Greek Symbols

How to copy and paste Greek letters

Most keyboards have no Greek keys, so copying is the quickest way to get a correct character into homework, a paper, a slide, a spreadsheet or code.

1. Search for a letter by name, LaTeX command or meaning, or tap one of the most-used letters at the top.
2. Wait for the copied message. The letter is now on your clipboard as plain text.
3. Paste it with Ctrl + V on Windows, Command + V on Mac, or press and hold a text field on a phone and choose Paste.
4. Need several letters in a row? Turn on collect mode, tap the letters in order, then copy the whole string at once.

Greek alphabet with English pronunciation

The classical Greek alphabet has 24 letters. Each has a capital and a lowercase form, and sigma has an extra lowercase form, ς, used at the end of a word. The respellings below are common American English pronunciations based on Merriam-Webster entries (checked September 2026); Modern Greek pronunciation is different.

Α α alpha (AL-fuh), Β β beta (BAY-tuh), Γ γ gamma (GAM-uh), Δ δ delta (DEL-tuh), Ε ε epsilon (EP-suh-lahn), Ζ ζ zeta (ZAY-tuh), Η η eta (AY-tuh), Θ θ theta (THAY-tuh), Ι ι iota (eye-OH-tuh), Κ κ kappa (KAP-uh), Λ λ lambda (LAM-duh), Μ μ mu (MYOO or MOO).

Ν ν nu (NOO), Ξ ξ xi (ZYE or KSYE), Ο ο omicron (OH-muh-krahn or AH-muh-krahn), Π π pi (PIE), Ρ ρ rho (ROH), Σ σ ς sigma (SIG-muh), Τ τ tau (rhymes with cow, or TAW), Υ υ upsilon (OOP-suh-lahn or YOOP-suh-lahn), Φ φ phi (FYE), Χ χ chi (KYE), Ψ ψ psi (SYE or PSYE), Ω ω omega (oh-MAY-guh).

British speakers often say BEE-tuh, EE-tuh and THEE-tuh, and ZEE-tuh is also common for zeta. Either way, the letter you copy is the same character.

How to type Greek letters on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

Microsoft Word on Windows: type the letter's Unicode code, then press Alt + X. For example, 03C3 then Alt + X gives σ, and 03A9 then Alt + X gives Ω. Insert > Symbol is the menu option. Numeric-keypad Alt codes are not a reliable way to type Greek letters across Windows apps.

Mac: press Control + Command + Space to open the Character Viewer and search for a name such as alpha. To type Greek often, add the Greek input source in System Settings > Keyboard. Option + M on a US keyboard gives µ, the micro sign, not the Greek letter μ.

iPhone and iPad: go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards > Add New Keyboard and choose Greek, then switch keyboards with the globe key. Most Android keyboards, including Gboard, can add a Greek language keyboard in their language settings.

Google Docs: choose Insert > Special characters and search for the letter name. For equations, the equation editor accepts commands such as \alpha followed by a space.

Greek letters in LaTeX, HTML and Unicode

In LaTeX math mode, write a backslash and the name: \alpha, \beta, \theta, \lambda, \pi, \sigma, \omega. Capitalize the name for capitals with their own shape: \Gamma, \Delta, \Theta, \Lambda, \Xi, \Pi, \Sigma, \Upsilon, \Phi, \Psi and \Omega. Capitals that match Latin letters, such as Alpha and Beta, are usually written with A and B.

LaTeX's \epsilon and \phi produce the variant shapes ϵ and ϕ. For the everyday shapes ε and φ, use \varepsilon and \varphi. \varkappa needs the amssymb package. Each letter card on this page shows its Unicode code point and, where one exists, its LaTeX command.

HTML has named references for the whole alphabet, such as α, Σ, ς for ς and Ω. In Unicode, capitals run from U+0391 to U+03A9 and lowercase letters from U+03B1 to U+03C9. U+03A2 is unassigned because there is no capital final sigma.

What Greek letters mean in math, science and statistics

These are common conventions, not fixed rules; always check how a class or paper defines its symbols. π is the circle constant, about 3.14159. Σ marks a sum, Δ a change in a quantity, and θ an angle. λ often means wavelength or an eigenvalue, and Ω is the unit symbol for the ohm.

In statistics, μ usually stands for a population mean, σ for a population standard deviation, ρ for a correlation, and α for the significance level of a test. χ² is the chi-square statistic, and β often labels a regression coefficient or a Type II error rate.

Greek letters for fraternity, sorority and club names

Greek-letter organizations are usually written with two or three capital Greek letters. Use collect mode to put the capitals in order and copy them as one string for a caption, bio, flyer or group chat name.

Copy the real Greek capitals rather than typing look-alike Latin letters. A Latin A, K or P can look the same on screen, but search, screen readers and some fonts treat it as a different character. Organization names and crests may also be trademarks, so follow your chapter's own guidelines for merchandise.

Don't confuse Greek letters with look-alike symbols

Several capitals share a shape with Latin letters: Α/A, Β/B, Ε/E, Ζ/Z, Η/H, Ι/I, Κ/K, Μ/M, Ν/N, Ο/O, Ρ/P, Τ/T, Υ/Y and Χ/X. Lowercase ο (omicron), ν (nu), ρ (rho) and χ (chi) resemble o, v, p and x. Mixing them can break search, sorting and code.

Some math and unit symbols look like Greek letters but are separate characters: ∑ (U+2211) is the summation operator and ∏ (U+220F) the product operator, µ (U+00B5) is the micro sign, Ω (U+2126) is the ohm sign, and ∈ is the element-of sign. Unicode lists the Greek capital Ω as the preferred form of the ohm sign and treats the micro sign as a compatibility form of μ, while math typesetting often uses ∑ and ∏ for large operators.

Sources and standards

• Unicode — Greek and Coptic code chart (U+0370–U+03FF)
• Unicode — Greek and Coptic names list
• Merriam-Webster — Greek letter entries (e.g., beta)
• WHATWG — HTML named character references
• Microsoft — Insert ASCII or Unicode symbols in Word
• Apple — Use emoji and symbols on Mac
• Apple — Add or change keyboards on iPhone

Frequently asked questions