Greek alphabet

What it's for

Handy for math, physics, statistics and studying Greek: quickly find the name and shape of each letter (α, β, π, Σ, Ω…).

Note

All 24 letters are listed, with uppercase, lowercase, name and rough sound.

Why it's useful even if you don't study Greek

Greek letters are the service alphabet of mathematics, physics and statistics: π for the ratio of circumference to diameter, Σ for a sum, Δ for a change, μ for the mean and for the micro prefix, σ for standard deviation, Ω for ohms, λ for wavelength, θ and α for angles. Anyone opening an analysis textbook or a spec sheet meets them before they've even understood the formula.

The six that always get confused

ν (nu) looks like a Latin v but it's an n, and in physics it means frequency. ρ (rho) looks like a p and is an r: it's density. χ (chi) looks like an x and is the ch of «Bach»: it appears in the chi-squared statistical test. η (eta) looks like an n and is a long e: it's efficiency. φ (phi) is the golden ratio and the angle, and it has two different written forms. And ω (lower-case omega) is angular velocity, while the capital Ω is the unit of electrical resistance: same letter, two very distant meanings.

Seven letters are the same as ours

Alpha, beta, epsilon, zeta, iota, kappa, omicron and tau in capitals are written A, B, E, Z, I, K, O, T: identical to the Latin ones, which is why formulas use them almost only in lower case — a capital A couldn't be told apart from an alpha. It's the same reason mathematics doesn't use the capitals of nu, rho and chi: they would be N, P and X.

Nearby tools

To copy symbols that aren't on the keyboard there is Special characters, and for unit prefixes (among them micro, which is a Greek letter) SI prefixes. For chemical formulas Molar mass, and for mathematical expressions Scientific calculator.