What this calculator does
Greek gematria, more precisely called isopsephy, assigns a numeric value to each letter of the Greek alphabet and sums them to give a word or phrase a total. It is the Greek counterpart to Hebrew gematria, but it runs on its own alphabet and its own traditional value assignments, since Greek letters and Hebrew letters are entirely different symbols with different numeral histories.
The classical system runs alpha through omega across the same 24 letters used in modern Greek, skipping the archaic letters (digamma, koppa and sampi) that ancient Greek numerals used to fill in a few gaps such as 6, 90 and 900. This calculator uses the standard 24-letter assignment, so type Greek letters directly (upper or lower case, with or without accents) to get a value.
The formula
Each Greek letter is converted to its traditional numeral value (alpha = 1, beta = 2, gamma = 3, and so on up through omega = 800) and the values are summed across every letter in the text. Accents are ignored and non-Greek characters are stripped out before the sum runs.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Isopsephy | The Greek practice of computing a numeric value for a word from the sum of its letters, using each letter's traditional numeral value. |
| Digit-reduced value | The total repeatedly summed down to a single digit (9 or below), a common secondary figure some numerology traditions look at. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Greek word or phrase | Type a Greek word or phrase using the Greek alphabet, for example αγάπη (agape, love) or ΛΟΓΟΣ (logos, word). |
When to use it
Comparing two words or names
Isopsephy is often used to compare two Greek words or phrases that share the same total, a practice going back to antiquity, where equal sums were taken to link the meanings of otherwise unrelated words.
Studying Biblical or classical Greek texts
Isopsephy shows up in the study of Koine Greek texts, including some well known ancient discussions of numeric wordplay, since Greek letters doubled as numerals in everyday use.
Working through the New Testament in the original Greek
Readers working with Greek source texts sometimes check the isopsephy value of key words or names as part of closer textual study.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
What is the isopsephy value of some common Greek words?
A few short Greek words run through the calculator, to show how the letter values combine.
Questions
Is Greek gematria the same as Hebrew gematria?
No. They are separate traditions on separate alphabets. Greek isopsephy assigns values to the 24 letters of the Greek alphabet, while Hebrew gematria uses the Hebrew alphabet's own values. A Greek and a Hebrew word are not directly comparable through gematria without translation and separate calculation in each system.
What happened to digamma, koppa and sampi?
Those three archaic letters filled the numeral slots 6, 90 and 900 in the full ancient Greek numeral system, but they dropped out of the everyday alphabet. This calculator uses the standard 24-letter alphabet, so zeta takes the value 7 rather than digamma taking 6, matching how isopsephy is normally taught and applied today.
Does capitalisation or accents change the value?
No. The calculator ignores case and strips accent marks before summing, since accents are a pronunciation guide rather than a different letter in this system.
Can I type Greek letters if my keyboard does not have them?
You will need a way to enter Greek characters, such as an on-screen Greek keyboard, a Greek input method, or copying and pasting the text from another source.
For English, Pythagorean or Hebrew letter-value systems instead, see the Gematria Calculator.