Copy any Greek letter from the panel above. It lists the twenty-four letters in alphabetical order, uppercase first and then lowercase, with word-final sigma at the end. Each one is an ordinary Unicode character, so it survives copy and paste into Word, Google Docs, spreadsheets, and source code.
Add a Greek keyboard layout if you write Greek continuously. For a few letters inside English text, use Word's Symbol dialog, Word's Alt-X conversion, a Math AutoCorrect command such as \alpha, the Mac Character Viewer, or the Google Docs special-character picker.
Identify the Greek letters and their code points
Unicode places the alphabet in the Greek and Coptic block, which runs from U+0370 to U+03FF.
The panel above lists all twenty-four letters in both cases with their exact code points, so you can copy any letter directly rather than retyping its name.
The capitals run from Α at U+0391 to Ω at U+03A9 with one gap, because U+03A2 is left unassigned and Greek has no separate capital form of final sigma. The lowercase letters run from α at U+03B1 to ω at U+03C9, with final sigma ς at U+03C2, immediately before σ at U+03C3.
Several letters have Latin twins that look identical in most fonts and are different data. Greek Α is U+0391 and Latin A is U+0041, Β is U+0392 and B is U+0042, Ο is U+039F and O is U+004F, Ρ is U+03A1 and P is U+0050, and Χ is U+03A7 and X is U+0058. Search, sorting, spell check, and compilers treat the two sets as unrelated characters.
Technical symbols add a second layer of lookalikes. The micro sign µ is U+00B5, not the letter μ at U+03BC, and the ohm sign Ω is U+2126, not the letter Ω at U+03A9.
Unicode cross-references Σ at U+03A3 with the summation operator ∑ at U+2211, and it lists variant letterforms such as ϑ at U+03D1 and ϖ at U+03D6 that are mathematical styling variants rather than extra letters. Unicode also spells the eleventh letter LAMDA, so U+039B is GREEK CAPITAL LETTER LAMDA.
Individual letters that appear constantly in math and science have dedicated guides, including the pi symbol and the delta symbol.
Insert Greek letters in Microsoft Word
For the menu route, choose Insert, Symbol, and More Symbols, then scroll the list to the letter. Microsoft notes that you might have to change the font or the subset to locate a character, and these letters sit in the Greek and Coptic subset. The dialog also carries a Character code box and a from list, and entering 03B1 with from set to Unicode (hex) selects α.
Word also converts a hexadecimal value in place. Type the code where the letter belongs and press Alt-X, using 03C0 for π, 0394 for Δ, 03A9 for Ω, or 03BC for μ.
Microsoft adds one caution. If the code sits immediately after another character, select just the code before pressing Alt-X. Microsoft documents the numeric-keypad route for ASCII characters and does not document an Alt code for the Greek letters, so use Alt-X or the Symbol dialog rather than guessing a numeric-pad sequence.
Inside an equation, Math AutoCorrect turns a backslash command into a letter as you type. Microsoft documents \alpha for α, \pi for π, \Gamma for Γ, and \Omega for Ω among a longer list, and the capitalization of the command sets the case of the letter. Microsoft states that these commands are not supported in the web apps and that Word equation settings must use Unicode conversion mode rather than LaTeX mode.
Add a Greek keyboard in Windows
Install the layout for sustained Greek typing. In Windows 11, open Settings, Time & language, and Language & region, select the ellipses next to the display language, choose Language options, and select Add a keyboard under Keyboards. The Windows 10 path is Settings, Time & language, Language, the display language, then Options.
Switch layouts by holding the Windows logo key and selecting the Spacebar, which cycles through the installed layouts, or by selecting the input language icon in the system tray. Microsoft notes that changing the Windows display language can change the keyboard layout along with it.
Insert Greek letters on a Mac
Apple's picker route is the Character Viewer. Press the Fn or Globe key with E, or choose Edit and then Emoji & Symbols, then enter a word or phrase in the search field. Click a character to add it to your text, or double-click it when the Character Viewer is expanded.
To type Greek directly, add an input source. Open System Settings, click Keyboard in the sidebar, go to Text Input and click Edit, click the Add button, search for the language, and click Add. Switch sources from the Input menu, or press Control-Space bar for the last input source you used and Control-Option-Space bar for the next one.
Insert Greek letters in Google Docs or Slides
At the top, click Insert, then Symbols, then Special characters. Find the letter by picking from the categories, by entering its Unicode value, or by writing the character in the box on the right. Google documents this flow for Docs and Slides; it does not describe the same picker for Sheets.
Write Greek letters in HTML
A UTF-8 document can contain Greek letters directly. HTML also defines named references, including α for U+03B1, θ for U+03B8, μ for U+03BC, π for U+03C0, and ω for U+03C9, with capitalized names such as Γ, Δ, and Ω for the capitals. Final sigma has a name of its own, ς for U+03C2. Numeric references cover every letter, so α and α both resolve to α.
Fix the wrong Greek output
- 1.Confirm the character is the Greek letter and not its Latin twin, such as Α at U+0391 against A at U+0041.
- 2.Use ς at U+03C2 only at the end of a word and σ at U+03C3 everywhere else.
- 3.Check the active input source in the Windows system tray or the Mac Input menu before blaming the keys.
- 4.Use Word's Alt-X conversion or the Symbol dialog when no Greek layout is installed, rather than an invented Alt code.
- 5.Set Word's equation settings to Unicode conversion mode if a command such as
\pistays as plain text. - 6.Change to a font that carries the Greek and Coptic subset if the letters render as empty boxes.
Common questions
Why does sigma have two lowercase forms?
Greek writes sigma as ς at the end of a word and as σ everywhere else. Unicode encodes them separately at U+03C2 and U+03C3, and both correspond to the capital Σ at U+03A3.
Can I use a Latin letter that looks Greek?
No. Latin A at U+0041 and Greek Α at U+0391 are different characters even when a font draws them the same way. Copy the Greek letter when the text calls for Greek.
Is the micro sign the same as the letter mu?
No. The micro sign is U+00B5 and Greek small letter mu is U+03BC. The Symbol dialog, Alt-X, and the Character Viewer can each produce the one you need.
Official references
- Unicode Greek and Coptic chart
- Unicode Greek and Coptic names list
- Microsoft guide to inserting a symbol in Word
- Microsoft guide to ASCII and Unicode character codes in Word
- Microsoft guide to Math AutoCorrect commands and symbols
- Microsoft guide to Windows input and display language settings
- Apple guide to Character Viewer
- Apple guide to typing in another language
- Google Docs special-character guide
- HTML named character references
