LingoflyΓ γ — gama
«gama» is a consonant of the Greek script, read as “a throaty g, or y before e and i”. A voiced throaty g, deeper than the g of "go"; before e and i it softens almost into a y. For example, in the word “γλώσσα” (glósa) — language. The Greek alphabet has 24 letters in total, and this character can be played right here. One letter, two readings depending on the neighbor: γάλα (gála) comes out "ghala" with a throaty g, γεια (ya) comes out "ya".
In short
| Character | Γ γ |
| Name | gama |
| Sound | a throaty g, or y before e and i |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 3rd of 37: the order here is not alphabetical but from familiar to unfamiliar, its neighbours in the course are β and δ, appears in 695 words of this site.
How to type Γ γ
- On a phone: add the Greek keyboard in the keyboard settings (Gboard on Android; Keyboards in the iPhone settings).
- In Word on Windows: type U+03B3 and press Alt+X right after it — the code turns into the character.
- On a Mac: switch to the Unicode Hex Input source, hold Option and type 03B3.
- Unicode code points: γ — U+03B3, Γ — U+0393. With them, the characters can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
A voiced throaty g, deeper than the g of "go"; before e and i it softens almost into a y
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.
The character in the “a familiar look — a different sound” group
The main difficulty of Greek. The letter is recognized at first glance but sounds different: β is a v, η and υ are ee. ω is an o, χ is a kh. A word read the way it looks, math-class style, a native speaker will not recognize.
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 «gama» it is “a throaty g, or y before e and i”, as in the word “γλώσσα” (glósa)), 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 — 24 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 γ read?
As “a throaty g, or y before e and i” — it is a consonant of the Greek script. A voiced throaty g, deeper than the g of "go"; before e and i it softens almost into a y. For example, in the word “γλώσσα” (glósa) — language.
What is the letter γ called?
Gama. A character's name and its sound are different things in the Greek script: it is called “gama” and reads as “a throaty g, or y before e and i”. Learn the second one: the name only helps when the alphabet is recited aloud.