SpellingIQ

Greek spelling in English

What each Greek convention writes, with examples, and which ones give a word away on sight.

Where these spellings come from

Greek words reached English through Latin, and Latin wrote Greek letters its own way: ph for phi, ch for chi, y for upsilon, rh for rho with its breathing, ps and pn for letter pairs English cannot begin a word with. The spelling records the Greek letter, not the English sound.

Spellings to recognize on sight

Each of these is a Greek way of writing a sound, and each can be spotted in a word by looking at it. They are also where a speller working by ear writes the plain letters instead.

  • ph for the f sound · phenomenon, metaphor
  • ch for the k sound · chasm, chronicle
  • y for the i sound between consonants · cylinder, syllogism
  • rh for the r sound · rhetoric, rhinoceros
  • silent p before s · psalm, psychology
  • silent p before n · pneumonia, pneumatic
  • silent p before t · pterodactyl, ptomaine
  • silent m before n · mnemonic
  • x for the z sound at the start · xylophone, xenophobia
  • ae for the e sound · archaeology, daemon

Spellings shared with other layers

These are Greek habits too, but the same letters turn up in words from other layers or read more than one way, so they are a hint rather than a sign.

  • oe for the e sound · phoenix, amoeba

Background

How this layer fits beside the others, and where the boundaries between them blur, is on where English spelling comes from.

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Other origins

All spelling traps and origins

References