Δ δ — dhelta
«dhelta» is a consonant of Greek, the “Greek alphabet” script, read as “th as in "this"”. A voiced th: the tongue between the teeth, as in English "this". For example, in the word “δέκα” — ten. The Greek alphabet has 37 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. This is not the d of "door" — Greek writes that sound with the pair ντ. Δέκα sounds closer to "theka" than to "deka". It appears, for example, in the word “Δεν καταλαβαίνω” — I don't understand.
In short
| Character | Δ δ |
| Name | dhelta |
| Sound | th as in "this" |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 4th of 37: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are γ and ε, appears in 686 words of this site.
How it sounds
A voiced th: the tongue between the teeth, as in English "this"
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- δέκαdékaten
The character in the “the remaining consonants” group
Six letters with sounds of their own. Two of them are dental — δ and θ, the tongue between the teeth; two more pack two sounds into one sign: ξ is ks, ψ is ps.
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «dhelta» it is “th as in "this"”, as in the word “δέκα”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 37 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Greek character δ read?
As “th as in "this"” — it is a consonant of the “Greek alphabet” script. A voiced th: the tongue between the teeth, as in English "this". For example, in the word “δέκα” — ten.
What is the letter δ called?
Dhelta. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Greek script: it is called “dhelta” and reads as “th as in "this"”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.
What can δ be confused with?
This is not the d of "door" — Greek writes that sound with the pair ντ. Δέκα sounds closer to "theka" than to "deka". Similar characters are best studied side by side and deliberately compared: learned on different days, they stay separate and get mixed up at their first meeting inside a word.