Φ φ — fi
«fi» is a consonant of Greek, the “Greek alphabet” script, read as “f as in "fun"”. An ordinary f. For example, in the word “φίλος” — friend. The Greek alphabet has 37 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. It appears, for example, in the word “καφές” — coffee.
In short
| Character | Φ φ |
| Name | fi |
| Sound | f as in "fun" |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 21st of 37: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are υ and χ, appears in 476 words of this site.
How it sounds
An ordinary f
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.
- φίλοςfílosfriend
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 «fi» it is “f as in "fun"”, as in the word “φίλος”), 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 φ read?
As “f as in "fun"” — it is a consonant of the “Greek alphabet” script. An ordinary f. For example, in the word “φίλος” — friend.
What is the letter φ called?
Fi. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Greek script: it is called “fi” and reads as “f as in "fun"”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.