Hebrew alphabet 13446 225728090 2008-07-15T02:59:51Z 24.199.91.37 /* Non-native sounds */ {{Infobox WS |name=Hebrew alphabet |languages=[[Hebrew language]] [[Jewish language]] |time=1000 BCE to the present |type=[[Abjad]] |typedesc=(sometimes used as an [[alphabet]]) |languages=[[Hebrew language|Hebrew]], [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[Ladino language|Ladino]], and [[Judeo-Arabic languages|Judeo-Arabic]] (see [[Jewish languages]]) |fam2=[[Ashuri alphabet]] |fam3=[[Proto-Canaanite alphabet]] |fam4=[[Phoenician alphabet]] |fam5=[[Rashi alphabet]] |fam6=[[Aramaic alphabet]] |sisters=[[Nabataean alphabet|Nabataean]]<br />[[Syriac alphabet|Syriac]]<br />[[Palmyrenean alphabet|Palmyrenean]]<br />[[Mandaic alphabet|Mandaic]]<br />[[Brāhmī script|Brāhmī]]<br />[[Pahlavi script|Pahlavi]]<br />[[Sogdian alphabet|Sogdian]] |unicode=U+0590 to U+05FF, <br /> U+FB1D to U+FB40 |iso15924=Hebr }} {{alphabet}} {{SpecialCharsNote}} {{dablink|This article is mainly about Hebrew letters. For Hebrew diacritical marks, see [[niqqud]] (for the vowel points) and [[cantillation]].}} The '''Hebrew alphabet''' ({{lang-he-n|אָלֶף-בֵּית עִבְרִי}} <ref>"Aleph-bet" is commonly written in Israeli Hebrew without the ''maqaph'' (מקף, hyphen), אלפבית עברי, as opposed to with the hyphen, אלף־בית עברי</ref>, ''alephbet ’ivri'') consists of 22 letters used for writing the [[Hebrew language]]. Five of these letters have a different form when appearing as the last letter in a word. The Hebrew letters are also used in mildly adapted forms for writing several languages of the Jewish diaspora, most famously [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], [[Ladino language|Ladino]], and [[Judeo-Arabic languages|Judeo-Arabic]] (for a full and detailed list, see [[Jewish languages]]). Hebrew is written from [[Semitic language|right to left]]. The Hebrew word for "[[alphabet]]" is אלפבית (''alephbet''), named after the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The Hebrew alphabet is an [[abjad]], having letters for [[consonant]]s, but means were later devised to indicate vowels by separate vowel points or ''[[niqqud]]''. In rabbinic Hebrew, the consonant letters אהוי are used as ''[[Mater lectionis|matres lectionis]]'' to represent vowels. The number of letters in the Hebrew alphabet, their order, their names, and their phonetic values are virtually identical to those of the [[Aramaic alphabet]], as both [[Hebrews]] and [[Arameans]] borrowed the [[Phoenician alphabet]] for their uses during the end of the [[2nd millennium BC|2nd millennium BCE]]. According to contemporary scholars <ref>{{cite book|year=1993 |title = A History of the Hebrew Language |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge, England |isbn=0-521-55634-1}}</ref>, the modern ''script'' used for writing Hebrew (usually called the '''Jewish script''' by scholars, and also traditionally known as the '''square script''', '''block script''', or '''Assyrian script''' — not to be confused with the Eastern variant of the [[Syriac alphabet]]) evolved during the [[3rd century BC|3rd century BCE]] from the [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic script]], which was used by [[Jew]]s for writing Hebrew since the [[6th century BC|6th century BCE]]. Prior to that, Hebrew was written using the [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|old '''Hebrew script''']], which evolved during the [[10th century BC|10th century BCE]] from the Phoenician script; the [[Samaritan]]s still write Hebrew in a variant of this script for religious works (see [[Samaritan alphabet]]). For other opinions, see below. ==History== {{Main|History of the Hebrew alphabet}} [[Image:Aleppo codex.jpg|300px|left|thumb|[[Aleppo Codex]]: 10th century CE [[Hebrew Bible]] with [[Masoretic]] pointing]] According to contemporary scholars, the original Hebrew script developed alongside others in the region during the course of the late second and first millennia BCE; it is closely related to the [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician script]], which itself probably gave rise to the use of alphabetic writing in [[Greece]] ([[Greek alphabet|Greek]]). It is sometimes claimed that around the [[10th century BC|10th century BCE]] <ref name=10th>[http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2006/03/17/news/local/archaelogyfind0317. 10th century BCE script]</ref> {{Verify source|date=January 2008}} a distinct Hebrew variant, the original "Hebrew script", emerged, which was widely used in the ancient kingdoms of [[Kingdom of Israel|Israel]] and [[Kingdom of Judah|Judah]] until they fell in the [[8th century BC|8th]] and [[6th century BC|6th]] centuries BCE, respectively. It is not straightforward, however, to distinguish [[Israelite]]/[[Judahite]] scripts from others which were in use in the immediate area, most notably by the [[Moabites]] and [[Ammon]]ites. Following the [[Babylonian captivity of Judah|Babylonian exile]], [[Jew]]s gradually stopped using the Hebrew script, and instead adopted the [[Aramaic script]] (another offshoot of the same family of scripts). This script, used for writing Hebrew, later evolved into the Jewish, or "square" script, that is still used today. Closely related scripts were in use all over the Middle East for several hundred years, but following the rise of [[Christianity]] (and later, the rise of [[Islam]]), they gave way to the [[Roman alphabet|Roman]] and [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]] alphabets, respectively. The Hebrew alphabet was later adapted in order to write down the languages of the [[Jewish diaspora]] ([[Karaim language|Karaim]], [[Judeo-Arabic language|Judæo-Arabic]], [[Ladino language|Ladino]], [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]], etc.). The Hebrew alphabet was retained as the alphabet used for writing down the [[Hebrew language]] during its rebirth in the 18th to 19th century. ==Letter table== The Hebrew alphabet consists of the following letters, five of which have a different form at the ends of words, known as the final form. These are shown in the table below the normal form. {| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable" |- !'''[[Aleph]]'''||'''[[Bet (letter)|Bet/Vet]]'''||'''[[Gimel]]'''||'''[[Dalet]]'''||'''[[He (letter)|He]]'''||'''[[Waw (letter)|Vav]]'''||'''[[Zayin]]'''||'''[[Heth|Chet]]'''||'''[[Teth|Tet]]'''||'''[[Yodh|Yud]]'''||'''[[Kaph|Kaph/Khaph]]''' |- | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David, SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|א | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ב | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ג | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ד | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ה | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ו | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ז | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ח | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ט | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|י | style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|כ |- |style="font-size:300%; font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman" height=40 valign=top|ך |- !'''[[Lamedh|Lamed]]'''||'''[[Mem]]'''||'''[[Nun (letter)|Nun]]'''||'''[[Samekh]]'''||'''[[Ayin]]'''||'''[[Pe (letter)|Pei/Fei]]'''||'''[[Tsade|Tsadi]]'''||'''[[Qoph|Quph]]'''||'''[[Resh|Reish]]'''||'''[[Shin (letter)|Shin/Sin]]'''||'''[[Taw|Tav]]''' |- | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ל | style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|מ | style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|נ | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ס | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ע | style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|פ | style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|צ | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ק | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ר | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ש | rowspan="2" align="center"; style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ת |- | style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ם | style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ן |style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ף |style="font-family:David,SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ץ |} ===Description=== Both the old Hebrew script and the modern Hebrew script have only one [[Case (orthography)|case]], but some letters have special [[final form]]s, called '''sofit''' ([[Hebrew language|Heb.]] סופית, meaning in this case "final" or "ending") form, used only at the end of a word, somewhat as in the [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]] and [[Mandaic alphabet]]s.<ref>The Arabic letters have, ''in principle (as six of the primary letters can have only two variants)'', four forms, according to their place in the word. The same goes with the Mandaic ones, except for three of the 22 letters, which have only one form. For more information, see [[Arabic alphabet]] and [[Mandaic alphabet]].</ref> As can be seen in the tables given here, only five letters have a ''sofit'' form: ך → כ (''kaph ''and'' khaph''), ם → מ (''mem''), ן → נ (''nun''), ף → פ (''pe ''and ''phe''), ץ → צ (''tsadi ''or'' tsade'').<ref>'''כ״ף''', '''בי״ת''' and '''פ״א''' can only be read ''b'', ''k'' and ''p'', respectively, at the beginning of a word, while they will have the sole value of ''v'', ''kh'' and ''ph'' in a ''sofit'' (final) position. In medial positions, both pronunciations are possible, but a ''[[dagesh]]'' may be inserted (in dictionaries or learning books) to know which pronunciation applies: '''&#64305;''' = ''b'' and '''ב''' = ''v'', '''&#64315;''' = ''k'' and '''כ''' = ''kh'', '''&#64324;''' =''p'' and '''פ''' = ''ph''.</ref> The Hebrew alphabet is an [[abjad]]: [[vowel]]s are normally not indicated. Where they are, it is because a weak [[consonant]] such as {{hebrew|א}} ''aleph'', {{hebrew|ה}} ''hey'', {{hebrew|ו}} ''vav'', or {{hebrew|י}} ''yod'' has combined with a previous vowel and become silent, or by imitation of such cases in the spelling of other forms. When used to write [[Yiddish]], the Hebrew writing system uses consonants to indicate all the vowels (see [[Yiddish orthography]]), except where Hebrew words are written in Yiddish. To preserve the proper vowel sounds, scholars developed several different sets of vocalisation and diacritical symbols called ''[[niqqud]]'' ({{hebrew|ניקוד}}, literally "applying points"). One of these, the [[Tiberian vocalization|Tiberian system]], eventually prevailed. [[Aaron ben Moses ben Asher]], and his family for several generations, are credited for refining and maintaining the system. These points are normally used only for special purposes, such as [[Bible|Biblical]] books intended for study, in [[poetry]] or when teaching the language to children. The Tiberian system also includes a set of [[cantillation]] marks used to indicate how scriptural passages should be chanted, used in synagogue recitations of scripture (although these marks do not appear in the scrolls), called "trope". In everyday writing of modern Hebrew, niqqud are absent; however, patterns of how words are derived from Hebrew roots (called shoreshim, or [[triliteral root]]s) allow Hebrw speakers to determine the vowel-structure of a given word from its consonants based on the word's context and part of speech. Hebrew letters may also be used as [[number]]s; see the entry on [[Hebrew numerals]]. This use of letters as numbers is common in [[Kabbalah]] ([[Judaism|Jewish]] [[mysticism]]) in a practice known as [[gematria]], as well as in the [[hebrew calendar]]. ==Names, scripts, values, and transliteration of the letters== {{Further|[[Romanization of Hebrew]], [[Hebrew numerals]], [[Cursive Hebrew]], [[Rashi script]]}} The following table is a breakdown of each letter in the Hebrew alphabet, showing the letter, its name, its numerical value, and its [[transliteration]] for English. There are five letters with a second, "final form", used at the end of words, represented below on the right-hand side of the letter's column. For additional ancestral scripts, see [[History of the Hebrew alphabet#Ancestral scripts and script varients|History of the Hebrew alphabet → Ancestral scripts and script varients]] {|class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan=3 colspan=2 | Symbol !! colspan=3 | Name ! rowspan=3 | [[Romanization of Hebrew|Israeli<br>Transliteration]] ! rowspan=3 | [[Hebrew numerals|Numerical<br>Value]] !! colspan=7 | Scripts |- ! rowspan=2 | [[Israeli Hebrew|Israeli]] ! rowspan=2 | [[Ashkenazi Hebrew|Ashkenazi]] ! rowspan=2 | [[Unicode]] !! colspan=4 | Hebrew !! colspan=5 | Ancestral |- ! colspan=2 | [[cursive Hebrew|Cursive]] ! colspan=2 | [[Rashi script|Rashi]] ! [[Phoenician alphabet|Phoenician]] ! [[Paleo-Hebrew alphabet|Paleo-Hebrew]] ! [[Aramaic alphabet|Aramaic]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|א || alef || alef || alef || - <small>(1) || 1 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Alef handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Alef Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician aleph.png|20px|Aleph]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - alef.png|Aleph]] | align="center" | [[Image:Aleph.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ב || bet, vet || beis, veis || bet || b, v || 2 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Bet handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Bet Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician beth.png|20px|Beth]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - bet.png|Bet]] | align="center" |[[Image:Beth.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ג || gimel || gimmel || gimel || g || 3 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Gimel handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Gimel Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician gimel.png|20px|Gimel]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - gimmel.png|Gimel]] | align="center" |[[Image:Igimel.png|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ד || dalet || daled || dalet || d || 4 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Daled handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Daled Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician daleth.png|20px|Daleth]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - daled.png|Daled]] | align="center" |[[Image:daleth.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ה || he || hei || he || h <small>(2) || 5 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter He handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter He Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician he.png|20px|He]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - heh.png|Heh]] | align="center" |[[Image:he0.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ו || vav || vov/vof || vav || v || 6 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Vav handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Vav Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician waw.png|20px|Waw]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - vav.png|Vav]] | align="center" |[[Image:waw.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ז || zayin || zayin || zayin || z || 7 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Zayin handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Zayin Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician zayin.png|20px|Zayin]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - zayin.png|Zayin]] | align="center" |[[Image:zayin.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ח || khet || ches || het || kh (or ch/h) <small>(3) || 8 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Het handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Het Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician heth.png|20px|Heth]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - khet.png|Khet]] | align="center" |[[Image:heht.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ט || tet || tes || tet || t || 9 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Tet handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Tet Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician teth.png|20px|Teth]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - tet.png|Tet]] | align="center" |[[Image:teth.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|י || yod || yud || yord || y <small>(4) || 10 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Yud handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Yud Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician yodh.png|20px|Yodh]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - yud.png|Yud]] | align="center" |[[Image:yod.svg|20px]] |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|כ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ך || kaf, khaf || kof, chof || kaf || k, kh (or ch) || 20 | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Kaf handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Kaf-final handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Kaf-nonfinal Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Kaf-final Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician kaph.png|20px|Kaph]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - khof.png|Khof]] | align="center" |[[Image:kaph.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ל || lamed || lomed || lamed || l || 30 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Lamed handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Lamed Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician lamedh.png|20px|Lamedh]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - lamed.png|Lamed]] | align="center" |[[Image:lamed.svg|20px]] |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|מ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ם || mem || mem || mem || m || 40 | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Mem handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Mem-final handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Mem-nonfinal Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Mem-final Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician mem.png|20px|Mem]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - mem.png|‎Mem]] | align="center" |[[Image:mem.svg|20px]] |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|נ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ן || nun || nun || nun || n || 50 | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Nun handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" |[[Image:Hebrew letter Nun-final handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Nun-nonfinal Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Nun-final Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician nun.png|20px|Nun]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - nun.png|Nun]] | align="center" |[[Image:nun.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ס || samekh || somech || samekh || s || 60 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Samekh handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Samekh Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician samekh.png|20px|Samekh]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - samekh.png|Samekh]] | align="center" |[[Image:samekh.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ע || ayin || ayin/oyin || ayin || - <small>(5) || 70 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Ayin handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Ayin Rashi.png]] | align="center" |[[Image:phoenician ayin.png|20px|Ayin]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - ayin.png|Ayin]] | align="center" |[[Image:ayin.svg|20px]] |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|פ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ף || pe, fe || pei, fei || pe || p, f || 80 | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Pe handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" |[[Image:Hebrew letter Pe-final handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Pe-nonfinal Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Pe-final Rashi.png]] | align="center" |[[Image:phoenician pe.png|20px|Pe]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - pey.png|Pey]] | align="center" |[[Image:pe0.svg|20px]] |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|צ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ץ || tsadi || tsodi/tsodik || tsadi || ts (or tz/z) || 90 | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Tsadik handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" |[[Image:Hebrew letter Tsadik-final handwriting.svg|17px]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Tsadik-nonfinal Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Tsadik-final Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician sade.png|20px|Sade]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - tzadi.png|Tzadi]] | align="center" |[[Image:sade 1.svg|20px]], [[Image:sade 2.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ק || kuf || kuf || qof || k (or q) || 100 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Kuf handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Kuf Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician qof.png|20px|Qoph]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - quf.png|Quf]] | align="center" |[[Image:qoph.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ר || resh || reish || resh || r || 200 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Resh handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Resh Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician res.png|20px|Res]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - resh.png|Resh]] | align="center" | [[Image:resh.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ש || shin, sin || shin, sin || shin || sh, s || 300 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Shin handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Shin Rashi.png]] | align="center" |[[Image:phoenician sin.png|20px|Sin]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - shin.png|Shin]] | align="center" |[[Image:shin.svg|20px]] |- | colspan=2 align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basnicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ת || tav || tov/tof, sov/sof || tav || t || 400 | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Taf handwriting.svg|17px]] | colspan=2 align="center" | [[Image:Hebrew letter Taf Rashi.png]] | align="center" | [[Image:phoenician taw.png|20px|Taw]] | align="center" | [[Image:Paleo-hebrew - tof.png|Tof]] | align="center" |[[Image:taw.svg|20px]] |} # unwritten in initial and final positions, though often not written at all # unwritten in final positions # "h" initial or after consonants, "ch" everywhere else # "i" in final positions or before consonants # often not written at all ==Pronunciation== {{further|[[Hebrew phonology]] and [[International Phonetic Alphabet for Hebrew]]}} The descriptions that follow are based on the pronunciation of modern standard Israeli Hebrew. For a concise summary, see the article International Phonetic Alphabet for Hebrew. For further information on regional and historical variations in pronunciation, see Hebrew phonology. :{|class="wikitable" |- ! rowspan=1 | Letters | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| א | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| בּ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ב | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ג | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| גּ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ג׳ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ד | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| דּ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ד׳ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ה | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ו | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| וּ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| וֹ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| וו) , ו׳) | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ז | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ז׳ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ח | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ט | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| י |- ! IPA | align="center" | {{IPA|[[ʔ|[ʔ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced bilabial plosive|[b]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced labiodental fricative|[v]]]}} | align="center" colspan=2 | {{IPA|[[Voiced velar plosive|[ɡ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced postalveolar affricate|[ʤ]]]}} | align="center" colspan=2 | {{IPA|[[Voiced alveolar plosive|[d]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced dental fricative|[ð]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[h~ʔ, -]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced labiodental fricative|[v]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[uː]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[oː]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced labial-velar approximant|[w]]]}} <small>(non-standard)</small><ref name="trans-into-heb"/> | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced alveolar fricative|[z]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced postalveolar fricative|[ʒ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[χ~ħ]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless alveolar plosive|[t]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Palatal approximant|[j]]]}} |- ! rowspan=1 | Letters | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| יִ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| כּ ךּ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ך כ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ל | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ם מ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ן נ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ס | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ע | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| פּ ףּ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| פ ף | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ץ צ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ץ׳ צ׳ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ק | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ר | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|שׁ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|שׂ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| תּ | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ת | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"| ת׳ |- ! IPA | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Close front unrounded vowel|[i]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless velar plosive|[k]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless uvular fricative|[χ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Alveolar lateral approximant|[l]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Bilabial nasal|[m]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Alveolar nasal|[n]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless alveolar fricative|[s]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[ʔ~ʕ}}, -&nbsp;] | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless bilabial plosive|[p]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless labiodental fricative|[f]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[ʦ|[ʦ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless postalveolar affricate|[tʃ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless velar plosive|[k]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiced uvular fricative|[ʁ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless postalveolar fricative|[ʃ]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless alveolar fricative|[s]]]}} | align="center" colspan=2 | {{IPA|[[Voiceless alveolar plosive|[t]]]}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[[Voiceless dental fricative|[θ]]]}} |} ===Shin and sin=== {{Further|[[Shin (letter)]]}} ''Shin'' and ''sin'' are represented by the same letter, {{hebrew|ש}}, but are two separate [[phoneme]]s. They are not mutually [[allophone|allophonic]]. When vowel diacritics are used, the two phonemes are differentiated with a ''shin''-dot or ''sin''-dot; the ''shin''-dot is above the upper-right side of the letter, and the ''sin''-dot is above the upper-left side of the letter. {| class="wikitable" |- !! colspan=1 | Symbol !! colspan=1 | Name !! colspan=1 | [[Transliteration]] !! colspan=1 | [[Help:IPA chart for Hebrew|IPA]] !! colspan=1 | Example |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">שׂ</span>}} (left dot) | ''sin'' | align="center" | s | align="center" | {{IPA|/s/}} | align="center" | '''s'''our |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">שׁ</span>}} (right dot) | ''shin'' | align="center" | sh | align="center" | {{IPA|/ʃ/}} | align="center" | '''sh'''op |- |} ===Dagesh=== {{main|Dagesh}} Historically, the consonants {{hebrew|ב}} ''bet'', {{hebrew|ג}} ''gimel'', {{hebrew|ד}} ''dalet'', {{hebrew|כ}} ''kaf'', {{hebrew|פ}} ''pe'' and {{hebrew|ת}} ''tav'' each had two sounds: one hard ([[plosive consonant|plosive]]), and one soft ([[fricative consonant|fricative]]), depending on the position of the letter and other factors. When vowel diacritics are used, the hard sounds are indicated by a central dot called ''dagesh'' ({{hebrew|דגש}}), while the soft sounds lack a ''dagesh''. In modern Hebrew, however, the ''dagesh'' only changes the pronunciation of {{hebrew|ב}} ''bet'', {{hebrew|כ}} ''kaf'', {{hebrew|פ}} ''pe'', and {{hebrew|ת}} ''tav'' (''tav'' only changes in Ashkenazi and Yemenite pronunciations). {| class="wikitable" |- !! colspan=5 | With dagesh !! colspan=5 | Without dagesh |- !! colspan=1 |Symbol ! Name ! Transliteration ! [[Help:IPA for Hebrew|IPA]] ! Example !! colspan=1 |Symbol ! Name ! Transliteration ! [[Help:IPA for Hebrew|IPA]] ! Example |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">בּ</span>}} | ''bet'' | b | /b/ | '''b'''un | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ב</span>}} | ''vet'' | v | /v/ | '''v'''an |- | align=center | <span style="unicode-bidi:bidi-override;"><ref>"ךּ" is rare but exists, e.g. last word in [[Deuteronomy]] 7 1 (דברים פרק ז׳ פסוק א׳) in the word "<span style="font-family:'times new roman'; font-size:14pt;">מִמֶּךָּ</span>" – see [http://www.mechon-mamre.org/i/t/t0507.htm תנ״ך מנוקד, דברים פרק ז׳]</ref></span>{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;line-height:1.5em;">כּ ךּ</span>}} | ''kaph'' | k | /k/ | '''k'''angaroo | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">כ ך</span>}} | ''khaph'' | kh/ch/k | /χ/ | lo'''ch''' |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">פּ</span>}} | ''pe'' | p | /p/ | '''p'''ass | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">פ ף</span>}} | ''phe'' | ph/f | /f/ | '''f'''ind |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">תּ</span>}} | ''tav'' | t | /t/ | '''t'''alent | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ת</span>}} | ''sav''* | s | /s/ | '''s'''orry |- |} <small>* Only in Ashkenazi pronunciations. In Israeli Hebrew, it is always a ''tav'', with a {{IPA|/t/}} sound.<br>** The letters ''gimmel'' ({{Unicode|ג}}) and ''dalet'' ({{Unicode|ד}}) also have ''dagesh'' (dotted) forms, but these do not differ phonetically from the forms without the ''dagesh'' in most of the Modern Hebrew dialects. Israeli Hebrew also exhibits no phonetic distinction between ''tav'' ({{Unicode|ת}}) with or without a ''dagesh''. </small> ===Same pronunciation=== In [[Israel]]'s general population, many consonants have the same pronunciation. They are: {| class="wikitable" |- !! align=center colspan=4 | Letters !! Transliteration !! Pronunciation (IPA) |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">א</span>}}<br>''aleph''* | align=center colspan=3 | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ע</span>}} <br>''ayin''* | - | {{IPA|/ʔ/}} |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ב</span>}}<br>''vet'' (without ''dagesh'') | align=center colspan=3 | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ו</span>}}<br>''vav'' | v | {{IPA|/v/}} |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ח</span>}}<br>''chet'' | align=center colspan=3 | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">כ</span>}}<br>''khaph'' (without ''dagesh'') | kh/ch/h | {{IPA|/χ/}} |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ט</span>}}<br>''tet'' | align=center colspan=3 |{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ת</span>}}<br>''tav'' | t | {{IPA|/t/}} |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;" >כּ</span>}}<br>''kaph'' (with ''dagesh'') | align=center colspan=3 |{{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ק</span>}}<br>''qoph'' | k | {{IPA|/k/}} |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ס</span>}}<br>''samekh'' | align=center colspan=3 | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">שׂ</span>}}<br>''sin'' (with left dot) | s | {{IPA|/s/}} |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">צ</span>}}<br>''tsadi''* | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">תס</span>}}<br>''tav-samech''* | align=center | <small>''and''</small> | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;" >תשׂ</span>}}<br>''tav-sin''* | ts/tz | {{IPA|/ts/}} |- |} <small>* Varyingly</small> ===Matres lectionum=== {{main|Mater lectionis}} {{hebrew|א}} ''aleph'', {{hebrew|ה}} ''he'', {{hebrew|ו}} ''vav'' and {{hebrew|י}} ''yod'' are consonants that can sometimes fill the position of a vowel. The latter two in particular are more often vowels than they are consonants. :{|class="wikitable" |- !Symbol!!Name!!Vowel value |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|א || ''aleph'' || ê, ệ, ậ, â, ô |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ה || ''he'' || ê, ệ, ậ, â, ô |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|ו || ''vav'' || ô, û |- | align="center" style="font-family:SBL Hebrew, Ezra SIL SR, Ezra SIL, Cardo, Chrysanthi Unicode, TITUS Cyberbit Basic, Arial Unicode MS, Narkisim, Times New Roman;font-size:200%"|י || ''yud'' || î, ê, ệ |} ===Pronunciation of Ancient Hebrew=== {{Further|[[Biblical Hebrew]]}} Some of the variations in sound mentioned above are due to a systematic feature of [[Ancient Hebrew]]. The six consonants /b g d k p t/ were pronounced differently depending on their position. These letters were also called ''BeGeDKePHeT'' ({{pronEng|ˌbeɪgɛdˈkɛfɛt}}) letters. (The full details are very complex; this summary omits some points.) They were pronounced as [[Stop consonant|stops]] [b g d k p t] at the beginning of a syllable, or when doubled. They were pronounced as [[fricative]]s {{IPA|[v ɣ ð x f θ]}} when preceded by a vowel (commonly indicated with a macron, {{unicode|[ḇ ḡ ḏ ḵ p̄ ṯ]}}). The stop and double pronunciations were indicated by the ''dagesh''. In Modern Hebrew the sounds {{unicode|[ḏ]}} and {{unicode|[ḡ]}} have reverted to [d] and [g] respectively, and {{unicode|[ṯ]}} has become [t], so only the remaining three consonants /b k p/ show variation. *{{hebrew|ו}} ''vav'' was a semivowel /w/ (as in English, not as in German). *{{hebrew|ח}} ''chet'' and {{hebrew|ע}} ''ayin'' were [[pharyngeal consonant|pharyngeal]] [[fricative consonant|fricatives]], {{hebrew|צ}} ''tsadi'' was an [[emphatic consonant|emphatic]] /s/, {{hebrew|ט}} ''tet'' was an emphatic /t/, and {{hebrew|ק}} ''qoph'' was {{IPA|/q/}}. All these are common [[Semitic languages|Semitic]] [[consonant]]s. *{{hebrew|שׂ}} ''sin'' (the /s/ variant of {{hebrew|ש}} ''shin'') was originally different from both {{hebrew|שׁ}} ''shin'' and {{hebrew|ס}} ''samekh'', but had become /s/ the same as {{hebrew|ס}} ''samekh'' by the time the vowel pointing was devised. Because of [[cognate]]s with other [[Semitic language]]s, this phoneme is known to have originally been a [[lateral consonant]], most likely the [[voiceless alveolar lateral fricative]] {{IPA|/ɬ/}} (the sound of modern [[Welsh language|Welsh]] ''ll'') or the [[voiceless alveolar lateral affricate]] {{IPA|/tɬ/}} (like [[Náhuatl]] ''tl''). ==Diacritics== {{main|Niqqud}} ''Niqqud'' is the system of dots the help determine vowels and consonants. In Hebrew, all forms of ''niqqud'' are often omitted in writing, except for children's books, prayer books, poetry, foreign words, and words which would be ambiguous to pronounce. ===Vowel points=== Israeli Hebrew has five vowel phonemes, {{IPA|/i e a o u/}}, but many more written symbols for them: {| class="wikitable" |- !! rowspan=2 | Name !! rowspan=2 | Symbol !! colspan=3 |[[Israeli Hebrew]] |- !! colspan=1 | [[Help:IPA chart for Hebrew|IPA]] !! colspan=1 | [[Transliteration]] !! colspan=1 | English<br>example |- | Hiriq | align="center" | [[Image:4 Hiriq.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[i]}} | align="center" | i | align="center" | sk'''i''' |- | Zeire | align="center" | [[Image:5 Zeire.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[ɛ]}} ''and'' {{IPA|[ɛi]}} | align="center" | e ''and'' ei | align="center" | m'''e'''n,<br>m'''ai'''n |- | Segol | align="center" | [[Image:6 Segol.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[ɛ]}}, <small>({{IPA|[ɛi]}} with<br>succeeding [[Yodh|yod]]) | align="center" | e, <small>(ei with<br>succeeding yod) | align="center" | m'''e'''n |- | Patach | align="center" | [[Image:7 Patah.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[a]}} | align="center" | a | align="center" | '''u'''nder |- | Kamatz | align="center" | [[Image:8 Qamaz.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[a]}}, <small>(or {{IPA|[ɔ]}}) | align="center" | a, <small>(or o)</small> | align="center" | '''u'''nder |- | Holam | align="center" | [[Image:Minus Holam.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[ɔ]}} | align="center" | o | align="center" | c'''o'''ne |- | Shuruk | align="center" |[[Image:Equal Shuruk.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[u]}} | align="center" | u | align="center" | t'''u'''be |- | Kubutz | align="center" | [[Image:Backslash Qubuz.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[u]}} | align="center" | u | align="center" | t'''u'''be |- |} <small>'''Note Ⅰ:''' The symbol "'''O'''" represents whatever Hebrew letter is used.<br> '''Note Ⅰ:''' The ''zeire'' is pronounced correctly as ''ei'' in modern Hebrew.<br> '''Note Ⅱ:''' The ''dagesh'', ''[[mappiq]]'', and ''shuruk'' have different functions, even though they look the same.<br> '''Note Ⅲ:''' The letter ו (''vav'') is used since it can only be represented by that letter.</small> ====Sh'va==== {{main|Sh'va}} By adding two vertical dots (called ''[[Sh'va]]'') underneath the letter, the vowel is made very short. {| class="wikitable" |- !! rowspan=2 | Name !! rowspan=2 | Symbol !! colspan=3 |[[Israeli Hebrew]] |- !! colspan=1 | [[Help:IPA chart for Hebrew|IPA]] !! colspan=1 | [[Transliteration]] !! colspan=1 | English<br>example |- | [[Schwa|Sh'va]] | align="center" | [[Image:Tilde Schwa.png|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[ɛ]}} ''or'' [[Zero (linguistics)|{{IPA|Ø}}]] | align="center" | ''apostrophe'', e,<br>''or nothing'' | align="center" | ''silent'' |- | Reduced Segol | align="center" | [[Image:1 Hataf Segol.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[ɛ]}} | align="center" | e | align="center" | m'''e'''n |- | Reduced Patach | align="center" | [[Image:2 Hataf Patah.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[a]}} | align="center" | a | align="center" | sp'''a''' |- | Reduced Kamatz | align="center" | [[Image:3 Hataf Qamaz.PNG|35px]] | align="center" | {{IPA|[ɔ]}} | align="center" | o | align="center" | c'''o'''ne |- |} ====Comparison table==== {| class="wikitable" |- !! colspan=6 | Vowel comparison table |- align=center !! colspan=3 | [[Vowel Length]]<br><small>(phonetically not manifested in Israeli Hebrew)</small> !! rowspan=2 | [[Help:IPA chart for Hebrew|IPA]] !! rowspan=2 | [[Transliteration]] !! rowspan=2 | English<br>example |- ! Long ! Short ! Very Short |- align=center |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ָ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ַ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ֲ}} || [a] || a | sp'''a''' |- align=center |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ֵ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ֶ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ֱ}} || [ɛ] || e | t'''e'''mp |- align=center |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|וֹ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ָ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|}}ֳ || [ɔ] || o | c'''o'''ne |- align=center |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|וּ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ֻ}} | rowspan=2 align=center | ''n/a'' | [u] || u | t'''u'''be |- align=center |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|יִ}} |style="font-size:24px"| {{Hebrew|ִ}} | [i] || i | sk'''i''' |- align=center !! colspan=2 | '''Note I:''' | colspan=4 | By adding two vertical dots (''[[sh'va]]'') {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size: 24pt;">ְ</span>}} <br/>the vowel is made very short. |- !! colspan=2 | '''Note II:''' | colspan=4 align=center | The short ''o'' and long ''a'' have the same ''niqqud''. |- !! colspan=2 | '''Note III:''' | colspan=4 align=center | The short ''o'' is is usually promoted to a long ''o''<br>in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation |- !! colspan=2 | '''Note IV:''' | colspan=4 align=center | The short ''u'' is is usually promoted to a long ''u''<br>in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation |- |} ===Not used in Hebrew=== {| class="wikitable" |- !! colspan=1 | Symbol ! Explanation |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">װ ױ ײ ײַ</span>}} | These are intended for Yiddish. They are not used in Hebrew<ref name="double_vav_non_standard">However, וו (two separate vavs), used in [[Ktiv male]], is to be distinguished from the ''Yiddish ligature'' װ (also two vavs but together as one character).</ref>. ''See: [[Yiddish orthography]]''. |- | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">בֿ</span>}} | The ''[[rafe (diacritic)|rafe]]'' ({{hebrew|רפה}}) ''niqqud'' is no longer used in Hebrew. It is still seen in Yiddish. In [[masoretic]] manuscripts, the soft fricative consonants are indicated by a small line on top of the letter. Its use has been largely discontinued in printed texts. |- |} ==Gershayim== {{main|Gershayim}} The symbol {{Hebrew|'''״'''}} is called a [[gershayim]] and is a punctuation mark used in the Hebrew language to denote acronyms. It is written before the last letter in the acronym. Gershayim is also the name of a note of [[cantillation]] in the reading of the [[Torah]], printed above the accented letter. == Non-native sounds== {{main|Geresh|Hebraization of English}} The sounds {{IPA|[ʧ]}}, {{IPA|[ʤ]}}, {{IPA|[ʒ]}}, written "{{Hebrew|צ׳}}", "{{Hebrew|ג׳}}", "{{Hebrew|ז׳}}" and {{IPA|[w]}}, standardly transliterated as "{{Hebrew|ו}}" (while "{{Hebrew|ו}}" normally is a [v]), non-standardly sometimes transliterated {{Hebrew|וו}} or {{Hebrew|׳ו}}‎<ref name="double_vav_non_standard" />, are found in many loanwords that are part of the everyday Hebrew colloquial vocabulary, even among people who don't know the source languages. The apostrophe-looking symbol after the Hebrew letter modifies the pronunciation of the letter and is called a ''[[geresh]]''. {| class="wikitable" !! colspan=6 | English loanwords |- !! colspan=1 | Name !! colspan=1 | Symbol !! colspan=1 | [[Help:IPA chart for Hebrew|IPA]] !! colspan=1 | [[Transliteration]] !! colspan=2 | Example |- | align=center | Gimel with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ג׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[ʤ]}} | align="center" | j | align="left" | '''G'''eorge | align="right"| ג׳ורג |- | align=center | Zayin with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ז׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[ʒ]}} | align="center" | <small>''varies''</small> | align="left" | '''J'''abotinsky<br>'''J'''acques | align="right"| ז׳בוטינסקי<br>ז׳אק |- | align=center | Tsadi with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">צ׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[ʧ]}} | align="center" | ch | align="left" | '''Ch'''ernobyl | align="right"| צ׳רנוביל |- | align=center | Vav with a geresh<br>or double Vav | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">וו</span>}} or {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ו׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[w]}} <small>(non standard)<ref name="trans-into-heb"/></small> | align="center" | w | align="left" | '''W'''illiam | align="right"| ו׳יליאם |- | align=center | Tav with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ת׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[θ]}} | align="center" | th | align="left" | '''Th'''urston | align="right"| ת׳רסטון |} {| class="wikitable" !! colspan=7 | Arabic loanwords |- !! colspan=1 | Name !! colspan=1 | Symbol !! colspan=1 | [[Help:IPA chart for Hebrew|IPA]] !! colspan=1 | [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic letter]] !! colspan=2 | Example ! Comment |- | align=center | Khet with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ח׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[χ]}} | align=center | [[Ḫāʼ]] (خ) | align="left" | Shei'''kh''' (شيخ)&lrm; | align="right"| <span dir="rtl">שייח׳</span> | align="left" | |- | align=center | Ayin with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ע׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[ʁ]}} | align=center | [[Ġayn]] (غ) | align="left" | Ghaja''''r''' | align="right"| ע׳ג׳ר | align="left" | |- | align=center | Dalet with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ד׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[ð]}} | align=center | [[Ḏāl]] (ذ) <br>th | align="left" | '''Dh'''u al-Hijjah (ذو الحجة)&lrm; | align="right"| ד׳ו אל-חיג'ה | align="left" | * Also used for English voiced th <br>* Often a simple ד is written. |- | align=center | Tet with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">ט׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[ðˁ]}} | align=center | [[Ẓāʼ]] (ظ) | align="left" | Tan'''z'''im (تنظيم)&lrm; | align="right"| תנט׳ים | align="left" | * In scientific and professional writing<br> * Transliterated as a regular ז in colloquial writing (תנזים) |- | align=center | Tsadi with a geresh | align=center | {{Hebrew|1=<span style="font-size:200%;">צ׳</span>}} | align="center" | {{IPA|[dˁ]}} | align=center | [[Ḍād]] (ض) | align="left" | Rama'''ḍ'''ān | align="right"| רמצ׳אן | align="left" | * In scientific and professional writing <br> * Transliterated as a regular ד in colloquial writing (רמדאן) |- |} Using וו to represent {{IPA|[w]}} is, however, non-standard, while still done; standard spelling rules determine that in ''[[ktiv male]]''&mdash;i.e. text without ''[[niqqud]]''&mdash;a "double [[Waw (letter)|''vav'']]" (וו) is used to indicate a [[Waw (letter)|''vav'']] in a non-initial and non-final position denoting the consonant {{IPA|[v]}}, as opposed to a [[Waw (letter)|''vav'']] denoting the vowels {{IPA|[u]}} or {{IPA|[ɔ]}}, which is indicated by a single <span style="unicode-bidi:bidi-override">ו</span>.<ref name="trans-into-heb">{{cite web|url=http://hebrew-academy.huji.ac.il/PDF/taatiq2007.pdf|title=Transliteration Rules}} issued by the [[Academy of the Hebrew Language]] states that both [[Voiced labiodental fricative|{{IPA|[v]}}]] and [[Voiced labial-velar approximant|{{IPA|[w]}}]] be indistinguishably represented in Hebrew using the letter Vav. Sometimes the Vav is indeed doubled, however not to denote {{IPA|[w]}} as opposed to {{IPA|[v]}} but rather, when [[Ktiv male|spelling without niqqud]], to denote the [[phoneme]] /v/ at a non-initial and non-final position in the word, whereas a single Vav at a non-initial and non-final position in the word in [[Ktiv male|spelling without niqqud]] denotes one of the [[phoneme]]s /u/ or /o/. To pronounce foreign words and [[loanword]]s containing the sound [[Voiced labial-velar approximant|{{IPA|[w]}}]], Hebrew readers must therefore rely on former knowledge and context, see also [[Waw (letter)#Pronunciation|pronunciation of Hebrew Vav]].</ref> A ''geresh'' is also used to denote [[Acronym and initialism|initialisms]] and to denote a [[Hebrew numeral]]. Geresh is the name of one of the notes of cantillation in the reading of the [[Torah]], but its appearance is different from that of the modern printed geresh. ==Unicode and HTML== {{main|Unicode and HTML for the Hebrew alphabet}} The [[Unicode]] Hebrew block extends from U+0590 to U+05FF and from U+FB1D to U+FB40. It includes [[Letter (alphabet)|letter]]s, [[Ligature (typography)|ligature]]s, [[combining diacritical mark]]s (''[[niqqud]]'' and [[cantillation]] marks) and [[punctuation]]. The [[Numeric character reference|Numeric Character References]] is included for HTML. These can be used in many markup languages, and they are often used in Wiki to create the Hebrew [[glyphs]] compatible with the majority of web browsers. ==See also== {{Hebrew alphabet}} *[[Hebrew punctuation]] *[[Mater lectionis]] *[[History of the Hebrew language]] *[[Syriac alphabet]] *[[Niqqud]] *[[Dagesh]] *[[Gershayim]] *[[Hebrew braille]] *[[Cursive Hebrew]] *[[Rashi script]] *[[Ashuri alphabet]] *[[Hebrew keyboard]] *[[Romanization of Hebrew]] *[[International Phonetic Alphabet for Hebrew]] *[[Hebrew phonology]] * [[Inverted nun]] *[[Help:Hebrew]] == References== {{reflist}} ==Bibliography== Roots of the Hebrew Alphabet *[http://www.newjewishbooks.org/ITB Hoffman, Joel M. 2004. ''In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language.'' New York: New York University Press.] *[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521556341 Saenz-Badillos, Angel. 1993. ''A History of the Hebrew Language.'' Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.] *[http://www.adath-shalom.ca/history_of_hebrew.htm Steinberg, David. ''History of the Hebrew Language.''] *[[Mathers table]] *[http://qumran.com/alephbeth.htm ''Aleph-Beth Quick Study Chart.''] [[February 28]] [[2005]]. Qumran Bet Community. Retrieved [[January 5]] [[2006]]. ==External links== {{Commons|Hebrew alphabet}} <!--===========================({{NoMoreLinks}})==============================--> <!--|DO NOT ADD MORE LINKS TO THIS ARTICLE. WIKIPEDIA IS NOT A COLLECTION OF |--> <!--|LINKS. If you think that your link might be useful, do not add it here, |--> <!--|but put it on this article's discussion page first or submit your link |--> <!--|to the appropriate category at the Open Directory Project (www.dmoz.org)|--> <!--|and link back to that category using the {{dmoz}} template. |--> <!--| |--> <!--| Links that have not been verified WILL BE DELETED. |--> <!--| See [[Wikipedia:External links]] and [[Wikipedia:Spam]] for details |--> <!--===========================({{NoMoreLinks}})==============================--> *[http://hebrew4christians.com/Grammar/Unit_One/unit_one.html Hebrew alphabet lesson] *[http://www.levsoftware.com/alefbet.htm How to draw letters] *[http://www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0590.pdf Official Unicode standards document for Hebrew] *[http://www.kabalahyoga.com/YourName.aspx Transliterate your English name into Hebrew Letters] '''Keyboards''' *[http://www.amhaaretz.org/translit/ Hebrew translit] - for typing Hebrew with an English keyboard (transliteration with [[niqqud]]) *[http://www.mikledet.com Mikledet.com] - for typing Hebrew with an English keyboard ([[Hebrew keyboard|Hebrew layout]] and [[phonetic]] layout) *[http://www.litetype.com/ LiteType Virtual Keyboards] - zoomable keyboard with different layouts for typing and searching in Hebrew {{Hebrew language}} {{writing systems}} [[Category:Abjad writing systems]] [[Category:Hebrew alphabet| ]] [[Category:Language and mysticism]] [[als:Hebräisches Alphabet]] [[ar:كتابة عبرية]] [[arc:ܐܠܦܒܝܬ ܥܒܪܝܐ]] [[ast:Alfabetu hebréu]] [[bn:হিব্রু বর্ণমালা]] [[br:Lizherenneg hebraek]] [[ca:Alfabet hebreu]] [[cs:Hebrejské písmo]] [[da:Hebraisk alfabet]] [[de:Hebräisches Alphabet]] [[es:Alfabeto hebreo]] [[eo:Hebrea alfabeto]] [[fa:الفبای عبری]] [[fr:Alphabet hébreu]] [[ga:Aibítir Eabhraise]] [[gd:Aibidil Eabhra]] [[gl:Alfabeto hebreo]] [[ko:히브리 문자]] [[ia:Alphabeto hebree]] [[it:Alfabeto ebraico]] [[he:אלפבית עברי]] [[ka:ებრაული დამწერლობა]] [[lad:Alefbet ebreo]] [[hu:Héber írás]] [[ms:Abjad Ibrani]] [[nl:Hebreeuws alfabet]] [[ja:ヘブライ文字]] [[no:Det hebraiske alfabetet]] [[nn:Det hebraiske alfabetet]] [[pl:Alfabet hebrajski]] [[pt:Alfabeto hebraico]] [[ro:Alfabetul ebraic]] [[ru:Еврейское письмо]] [[sk:Hebrejská abeceda]] [[sl:Hebrejska abeceda]] [[sr:Хебрејско писмо]] [[sh:Hebrejsko pismo]] [[fi:Heprealainen kirjaimisto]] [[sv:Hebreiska alfabetet]] [[kab:Agemmay aɛebri]] [[th:อักษรฮีบรู]] [[tg:Ҳуруфи иврӣ]] [[tr:İbrani Alfabesi]] [[uk:Гебрейська абетка]] [[vec:Alfabeto ebraico]] [[yi:אלף בית]] [[zh:希伯来字母]]