Greek to Latin Transliterator
Paste Modern or Ancient Greek — monotonic or polytonic — and see it romanized side by side: Modern Greek in ELOT 743, Greece's national standard, and the Library of Congress (ALA-LC) form; Ancient and Medieval Greek in the classical convention (φ → ph, η → ē, rough breathing → h) and in ALA-LC. A letter table shows every value.
Monotonic or polytonic. Breathings, accents and iota subscripts are read from the text.
Romanized
ELOT 743 (UN, BGN/PCGN)
Greece's national standard, approved by the UN for place names. Marks the stress with an acute.
Níkos Kazantzákis, Víos kai politeía tou Aléxi Zormpá
ALA-LC (Library of Congress), Modern
Library catalogs and English-language bibliographies.
Nikos Kazantzakēs, Vios kai politeia tou Alexē Zormpa
ALA-LC writes h for a rough breathing even when the text leaves it out, but the converter can only know that for words beginning with υ (or ρ in Ancient Greek). For other words in monotonic or capital-letter text, add the h yourself: Ελληνικό is Hellēniko.
Letter by letter
| Greek | Romanization | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Α α | a | |
| Β β | v | |
| Γ γ | g | |
| Δ δ | d | |
| Ε ε | e | |
| Ζ ζ | z | |
| Η η | i | |
| Θ θ | th | |
| Ι ι | i | |
| Κ κ | k | |
| Λ λ | l | |
| Μ μ | m | |
| Ν ν | n | |
| Ξ ξ | x | |
| Ο ο | o | |
| Π π | p | |
| Ρ ρ | r | |
| Σ σ ς | s | |
| Τ τ | t | |
| Υ υ | y | |
| Φ φ | f | |
| Χ χ | ch | |
| Ψ ψ | ps | |
| Ω ω | o | |
| γγ, γξ, γχ | ng, nx, nch | γ before γ, κ, ξ or χ is n (the gamma nasal) |
| γκ | gk | always gk |
| μπ | b / mp | b at the start and end of a word, mp inside it |
| ντ | nt | |
| αι, ει, οι | ai, ei, oi | |
| αυ, ευ, ηυ | av / af, ev / ef, iv / if | v before a vowel or β, γ, δ, ζ, λ, μ, ν, ρ; f before θ, κ, ξ, π, σ, τ, φ, χ, ψ and at the end of a word; ay, ey, iy when the first vowel is stressed or υ has a diaeresis |
| ου | ou | oy when ο is stressed or υ has a diaeresis |
How to Use the Greek to Latin Transliterator
- 1. Choose the kind of Greek. Modern and Ancient Greek are romanized differently — β is v in a modern name and b in an ancient text. The Library of Congress draws the line at 1453: anything written later counts as Modern.
- 2. Paste the text. Monotonic text, with its single accent, and polytonic text, with breathings, three accents and iota subscripts, both work — every mark is read.
- 3. Compare the results. Each card shows one system and where it is used. For Ancient Greek, choose how the iota subscript should be written.
- 4. Check the letter table. It lists each letter's value and the letter pairs that change — γκ, μπ, ντ, αυ and the rest.
Modern Greek: ELOT 743 or ALA-LC?
ELOT 743 is Greece's national standard, approved by the UN for geographical names in 1987 and used by the US and UK names boards (BGN/PCGN) since 1996. It writes Greek the way it sounds today: η and ι are both i, αυ and ευ become av/af and ev/ef, φ is f, and the stressed vowel keeps its accent. ALA-LC, the Library of Congress table, writes the letters rather than the sounds — η is ē, ω is ō, φ is ph — and drops the accents, so a catalog record can be read back into Greek spelling.
| Greek | ELOT 743 | ALA-LC |
|---|---|---|
| Αθήνα | Athína | Athēna |
| Ευαγγέλιο | Evangélio | Euangelio |
| Μπουμπουλίνα | Boumpoulína | Boumpoulina |
| Ντίνι | Ntíni | D̲ini |
| Καζαντζάκης | Kazantzákis | Kazantzakēs |
| Ναύπλιο | Náfplio | Nauplio |
Every value is the converter's output. At the start of a word, ALA-LC writes ντ as d̲ (an underlined d) and μπ as b.
Ancient Greek: The Classical Convention
English-language scholarship transliterates Ancient Greek so that Latin-derived spellings stay recognisable: φ is ph, χ is ch, θ is th, ψ is ps, η and ω carry a macron (ē, ō), and υ is y except in the diphthongs αυ, ευ, ηυ, ου and υι, where it is u. A rough breathing becomes h before its vowel or diphthong, and an initial ρ becomes rh. The SBL Handbook of Style sets out these rules for biblical and classical studies, and the Library of Congress table uses the same letters for texts written before 1454.
The opening words of Herodotus, Ἡροδότου Ἁλικαρνησσέος ἱστορίης ἀπόδεξις, come out as Hērodotou Halikarnēsseos historiēs apodexis: each rough breathing (on Ἡ, Ἁ and ἱ) is an h, and every η is ē.
The iota subscript
Some long vowels carry a small iota underneath — ᾳ, ῃ, ῳ, as in ἀνθρώπῳ ("to a person"). SBL and ALA-LC leave it out (anthrōpō); The Chicago Manual of Style writes it as an i on the line after the vowel (anthrōpōi). Choose one with the iota option and use it throughout your paper.
Greek Names and Titles in Citations
Reference lists romanize Greek author names and titles like any other non-Latin script, and library catalogs use ALA-LC — so ALA-LC is the safe choice when your style guide names no system. For a modern Greek author, use the spelling printed on the edition you cite; romanize a name yourself only when you work from the Greek, and then use one system for every name. Ancient authors are usually cited by their established English or Latin names (Herodotus, Plato), and the SBL Handbook prefers Greek script over transliteration when the readers are scholars. How to Cite a Source in Another Language covers the bracketed translation each style adds after a title.
What the converter can't know
In monotonic or all-capital text, ALA-LC still writes h where a word historically had a rough breathing — Ελληνικό is Hellēniko. The converter supplies it only where the spelling guarantees it: initial υ, and initial ρ in Ancient Greek. Check other words, or paste polytonic text.
Frequently Asked Questions
- How do you transliterate Greek letters into English?
- Most letters agree across systems: α a, γ g, δ d, ε e, ζ z, θ th, ι i, κ k, λ l, μ m, ν n, ξ x, ο o, π p, ρ r, σ s, τ t, χ ch, ψ ps. The systems differ on β (b or v), η (ē or i), υ (y, u, v or f), φ (ph or f) and ω (ō or o), and on letter pairs such as γγ (ng) and μπ (b or mp).
- What is ELOT 743?
- The Greek national romanization standard, devised by the Hellenic Organization for Standardization (ELOT). The UN approved it for geographical names in 1987, and BGN/PCGN, the US and UK names boards, adopted it in 1996. It follows modern pronunciation and marks the stressed syllable with an acute accent: Αθήνα is Athína.
- Why is Αθήνα Athína in one system and Athēna in another?
- ELOT 743 follows modern pronunciation, in which η sounds like i, and marks the stress. ALA-LC writes η as ē whatever it sounds like and drops the accents, so a reader can tell η from ι. Neither is the English name Athens, which is a translation rather than a transliteration.
- How do you transliterate the rough breathing?
- As h before the vowel or diphthong it marks: ὕμνος is hymnos and αἵρεσις is hairesis — the breathing is written on the second vowel of a diphthong, but the h goes before the whole diphthong. An initial ῥ is rh. The smooth breathing is not transliterated.
- Should I write ph or f for φ?
- Ph for Ancient Greek and in library cataloging (philosophia); f for Modern Greek names in ELOT 743, which follows today's pronunciation (Φιλοθέη is Filothéi). Follow the system your field or style guide uses, and keep it consistent across the paper.
- Does the converter handle polytonic Greek?
- Yes. Every breathing, accent, diaeresis and iota subscript is read: rough breathings become h, a diaeresis keeps two vowels apart (ἀΰπνους is aypnous, not aupnous), and the iota subscript follows the option you choose. ELOT 743 turns the older grave and circumflex accents into acute ones, as its notes require.