Introductory Ancient Greek Language/Lesson 2

Breathing Marks Explained

Every Greek word that begins with a vowel will have something called a breathing mark. These look like apostrophes and can be either rough or smooth.

Italic text If the breathing mark is smooth (ἀ,ἐ,ὀ, etc...) then it is shaped exactly like an apostrophe and comes either slightly before the vowel or directly above.

If the breathing is rough then it is an apostrophe curved in the opposite direction.

So what does this all mean? If a breathing is rough then the word is pronounced as if there were an /h/ in front of it.

Thus, the Greek word for 'sleep' ὕπνος will be pronounced as [hupnos].

You may notice the second mark after the breathing mark. That's an accent mark just ignore it for now.