San (letter) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Greek alphabet
Αα	Alpha	Νν	Nu
Ββ	Beta	Ξξ	Xi
Γγ	Gamma	Οο	Omicron
Δδ	Delta	Ππ	Pi
Εε	Epsilon	Ρρ	Rho
Ζζ	Zeta	Σσ	Sigma
Ηη	Eta	Ττ	Tau
Θθ	Theta	Υυ	Upsilon
Ιι	Iota	Φφ	Phi
Κκ	Kappa	Χχ	Chi
Λλ	Lambda	Ψψ	Psi
Μμ	Mu	Ωω	Omega
Other letters
Ϝϝ	Digamma	Ϟϟ	Koppa
Ϛϛ	Stigma	Ϡϡ	Sampi
Ͱͱ	Heta	Ϸϸ	Sho
Ϻϻ	San

San (written as Ϻ for uppercase and ϻ for lowercase) was an interesting and very old letter that was once part of the Greek alphabet. It was used in some Greek cities long before the alphabet became the standard form we know today.

Imagine the letter Mu (M) – San looked a lot like that! But even though it looked like an 'M', it actually made an 'S' sound, just like the letter 'S' in English.

The Story of San

San was used in certain parts of ancient Greece, especially in areas like Arcadia and Cyprus. These places had their own unique ways of writing and speaking.

Why San Disappeared

Around the 6th century BC (that's about 2,600 years ago!), people in Greece started to use a more unified alphabet. This meant that some letters, like San, were no longer needed. The letter Sigma (Σ), which also makes an 'S' sound, became the main letter for that sound across all of Greece. So, San slowly faded away and was replaced by Sigma.

Even though San is no longer used, it's a cool reminder of how languages and alphabets change over time!

Images for kids

• 

  The letter San as it appears in four common computer fonts: Times New Roman, Lucida Grande, Arial, and Helvetica.