Greek

Q: What type of writing system is Greek?

Greek is an Alphabet used in the European region. It reads Left-to-right and contains 518 characters in Unicode.

Q: How many languages use the Greek script?

5 languages use the Greek script according to Unicode CLDR data. These languages are spoken by approximately 13M people combined.

Q: What direction does Greek read?

Greek is written Left-to-right, meaning text flows from left to right.

Ελληνικό αλφάβητο

Grek Left-to-right Living Alphabet European

Sample Text

Γεια σου κόσμε

Sample Characters

Ͱ ͱ Ͳ ͳ ʹ ͵ Ͷ ͷ ͸ ͹ ͺ ͻ ͼ ͽ ; Ϳ ΀ ΁ ΂ ΃ ΄ ΅ Ά · Έ Ή Ί ΋ Ό ΍ Ύ Ώ ΐ Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο

First 48 characters from Greek and Coptic (U+0370–U+03FF)

About Greek

The Greek alphabet, developed around the 8th century BCE from the Phoenician abjad, was the first true alphabet in which both consonants and vowels were represented as distinct letters. It is the ancestor of the Latin, Cyrillic, and Coptic alphabets.

Greek has 24 letters and is written left-to-right. Beyond the Modern Greek language, Greek letters are used extensively in mathematics (π, Σ, Δ), science, and international nomenclature. Classical Greek was also the language of the New Testament, making the alphabet of profound cultural and religious significance.

Data sourced from the ISO 15924 registry, Unicode CLDR, and the Unicode Character Database.

Script Family & Lineage

Ancestor Chain

Phoenician › Greek

Descended Scripts

Cyrillic 61 Gothic 1 Armenian 1 Old Italic (Etruscan, Oscan, etc.) Elbasan Coptic Glagolitic

Languages Using Greek 5

Ancient Greek Greek Ελληνικά Pontic Tsakonian bgx

Frequently Asked Questions

What type of writing system is Greek?

Greek is an Alphabet. Alphabets represent both consonants and vowels as distinct letters.

What direction does Greek read?

Greek is written Left-to-right, the same direction as most European scripts.

How many languages use the Greek script?

5 languages use Greek according to Unicode CLDR data. Together these languages are spoken by approximately 13M people worldwide.

When was the Greek script created?

The Greek script originated around 800 BCE.

Does Greek have uppercase and lowercase letters?

Greek has uppercase and lowercase letter forms. All vowels are written explicitly.

Compare Greek With Another Script

Direction, characters, languages — side by side.

Key Facts

ISO Code: Grek
ISO Number: 200
Script Type: Alphabet
Direction: Left-to-right
Status: Living
Region: European
Characters: 518
Introduced: 800 BCE
Languages: 5
Total Speakers: ~13M

Unicode Ranges

Greek and Coptic

U+0370–U+03FF
Phonetic Extensions

U+1D26–U+1D6A
Phonetic Extensions Supplement

U+1DBF–U+1DBF
Greek Extended

U+1F00–U+1FFE
Letterlike Symbols

U+2126–U+2126
Latin Extended-E

U+AB65–U+AB65
Ancient Greek Numbers

U+10140–U+1018E
Ancient Symbols

U+101A0–U+101A0
Ancient Greek Musical Notation

U+1D200–U+1D245