Το «α» είναι φωνήεν.

Because Greek often uses the definite article when a letter is treated like a noun.

So το α means the letter a.

Here, το is the neuter singular definite article. Letter names in Greek are commonly treated as neuter, so you get:

• το α
• το β
• το γ

This is different from English, where we usually just say A is a vowel without an article.

Those are Greek quotation marks, often used when mentioning a word, letter, or expression directly.

So «α» means you are talking about the symbol/letter itself, not using it as part of another word.

In English, we would usually write:

• "a"

In Greek, the standard quotation marks are:

• « »

So Το «α» είναι φωνήεν is the natural way to write The letter a is a vowel.

είναι means is.

It is the 3rd person singular form of the verb είμαι = to be.

Since the subject is singular — το «α» — Greek uses είναι:

• Το «α» είναι φωνήεν. = The letter a is a vowel.

Conveniently, είναι is also used for they are in Modern Greek, so context tells you whether it means is or are.

Because after είναι, Greek often leaves out the article when giving a classification.

So:

• Το «α» είναι φωνήεν. = A is a vowel. / The letter a is a vowel.

This is like saying what something is in general.

If you added an article, it would usually change the nuance and sound less like a simple classification.

φωνήεν means vowel.

It is a neuter noun. In this sentence, it works as a predicate noun after είναι.

So the structure is:

• Το «α» = the letter a
• είναι = is
• φωνήεν = vowel

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• Το = to
• α = a
• είναι = EE-ne
• φωνήεν = fo-NEE-en

A more careful approximation:

• Το «α» είναι φωνήεν
• to a ˈine foˈni.en

A few notes:

• είναι is stressed on the first syllable: EI-
• φωνήεν is stressed on -νή-

Greek uses accent marks to show which syllable is stressed.

So:

• είναι is stressed on the first syllable
• φωνήεν is stressed on the second syllable

This helps both pronunciation and reading. Accent marks are a normal part of Modern Greek spelling.

Because the letter is being treated as a noun, and in Greek the names of letters are generally used as neuter.

That is why you say:

• το α
• not ο α
• not η α

So the grammar agrees with the noun’s gender: το + neuter noun/reference.

Yes, absolutely.

That means Alpha is a vowel or more naturally The letter alpha is a vowel.

There is a small difference in style:

• Το «α» είναι φωνήεν focuses on the written symbol a
• Το άλφα είναι φωνήεν uses the name of the letter

Both are correct.

Because Greek often uses the lowercase form when referring to a letter in general.

If you wanted to talk specifically about the capital letter, you could write:

• Το «Α» είναι κεφαλαίο γράμμα. = A is a capital letter.

So lowercase here is just the normal, neutral way to mention the letter.

The sentence order here is the most neutral and straightforward:

• Το «α» είναι φωνήεν.

Greek word order is more flexible than English, so other orders are possible for emphasis, but this version is the standard one for learners.

For example, you might also hear:

• Φωνήεν είναι το «α».

That would sound more emphatic, like A is a vowel with focus on vowel.

For basic use, stick with:

• Το «α» είναι φωνήεν.