Greece Handwriting

Greece Wiki Topics

Greece Beginning Research

Getting Started Online Learning Record Finder Research Strategies

Record Types

Cemeteries Census Church Records Civil Registration Compiled Genealogies Court Records Directories Emigration & Immigration Heraldry Military Records Naturalization & Citizenship Nobility Notarial Records Online Genealogy Records Probate Records Religious Records Schools & Education Taxation Websites

Greece Background

Biographies Encyclopedias & Dictionaries Gazetteers Handwriting Historical Geography History Jurisdictions Languages Maps Naming Customs Periodicals Social Life & Customs

Greece Genealogical Word Lists

Greek (Modern Demotic) Latin Turkish

Cultural Groups

Cultural Groups

Local Research Resources

Archives & Libraries Societies Local FamilySearch Center

Greece

Handwriting

The Greek Alphabet

Greek Letter       Αα         Ββ         Γγ         Δδ         Εε           Ζζ         Ηη         Θθ         Ιι          Κκ         Λλ         Μμ

Ancient Sound   a            b            g          d             e              z          e         th            i          k               l         m

Modern Sound   (a)           (v)          (γ)        (δ)           (e)           (z)        (i)        (Θ)         (ι)        (κ)           (l)        (m)

Greek Letter       Nν           Ξξ           Οο        Ππ         Ρρ          Σσς        Ττ          Υυ         Φφ        Χχ          Ψψ       Ωω

Ancient Sound    n          ks, x           o         p           r, rh            s          t          u, y      ph       kh, ch     ps         o

Modern Sound   (n)         (ks)           (o)        (p)          (r)          (s, z)      (t)          (i)       (f)         (x)         (ps)      (o)

You will need to know the alphabet well before you look at the Greek films.

Sounds you should know:  μπ sounds like "B"

                                        β sounds like "B"

                                        ντ sounds like "D"

                                        γγ sounds like "NG"

The Handwriting

Handwriting varies from one person to another.; Greek handwriting is no exception. The chart below shows standard schoolbook handwriting. The handwriting of your relatives or of 19th-century officials will vary somewhat.

• Reading Greek Old Handwriting Made Easy

Greek Alphabet Conversion Applications

There are several Greek typing applications that will allow you to type a word in English as it converts your text to the Greek alphabet. An example of one is Type Greek Letters. It shows the keyboard in Greek, so you can compare it to your keyboard as you type. As you type the text will appear in Greek letters. In this illustration, the name Ioannis Georgios Kallikakis now appears in Greek, and we can look for his name in Greek records more easily.

Transliterating Greek Text

Transliteration Chart

Computer Transliteration

There are also Greek transliterating applications that allow you to type or paste text written in Greek letters and convert it to Latin letters. Here I have pasted a term I found in a file description in the Greek National Archives. After I paste it, clicking the Latin button (the letters we normally use are the Latin alphabet), will transliterate the text (change the letters without translating the word into English):

• Greek Translit

Before

After

Translating Greek

Word Lists

Greek Genealogical Word Lists

Most materials used in Greek research are written in Greek. However, you do not need to speak or read Greek to research Greek records. You will need to know the Greek alphabet and some 'key words and phrases to understand the records.

• This simple word list features the a short list of key terms. You should learn to recognize these.
• Other words will be used on a "look it up when you come to it" basis. For this, more thorough word lists can be found at :
  • Chapter 10 THE LANGUAGE
  • Chapter 11 NUMBERS AND UNITS OF TIME
  • Appendix A GLOSSARY

Other Languages

Many of the records of the Catholic church are also in Latin and Italian, and some military records during the period of King Otto are in German. Use the following to help with reading these records:

• Latin Genealogical Word List
• Italian Genealogical Word List
• German Genealogical Word List

Google Chrome

When possible, use Google Chrome as your browser. When you right click, the pop-up menu offers a "Translate to English" option. A small pop-up box in the top right corner will offer the same option.

Computer Translation

Finally, I can paste my new Greek-turned-into-Latin text into Google Translate.