How to Type Greek Letters

How to type Greek letters: pick a method by how often you type

Copying a single letter takes a few seconds. If you need one letter once, use the copy grid. If you type them every day, as a student or scientist might, a Greek keyboard or an in-app shortcut will save time. The sections below are ordered by platform. Where a step comes from a vendor’s support page, the page is linked in the sources, and where we could not confirm a step in the vendor documentation we say so. Menu names shift between versions, so use the wording as a guide.

How do I type Greek letters on Windows?

Add a Greek keyboard in Settings, or type a Unicode code and press Alt+X in Word. Windows also has a short list of Alt codes and the Character Map.

Add a Greek keyboard

Open Settings, then Time and language, then Language and region, and add Greek as a language with its keyboard. Switch between layouts with the language button in the taskbar or with the Windows key and Space. The Greek layout places each letter near the Latin key with a similar sound (A for alpha, B for beta), with a few exceptions. This is the general Windows procedure; we have not linked a vendor page for the exact menu path.

Use Alt codes

Windows can type a short list of Greek characters through the old DOS code page 437, by holding Alt and typing a number on the numeric keypad. This is documented by Microsoft for ASCII characters in Word; the Greek values below come from the code page 437 table, and we have not tested them on a Windows machine:

Only these exist, so Alt codes cover a fraction of the alphabet; the full list of Alt codes is in the Alt codes tool. Microsoft notes you must use the numeric keypad, not the number row, which rules out most laptops unless they have an embedded keypad with Num Lock.

Use Alt+X in Word

Type the Unicode code, such as 03B1, and press Alt+X. Word replaces it with the character, here α. Microsoft documents this, including the “U+” prefix when the code could be confused with preceding digits. It also notes that some Office apps, PowerPoint among them, do not convert codes this way.

Use Character Map

Windows includes Character Map (search for “character map”). Choose a font, set the character set to Unicode, group by Unicode subrange “Greek and Coptic”, then select, copy and paste.

How do I type Greek letters on a Mac?

Add the Greek keyboard in System Settings, or use the Character Viewer to search for the letter. A few Option-key shortcuts also work on a US layout.

Add the Greek keyboard

Open System Settings, then Keyboard, then Text Input, and add Greek under Input Sources; the Input menu in the menu bar switches layouts. Apple’s keyboard help describes the Input menu and where Text Input lives.

Use the Character Viewer

Press Control, Command and Space (or choose Edit, then Emoji and Symbols in most apps), then search for “alpha” or browse Greek in the sidebar. We have not tested every macOS version, so the sidebar list may differ.

Use Option-key shortcuts

On a US layout, a few Option shortcuts produce Greek or Greek-like characters. These come from the classic Mac Roman set: Option+P gives π, Option+Z gives Ω, Option+M gives µ (the micro sign, not Greek mu), Option+J gives ∆ (INCREMENT, not Greek delta), and Option+W gives ∑ (summation, not Greek Σ). Several are lookalikes, which matters if you need real Greek letters. Note that Option+G is ©, not γ. Layouts differ by country.

How do I type Greek letters on an iPhone or iPad?

Add a Greek keyboard in Settings, then General, then Keyboard, then Keyboards, then Add New Keyboard, and choose Greek. Apple’s guide to adding and switching keyboards gives the general process. Switch with the globe key on the keyboard. A Text Replacement (such as “alpha” to α) in the same Keyboard settings is a quick way to type one letter without switching layouts.

How do I type Greek letters on Android?

Add Greek as a language in your keyboard app. Gboard and most Android keyboards let you add a language: in Gboard, go to Settings, then Languages, then Add keyboard, and choose Greek. Switch with the globe key or by long-pressing the space bar. We could not confirm every manufacturer’s menu names, so the path may differ on your phone.

How do I type Greek letters in Word, Excel and Google Docs?

Each app has its own method, and none needs a special font.

Word

Insert, then Symbol, then More Symbols; pick a normal text font, set Subset to “Greek and Coptic”, and insert. Avoid the Symbol font if you want real Greek text (see the FAQ). Alt+X works as described above. In an equation (Alt and =), type \alpha and a space to get α, which is Word’s linear-format LaTeX-style input.

Excel

=UNICHAR(945) returns α, because 945 is the decimal form of U+03B1. Add 1 for beta (946) and so on. In the capitals, sigma (931) skips 930, because U+03A2 is unassigned; the lowercase run has no gap, since final ς is 962.

Google Docs

Choose Insert, then Special characters, and search for “alpha” or browse the Greek category. In Docs equations, typing \alpha and a space works as in Word.

PowerPoint and design apps

In PowerPoint, Alt+X does not work, so use Insert, then Symbol, or copy the letter from this site. In Canva or Photoshop, paste Greek letters in a font that includes Greek glyphs; if a letter shows as a box, the font lacks it.

Can I type Greek letters in code and typesetting?

Yes. LaTeX uses commands such as \alpha in math mode, and HTML supports α or α. The HTML and Unicode lists are on the Greek alphabet Unicode page, and the LaTeX commands, variants and package notes are on LaTeX Greek letters.

Sources and what we have not verified

How to type Greek letters differs by system and app version, so the list below separates what a vendor documents from what we could not confirm.

• Microsoft Support, Insert ASCII or Unicode Latin-based symbols and characters (Alt codes need the numeric keypad; Alt+X; Character Map)
• Microsoft Support, UNICHAR function
• Apple Support, Character Viewer and input sources on Mac
• Apple Support, Use multiple keyboards on iPhone
• Code page 437 and Mac Roman character values were checked with Python’s cp437 and mac_roman codecs, not on live Windows and Mac systems.
• The Android, Google Docs and Windows Settings menu paths, the Word and Docs equation shortcuts, and the Mac Option-key list are standard but we did not fetch a vendor page for them, so treat them as unverified wording and check on your own device.