*[[Iota subscript]]
*[[Katharevousa]]
*[[Modern Greek phonology]]
*[[Pronunciation of Ancient Greek in teaching]]
*[[Romanization of Greek]]

==References==
<references />

==Sources==
* {{cite book|title=Grammatiki tis ellinikis glossas|last2=Mackridge|first2=Peter|last3=Philippaki-Warburton|first3=Irini|publisher=Pataki|year=1998|last1=Holton|first1=David|place=Athens}}
* {{cite book|last1=Keller|first1=Andrew|last2=Russell|first2=Stephanie|date=2012|title=Learn to Read Greek, Part 1|location=New Haven, Connecticut and London, England|publisher=Yale University Press|isbn=978-0-300-11589-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Mastronarde|first=Donald J.|author-link=Donald Mastronarde|date=2013|title=Introduction to Attic Greek|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LmdCUAW8FAYC&q=Introduction+to+Attic+Greek+Donald+J.+Mastronarde+textbook|edition=2nd|location=Berkeley, California, Los Angeles, California, and London, England|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=978-0-520-27571-3|access-date=2020-11-11|archive-date=2024-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007005526/https://books.google.com/books?id=LmdCUAW8FAYC&q=Introduction+to+Attic+Greek+Donald+J.+Mastronarde+textbook#v=snippet&q=Introduction%20to%20Attic%20Greek%20Donald%20J.%20Mastronarde%20textbook&f=false|url-status=live}}
* {{cite book|title=The ancient languages of Europe|url=https://archive.org/details/ancientlanguages00wood_845|url-access=limited|last=Woodard|first=Roger D.|publisher=University Press|year=2008|editor-last=Woodard|editor-first=Roger D.|location=Cambridge|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ancientlanguages00wood_845/page/n35 14]–49|chapter=Attic Greek|isbn=9780521684958}}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary|Appendix:Greek punctuation}}
* [https://archive.today/20120805221509/http://www.tlg.uci.edu/~opoudjis/unicode/unicode.html Greek Unicode Issues] by Nick Nicholas
* [http://www.foundalis.com/lan/grphdetl.htm The Details of Modern Greek Phonetics and Phonology], by Harry Foundalis

{{Greek language}}
{{Language orthographies}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greek Orthography}}
[[Category:Greek language|Orthography]]
[[Category:Orthographies by language]]
[[Category:Greek alphabet]]
[[Category:Ancient Greek punctuation]]