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Omicron

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Click on a Greek letter or word to hear it pronounced.

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inscription omicron

Ο ο

Short back mid vowel

Like o in German Gott

βίος

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οι

Diphthong

Like the vowel in English boy or coin

λόγοι

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ου

Digraph representing (during most of the classical period) a long close back vowel [u] (= oo)

Like English oo in pool or French ou in rouge

λόγου

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Note on ου: In classical Attic this was a single sound (monophthong) written with two letters (digraph). In some words this long vowel derived from a true diphthong, always spelled ΟΥ in the old Attic alphabet (genuine diphthong). In some other words this vowel resulted from the process of contraction (as in the genitive ending -ους from -εος) or compensatory lengthening (as in the accusative ending -ους from *-ονς), and was spelled Ο in the old Attic alphabet (spurious diphthong). The distinction between spurious and genuine is important for interpreting inscriptions and for understanding some contracts in Attic inflections.