Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Hebrew ......Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About...

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Hebrew Consonants (and then some)

Made by Rabbi Jonah Gabriel Rank | Shaar Shalom Synagogue | Halifax, NS | 05.27.2018 1

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Mnemonics Notes Pronunciation Name of

Conso-nant

Airplane Ālef א א א א א א א

FUN FACT: Technically, א makes the sound of a “glottal stop” at the beginning of a syllable (and is silent at the middle or end of a syllable). A “glottal stop” is the sound you make when you pause between the two words of a phrase like “go out” or “high up.”

I. א is silent when it has no vowel over or under it and either (a) comes right after a vowel; or (b) is flanked by—on the א’s left—a vowel—and on the s right—a consonant’אwith no vowel over or under it. II. When א has a vowel under or over it or comes immediately before a vowel, א makes a “pausing” sound (marked here as ’)—which we make between the two words in “high up” (when carefully pronounced). EXAMPLES: (i) ו אר ye-RŪ (with a = יsilent א) (ii) ארקאה = ha’eq-RĀ (with the first א “stopping” and the last א silent) (iii) ומשאת = te’-SHĀ-mū (with a “stopping” א)

’Ālef ףלא

א



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ב ב ב ב The difference ב ב ב between Bēyt (ב) and Vēyt (ב) is a mere dot. In English, a dot stops a sentence. The “B” of ב is a sound that stops your voice from making more of that sound. (Try to hold the sound of B; the B turns into a V—bvvvvv--or a vowel—buhhh or beeee!) The Vēyt has no dot, and you can hold the sound as long as you want. But a Bēyt has a dot and stops you from holding its sound. Big Bottom Bar

Bēyt

FUN FACT: When a dot appears inside a ב, the dot is called a Dāgēsh Qal. Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג (along with the final form of ך), פ, and ת. In medieval Hebrew, the dot of the Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (and its final form, פ ,(ך, and ת respectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ,Still, many Jews—of Yemenite .ת .vs ת and ;דAshkenazic, and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal.

is pronounced like the ב“b” in “bend.”

ןיב = (BĒYN)

Bēyt תיב

ב



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ב ב ב ב ב ב ב The difference between Bēyt (ב) and Vēyt (ב) is a mere dot. In English, a dot stops a sentence. The “b” of Bēyt is a sound that stops your voice from making more of that sound. (Try to hold the sound of “b;” the “b” turns into a “v”—bvvvvvvvv--or a vowel—buhhh or beeee!) The ב has a dot and stops you from holding its sound. But a Vēyt has no dot, and you can hold the sound as long as you want.

Vig Vottom Var Vēyt

FUN FACT: Some folks say that in ancient pronunciation, the letter ב was pronounced somewhere in between an English “b” and an English “v” (which is similar to how the letter “v” is read in Spanish today). WARNING: If you try to go for that in-between consonant among English speakers (and Israeli-born Hebrew speakers), you might confuse folks and have to explain yourself.

is typically pronounced בlike the “v” in “value.” To distinguish it from the sound of ו (transliterated as “v”), we’ll transliterate a ב as “v” with an underline.

ןיב = (VĒYN)

Vēyt תיב

ב



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Giraffe Legs ג ג ג ג ג ג גGoing Gīmel

Many Yemenite Jews pronounce this ג, when there is no Dāgēsh (dot) in it, as sounding like the Arabic letter غ (Ghayin), which sounds a bit like gargling. They pronounce ג, which has a Dāgēsh, like the “J” in “Just joshin’, Josh!” In olden times there was probably a distinction pretty similar to this, likely one where the Gimel with the Dāgēsh was a consonant that was harder to hold and the Gimel without the Dāgēsh was a consonant that was easier to hold. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal. WARNING: When non-Yemenite Jews try to pronounce letters like Yemenite Jews, certain folks start asking lots of questions.

typically makes the גsound of “g” as in “good.” Some Jews pronounce it slightly differently. (See the Note at the right.) We’ll transliterate ג with no dot in it as “g” with an underline.

ריג = (GĪR)

Gīmel למיג

ג



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ג ג ג ג ג ג ג Giraffe Legs Going Gīmel

Many Yemenite Jews pronounce this ג—with a Dāgēsh Qal (dot)—like the “J” in “Just joshin’, Josh!” They pronounce Gimel without a Dāgēsh Qal in it, as sounding like the Arabic letter غ (Ghayin), which sounds a bit like gargling. In olden times there was probably a distinction pretty similar to this, likely one where the Gimel with the Dāgēsh was a consonant that was harder to hold and the Gimel without the Dāgēsh Qal was a consonant that was easier to hold. FUN FACT: The Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (along with the final form of פ ,(ך, and ת. In medieval Hebrew, the dot of the Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (and its final form, ך), פ, and ת respectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ד; and ת vs. ת. Still, many Jews—of Yemenite, Ashkenazic and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal. WARNING: When non-Yemenite Jews try to pronounce letters like Yemenite Jews, certain folks start asking lots of questions.

”makes the sound of “g גas in “good.”

רויג = (giy-YŪR)

Gīmel למיג

ג



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Dented ד ד ד ד ד ד דDoorpost Dālet

Many Yemenite Jews pronounce this ד, with no Dāgēsh Qal (dot) in it, as sounding like the “th” that we say in the words “then,” “father” and “bathe” (a common instruction to a petrified, pungent patriarch). These same Jews pronounce the ד that has a Dāgēsh just like the “D” in “Darn, Dad’s dusty!” Ancient Hebrew speakers probably pronounced a certain “voiced dental” consonant as a sound that was sometimes harder to hold (like a ד with a Dāgēsh Qal) and sometimes easier to hold (like a ד with no Dāgēsh Qal). FUN FACT: The Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (along with the final form of In medieval Hebrew, the dot of .ת and ,פ ,(ךthe Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: ב, ת and ,פ ,(ך ,and its final form) כ ,ד ,גrespectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ד; and ת vs. ת. Still, many Jews—of Yemenite, Ashkenazic and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal. WARNING: When non-Yemenite Jews try to pronounce letters like Yemenite Jews, certain folks start asking lots of questions.

typically makes the דsound of “d” as in “dog.” Some Jews pronounce it slightly differently. (See the Note at the right.) We’ll transliterate ד with no dot in it as “d” with an underline. םד = (DAM)

Dālet תלד

ד



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ד ד ד ד ד ד ד Dented Doorpost Dālet

Many Yemenite Jews pronounce the ד (with that dot of a Dāgēsh Qal) just like the “D” in “Darn, Dad’s dusty!” These same Jews pronounce the ד without a Dāgēsh (dot) like the “th” that we say in the words “then,” “father” and “bathe” (a common command to a petrified, pungent patriarch). Ancient Hebrew speakers probably pronounced a certain “voiced dental” consonant as a sound that was sometimes harder to hold (like a ד with a Dāgēsh Qal) and sometimes easier to hold (like a ד with no Dāgēsh Qal). FUN FACT: The Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (along with the final form of פ ,(ך, and ת. In medieval Hebrew, the dot of the Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (and its final form, ך), פ, and ת respectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ד; and ת vs. ת. Still, many Jews—of Yemenite, Ashkenazic, and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal. WARNING: When non-Yemenite Jews try to pronounce letters like Yemenite Jews, certain folks start asking lots of questions.

typically makes the דsound of “d” as in “dog.” גד = DAG

Dālet תלד

ד



’Halfway Hē ה ה ה ה ה ה ה

I. When ה is the last letter of a word and has no vowel under it, the ה is silent unless there is a Mappīq (dot) in it. In the word הפ (PEH), the is silent, like the “h” in “Sarah.” In the word ה

הינב (bā-NE-hā), the ה sounds like the “h” in “house.” II. With a Mappīq (dot) inside it, the ה is pronounced like the h in “house.” In the word הל (LAH), the ה sounds like the h in “house.” III. When a Pattāch vowel is under the heh with Mappīq (ה), the Pattāch is pronounced before that “h” sound. EXAMPLE: הולא e-LŌ-ah ends with an aspi-rated (breathy) sound of ה (as the Pattāch be-neath it [ה] is pronounced before the conso-nant). IV. God’s four-letter Hebrew name (supposed to be written only in holy books) is often spelled ה-ו-ה-י (without the dashes and sometimes with vowels and sometimes appearing after prefixes); this name is usually pronounced ינדא (adô-NAI, meaning “My Lord”). With prefixes, ה-ו-ה-יל is pronounced as ladô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- ילו as veladô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- יב as badô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- יבו as ûvadô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- יה as hadô-NAI, and ה-ו-ה- יכ as kadô-NAI. But -ה-ו-ה ימ is mē’adô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- ימו is ûmē’adô-NAI, and ה-ו-ה-יל־ה (with that high Maqqēf be-tween the ה and ל as part of the word) is hal’a-

dô-NAI. In the few times when י-ה-ו-ה is spelled with a chīrīq beneath the vāv (ו) in the four phrases “ ה-ו-ה-י ינדאו ,” “ ה־ו־ה־י ינדאל ,” “ ה־ו־ה־י ינדא ,” and “ הוהי ינדאב ,” God’s four-letter-name is pronounced like �םיה -elô) א-HĪM), which means “God.” FUN FACT: The Pattāch (ה) is pronounced before the conso-nant when the Pattāch is under any of 3 “gut-tural” (“throaty”) letters appearing as a word’s final letter: Chēyt (ח), ‘ayin (ע), and, as you know, Hē’ with Mappīq (ה).

I. ה sounds like the “h” in “house” whenever ה has a vowel under or over it or immediately to its left. II. When there is no vowel under or over it or immediately to its left, the makes no sound—like הthe “h” in “Sarah” (and we’ll transliterate that silent ה as a superscript “h.”) EXAMPLES: A) In היהנה (hannih-YEH), the first and second ה are both pronounced like the “h” in “house,” and the last ה is silent like the “h” in “Sarah.” B) In רוצהדפ (Pedā h-TZŪR), the ה, which has no vowel under or over it or immediately to its left, is silent like the “h” in “Sarah.”

Hē’

אה

ה

ה ה ה ה ה ה ה Halfway Hē’

is not really its own letter, but it is important הto recognize. It always comes as the last letter of a word.

With a Mappīq (dot) inside it, the ה is pronounced like the h in “house.” The ה in הל (LĀH) is pronounced

Hē’

אה



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With a Mappīq (dot) inside it, the ה is pronounced like the h in “house.” And when a Pattāch vowel is under the heh with Mappīq the Pattāch vowel is pronounced before ,(ה)that “h” consonant sound. Therefore, הולא is pronounced e-LŌ-ah, with an aspirated ה. FUN FACT: The sound of the vowel Pattāch always precedes that of the consonant (ע)when the Pattāch (ע) is under any of the fol-lowing “guttural” (which means “throaty”) let-ters, when they appear as the final letter of a word: Chēyt (ח), ‘ayin (ע), and, as you know, Hē’ with Mappīq (ה).

like the h in house. When a Pattāch vowel is under the Hē’ with Mappīq (ה), the Pattāch vowel is pronounced before that “h” consonant sound—as in .(gā-VÔ-ah) גבה

ה



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Very Vertical ו ו ו ו ו ו וVāyv

EXCEPTIONS אוה is silent in the word ו .1 (pronounced HĪ). 2. God’s 4-letter Hebrew name (written with-out dashes only in holy works), ה-ו-ה-י (some-times with vowels) is often pronounced ינדא (adô-NAI, meaning “My Lord”). With prefix-es: ה-ו-ה- יל is pronounced ladô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- ילו is vela-dô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- יב is badô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- יבו is ûvadô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- יה is hadô-NAI, and -ה-ו-ה יכ is kadô-NAI. But ה-ו-ה- ימ is mē’adô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- ימו is ûmē’adô-NAI, and (with Maqqēf between ה and ה-ו-ה (ל- יל־ה is hal’adô-NAI. ה-ו-ה-י , with a chīrīq under the vāv in “ ה-ו-ה-י ינדאו ,” “ ה־ו־ה־י ינדאל ,” “ ה־ו־ה־י ינדא ,” and “ הוהי ינדאב ,” is pronounced like םיה�-א (elô-HĪM), meaning “God.”

ו is a ו .ו is a Chōlām vowel; it can look like וvowel (ō) or a consonant-with-a-vowel (vô). VOWEL: ו is a vowel if ו is a) after a word’s 1st letter and b) right after a consonant with no vowel over or under it. CONSONANT-WITH-A-VOWEL: ו is a consonant-with-a-vowel if ו comes a) as a word’s 1st letter and/ or b) right after a consonant with a vowel.

ו-is just a vowel or is a consonant with a Dā וgēsh. VOWEL: ו is a Shūrūq vowel if the ו a) has no vowel under or over it, b) doesn’t come right before a ו or another ו; and c) is either the 1st letter of a word or right after a conso-nant that has no vowel under or over it. CON-SONANT: The consonant ו always has a vow-el a) under or over it or b) right after it.

The consonant ו is pro-nounced like the “v” in “vat.” When ו is the 2nd of 2 letters in a row with no vowel over, beneath, or immediately to the left of a consonant, the ו is not pro-nounced, as in תוא ט חו (ve-chaṭ-ṬÔT). The consonant used to be pronounced וlike the “w” in “we.” The letter ו (with a dot) some-times indicates that the consonant has a Dāgēsh (which, in the most proper Hebrew, lengthens or dou-bles the consonant’s sound); sometimes it’s just a vowel.

EXAMPLES: (i) In (the unlikely spelling of) ןווכמו (ûmkhūv-VAN), the 1st and 2nd וs are both vowels; the 3rd is a conso-nant with a vowel under it. (ii) In the (unlikely) word

וווש (shū-VŪ), the 1st and 3rd וs are vowels; the 2nd is a consonant. (iii) In תווה (ha-VŌT), the ו is a conso-nant with ו as its vowel. (iv) In ןועה (he‘ā-VŌN), ו is pronounced as vô.

Vāv וו

ו



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ו ו ו ו ו ו ו Very Vertical Vāyv

The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. It seems nobody speaks this proper Hebrew.

See above, see to the right, and see above and to the right.

Vāv וו

ו

Zigzag Zayin ז ז ז ז ז ז ז

is pronounced like the ז “z” in “zebra.” זז = (ZĀZ)

Zayin ןי ז

ז

ז ז ז ז ז ז ז Zigzag Zayin

The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. Most Hebrew speakers aren’t proper per se.

See above, and see to the right.

תי זה = (haz-ZA-yit)

Zayin ןי ז

ז



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Chuppāh Chēyt ח ח ח ח ח ח ח

Yemenite Jews and other folks pronounce ח as an airy letter in the back of the threat—still heavier than ה—but less weighty than the rough sound of the כ. FUN FACT: The Pattāch (ח) is pronounced before the consonant when the Pattāch is under any of 3 “guttural” (“throaty”) letters appearing as a word’s final letter: heh with Mappīq (ה), ‘ayin (ע), and, as you know, Chēyt (ח).

I. ח is pronounced like the “ch” in “Chanukkah” or the way Scots say “Loch” as in “Loch Ness Monster.” We’ll transliterate the ח as “ch.” II. When a word’s final letter is a ח with a Pattāch beneath it, the vowel of the Pattāch is pronounced before the ח. EXAMPLES:

אטח = (CHĒṬ) חכ = (KÔ-ach)

Chēyt תיח

ח

Top Torn Ṭēyt ט ט ט ט ט ט ט

Although it is popularly pronounced like the “t” in “tell,” the ancient pronunciation of the letter ט, like the Arabic letter ط (tā), was probably a more constricted sound than the “t” in “tell.”

is typically pronounced טlike the “t” in “tell.”

וטיט = ṭī-ṬŌ

Ṭēyt תיט

ט

ט ט ט ט ט ט ט Top Torn Ṭēyt

Although it is popularly pronounced like the “t” in “tell,” the ancient pronunciation of the letter ט, like the Arabic letter ط (tā), was probably a more constricted sound than the “t” in “tell.” The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. I will give $10 to the first person who can find me a whole community of over 75 people who speak this sort of proper Hebrew regularly with each other.


הטה = haṭ-ṬĒH

Ṭēyt תיט

ט



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Iota/Yoda-sized י י י י י י יYōd

Folks disagree over whether the combo of a consonant with a Tzēyrēy followed by a י (like in ימ or יה ) is an open syllable (where the י has no consonantal function) or a closed syllable (where י is a consonant without a written She-vā’ Nāch when we spell ויניי [and not ויניי ], e-ven if we were to understand that the Tzēyrēy with a י after it does not yield a Shevā’ Nā‘ be-neath the י). This wouldn’t be the only excep-tional thing that happens with a Shevā’ Nāch, by the way. The final letter of a word that ends with a closed vowel (such as חנ or ןיי ) never has a Shevā’ Nāch written beneath it—except in one case: a , which has no vow-el sound, always has its Shevā’ Nāch written beneath it.

THE LORD’S LETTER

God’s 4-letter Hebrew name (only without dashes when in holy writings) is often spelled יי (and can appear at the end of words as יי ) or

ה-ו-ה-י (sometimes with vowels); this name is usually pronounced ינדא (adô-NAI, meaning “My Lord”). With prefixes, ה-ו-ה-יל is pro-nounced as ladô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- ילו as veladô-NAI, -ה-ו-ה יב as badô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- יבו as ûvadô-NAI, -ה-ו-ה יה as hadô-NAI, and ה-ו-ה- יכ as kadô-NAI. But ה-ו-ה- ימ is mē’adô-NAI, ה-ו-ה- ימו is ûmē’adô-NAI, and ה-ו-ה- יל־ה (with that Maq-qēf between the ה and ל as part of the word) is hal’a-dô-NAI. י-ה-ו-ה, spelled with a chīrīq be-neath the vāv (ו) in the phrases “ ה-ו-ה-י ינדאו ,” “ ה־ו־ה־י ינדאל ,” “ ה־ו־ה־י ינדא ,” and “ הוהי ינדאב ,” is pronounced like �םיה meaning ,(elô-HĪM) א-“God.”

I. The consonant י is pronounced like the “y” in “yak.” II. If י isn’t the last letter of a word and has no vowel over or under it and no ו or a ו right after it, then the י is part of a vowel; and (a) if the vowel comes from a Chīrīq right before the י, the vowel sounds like the “ee” in “queen;” (b) if the vowel comes from a Tzēyrēy right before the י, the vowel sounds like the “ey” in “hey;” but (c) if the vowel is anything else plus a י, the י is silent (and transliterated as a superscript “y”). EXAMPLES: (i) ויניי = yēy-NĀYV (with the final י as part of a vowel) (ii) םייא = iy-YĪM (with the final י as part of a vowel) (iii) היליא = ayyā-LEY-hā (with the final י as part of a vowel) (iv) יביא = ’ōye-VĀY (v) יניס = sī-NAY (vi) יולג = gil-LŪY

Yōd דוי

י



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י י י י Iota/Yoda-sized י י י Yōd

with that Dāgēsh Chāzāq—is never a—יvowel. The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound of the consonant is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. Most people don’t find the luxury to do Hebrew properly though.


Yōd דוי

י



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כ כ כ כ כ כ כ The difference between Kāf (כ) and Khāf (כ) is a mere dot. In English, a dot stops a sentence. The “k” of Kāf is a sound that stops your voice from making more of that sound. (Try to hold the sound of “k;” the “k” turns into a “kh”—kkkhhh—or a vowel—kuhhh or keeee!) The Khāf has no dot, and you can hold the sound as long as you want. But a Kāf has a dot and stops you from holding its sound.

Kinda Kagey Kornered Kāf

FUN FACT: The Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (along with the final form of פ ,(ך, and ת. In medieval Hebrew, the dot of the Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (and its final form, ך), פ, and ת respectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ד; and ת vs. ת. Still, many Jews—of Yemenite, Ashkenazic and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal.

is pronounced like the כ“k” in “kangaroo.” דכ = KAD

Kāf ףכ

כ



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;has a dot (כ) Kāf כ כ כ כ כ כ כKhāf (כ) doesn’t. In English, a dot stops a sentence. The “k” of Kāf is a sound that stops your voice from making more of that sound. (Try to hold the sound of “k;” the “k” turns into a “kh”—kkkhhhh—or a vowel—kuhhh or keeee!) The Kāf has a dot and stops you from holding its sound. But a Khāf has no dot, and you can hold the sound as long as you want.

Khinda Khagey Khornered Khāf

Yemenite Jews and other folks distinguish between the pronunciations of כ and ח; such folks pronounce ח as an airy letter in the back of the threat still heavier than ה—but less weighty than the rough sound of the כ.

is pronounced like the כ“kh” in “sheikh.” We’ll transliterate it as “kh.”

ןושלכ = khil-SHŌN

Khāf ףכ

כ



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ך ך ך ך ך ך ך Kāf Sōfīt (ך) is dotted; Khāf Sōfīt isn’t. English (ך)sentences stop at dots. The “k” of Kāf Sōfīt is a sound your voice can’t hold. (Try it; the “k” turns into “kh”—kkkhhhh—or a vowel—kuhhh or keee!) Khāf Sōfīt, with no dot, can be held as long as you want. But Kāf Sōfīt has a dot and stops you from holding its sound.

Kinda Kornered

Kaf Sōfīt

This “final” form (ך) only appears as the last letter of a word. Note that ך is never a ך with a Chīrīq (khi), and is never a ך with a Chīrīq (ki). ך, in fact, never appears with any vowel beneath it other than a Shevā’ Nāch ( ) or a Qāmātz (£), and the only vowels that can appear beneath a ך are, similarly, Qāmātz (ך) and Shevā’ Nāch (ך). FUN FACT: The Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (along with the final form of In medieval Hebrew, the dot of .ת and ,פ ,(ךthe Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: ב, ת and ,פ ,(ך ,and its final form) כ ,ד ,גrespectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ד; and ת vs. ת. Still, many Jews—of Yemenite, Ashkenazic, and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal.

is pronounced like the ך“k” in “kangaroo.”

ךממורא = ’arōm e-MEK-kā

Kāf Sōfīt

תיפוס ףכ

ך



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is (ך) Kāf Sōfīt ך ך ך ך ך ך ךdotted; Khāf Sōfīt isn’t. English (ך)sentences stop with dots. The “k” of Kāf Sōfīt is a sound that stops your voice from making more of that sound. (Try to hold the sound of “k;” the “k” turns into a “kh”—kkhhhhh—or a vowel—kuhhh or keeee!) The Kāf Sōfīt has a dot and stops you from holding its sound. But a Khāf Sōfīt has no dot; hold that sound as long as you want!

Khinda Khor-

nered Khāf Sōfīt

This “final” form (ך) only appears as the last letter of a word. Note that ך is never a ך with a Chīrīq (khi), and is never a ך with a Chīrīq (ki). ך, in fact, never appears with any vowel beneath it other than a Shevā’ Nāch ( ) or a Qāmātz (£), and the only vowels that can appear beneath a ך are, similarly, Qāmātz (ך) and Shevā’ Nāch (ך).

is pronounced like the ך“kh” in “sheikh.” We’ll transliterate it as “kh.”

תב = bit-TĒKH

Khāf Sōfīt

תיפוס ףכ

ך



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Lightning ל ל ל ל ל ל לLāmed

is pronounced mostly ל like the “l” in “lion” but sounds more like the French pronunciation of “l” in “le.” ול = LŪ

Lāmed דמל

ל

ל ל ל ל ל ל ל Lightning Lāmed

The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. But so few things are proper anymore; pronouncing the Dāgēsh Chāzāq has nearly gone out the window too.

See above and to the right.

דיפלה = hallap-PĪD

Lāmed דמל

ל

Mosheh on מ מ מ מ מ מ מMount Sinai

Mēm

is pronounced like the מ “m” in “monkey.”

ןימ = MĪN

Mēm םמ

מ



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מ מ מ מ מ מ מ Mosheh on Mount Sinai

Mēm

The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. May we all one day live in a society where we all speak proper Hebrew! (And you can say: Amen!)


ןימל = lam-MĪN

Mem םמ

מ

Mum’s the“ ם ם ם ם ם ם םWord” Mēm

Sōfīt

This “final” form (ם) only appears as the last letter of a word.

is pronounced like the ם“m” in “team.” םא = ’IM

Mēm Sōfīt

תיפוס םמ

ם



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Nothing-ish נ נ נ נ נ נ נNose-ish Nun

is pronounced like the נ “n” in “neat.” רנ = NĒR

Nūn ןונ

נ



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נ נ נ נ נ נ נ Nothing-ish Nose-ish Nun

The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. But some people just don’t care about being proper or improper.


רנכ = kan-NĒR

Nūn ןונ

נ



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Nothing-ish ן ן ן ן ן ן ןNose-ish Nūn

Sōfīt

This “final” form (ן) only appears as the last letter of a word.

is pronounced like the ן“n” in “neat.”

ןיס = SĪN

Nūn Sōfīt

תיפוס ןונ

ן

Semi-Sirkular ס ס ס ס ס ס סSāmekh

Nobody knows for sure what the difference is between the ancient pronunciation of ס and and if there even ever was one. A lot of—שancient and medieval Hebrew poets confused the two letters with each other when they tried to create alphabetical acrostics.

is typically pronounced סlike the “s” in “seat.” To keep it distinct from the ש (sīn) (transliterated here as “s”), we’ll transliterate the .as “s” with an underline ס

ריס = SĪR

Sāmekh �מס

ס



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ס ס ס ס ס ס ס Semi-Sirkular Samekh

The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. But formal society just isn’t what it used to be.


ריסה = has-SĪR

Samekh �מס

ס

Alien ‘Ayin ע ע ע ע ע ע ע

Many Yemenite Jews (and other folks) pronounce ע just like the Arabic letter ع (‘ayin)—which is pronounced as almost a deep and guttural (throaty) version of the letter Many Spanish-Portuguese Jews pronounce .א like the “ng” in “running.” Whatever you do עwhen you pronounce ע, you’re going to be mispronouncing it according to somebody.

I. Most commonly, ע is pronounced just like א in all its ways. Some folks pronounce it just a bit differently. (See the Note at the right.) We will transliterate ע as ‘ to distinguish it from א. II. When a word’s final letter is a ע with a Pattāch beneath it, the vowel of the Pattāch is pronounced before the ע (but this doesn’t matter much for people who pronounce א and ע the same way). EXAMPLES: (i) ריע = ‘ĪR (ii) ער = RÔ-a‘

‘Ayin ןיע

ע



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פ פ פ פ פ פ פ The difference between Pē’ (פ) and Fē’ (פ) is a mere dot. In English, a dot stops a sentence. The “p” of Pē’ is a sound that stops your voice from making more of that sound. (Try to hold the sound of “p;” the “p” turns into a “f”—pffffff—or a vowel—puhhh or peeee!) The Fē’ has no dot, and you can hold the sound as long as you want. But a Pē’ has a dot and stops you from holding its sound.

Pick-a-nose Pē’

FUN FACT: The Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (along with the final form of פ ,(ך, and ת. In medieval Hebrew, the dot of the Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (and its final form, ך), פ, and ת respectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ד; and ת vs. ת. Still, many Jews—of Yemenite, Ashkenazic, and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal.

is pronounced like the פ“p” in “pet.” הפ = PEH

Pē’ אפ

פ



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The difference פ פ פ פ פ פ פbetween Pē’ (פ) and Fē’ (פ) is a mere dot. In Eng-lish, a dot stops a sentence. The “p” of Pē’ is a sound that stops your voice from mak-ing more of that sound. (Try to hold the sound of P; the “p” turns into a “f”—pffff—or a vowel—puhhh or peeee!) The Pē’ has a dot and stops you from holding its sound. But a Fē’ has no dot, and you can hold the sound as long as you want.

Far-Flung Fē’

is pronounced like the פ “f” in “feet.” הפ = FEH

Fē’ אפ

פ



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’Far-Flung Fē ף ף ף ף ף ף ףSōfīt

This “final” form (ף) only appears as the last letter of a word.

is pronounced like the ף“f” in “feet.” ףא = ’AF

Fē’ Sōfīt

תיפוס אפ

ף

Alligatzor Tzādī צ צ צ צ צ צ צ

FUN FACT: צ probably used to be pronounced pretty similarly to the Arabic letter ص (Sād), which is typically pronounced like a constricted version of the “s” in “seat.”

is most commonly צpronounced like the “tz” in “ritz.”

הוצ = tziv-VĀH

Tzādī ידצ

צ



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צ צ צ צ צ צ צ Alligatzor Tzādī

The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound is lengthened or doubled in proper Hebrew. But nobody has any sense of etiquette nowadays. FUN FACT: צ probably used to be pronounced pretty similarly to the Arabic letter ص (Sād), which is typically pronounced like a constricted version of the “s” in “seat.”

is most commonly צpronounced like the “tz” in “ritz.”

לצה = hatz-TZĒL

Tzādī ידצ

צ

Alligatzor Tzādī ץ ץ ץ ץ ץ ץ ץSōfīt

This “final” form (ץ) only appears as the last letter of a word. FUN FACT: ץ probably used to be pronounced pretty similarly to the Arabic letter ص (Sād), which is typically pronounced like a constricted version of the “s” in “seat.”

is most commonly צpronounced like the “tz” in “ritz.” ץע = ‘ĒTZ

Tzādī Sōfīt

ידצ תיפוס

ץ



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Qickin’ Qūf ק ק ק ק ק ק ק

The ancient pronunciation(s?) of ק was (or were) likely made way further back in the throat than the way English speakers say the “k” in “kangaroo.” The Arabic letter ق (Qāf or Qōf) certainly is way throatier than the “k” in “kangaroo.” We don’t know exactly what ק sounded like in ancient Hebrew because we haven’t built time machines yet. (Maybe next year? Or last year—given how time machines work!)

is typically pronounced קlike the “k” in “kangaroo.” We’ll transliterate it as a “q” to distinguish it from a transliterated as a ,(kāf) כ“k.”

ףוק = QŪF

Qūf ףוק

ק

ק ק ק ק ק ק ק Qickin’ Qūf

The ancient pronunciation(s?) of ק was (or were) likely made way further back in the throat than the way English speakers say the “k” in “kangaroo.” The Arabic letter ق (Qāf or Qōf) certainly is way throatier than the “k” in “kangaroo.” We don’t know exactly what ק sounded like in ancient Hebrew because we haven’t built time machines yet. (Maybe next year? Or last year—given how time machines work!) The Dāgēsh Chāzāq in this letter means that the sound was lengthened or doubled.


ףוקה = haq-QŪF

Qūf ףוק

ק



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Right-angle ר ר ר ר ר ר רRēysh (or Rounded Rēysh)

is pronounced somewhat ר like the “r” in “round,” but it is more properly pronounced like the French “r” in “ratatouille” (or at least the Spanish “r” in “repetir”).

ביר = RIV

Rēysh שיר

ר

ר ר ר ר ר ר ר Right-angle Rēysh (or Rounded Rēysh)

The most popular theory goes a little like this: Hebrew used to have a commonly doubled or lengthened ר (or at least some letter that sounded a little bit like ר but was a ר), and nobody ever batted an eye. (How was ר pronounced? I’ll let you imagine that one!) The ר is still remembered—but rarely and with no consistency—in the Masoretic Text, which is the now-standard Hebrew text of the Hebrew Bible. (The Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Torah—transliterates the name of Sarah— הרש as Σάῥῤα, which sounds something like “SARH-ra.”) Over time, the whole ר thing got to be too much for some reason, and we have very little remaining evidence that this ר ever was such a common thing in Hebrew. It is, by the way, unclear whether the dot in the ר is a Dāgēsh Qal, a Dāgēsh Chāzāq, or something else (and what it is might depend on the individual words in which the ר is found). Either way, ר has nearly gone the way of one of the mightiest of birds: the dodo.

is pronounced somewhat רlike the “r” in “round,” but it is more properly pronounced like the French “r” in “ratatouille” (or at least the Spanish “r” in “repetir”). But nobody exactly knows what the deal is with the dot in the .ר

םתיארה = (harre’i-TEM)

Rēysh שיר

ר



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ש ש ש ש Never Right“ ש ש ש To Sin” Dot-on-the-Right Shīn

is pronounced like the ש “sh” in “ship.” We’ll transliterate it as “sh.” לש = SHEL

Shīn ןיש

ש

ש ש ש ש Never Right“ ש ש ש To Sin” Dot-on-

the-Left Sīn

Nobody knows for sure what the difference is between the ancient pronunciation of ס and and if there even ever was one. A lot of—שancient and medieval Hebrew poets confused the two letters with each other when they tried to create alphabetical acrostics.

WHAT’S HIS NAME? For some reason, רכששי (the name of the Israelite tribe/brother Issachar/Yisakhar) is almost always pronounced like רכשי (yissā-KHĀR). Some folks have a practice of pro-nouncing this word like רכששי (yissās-KHĀR) the first time it appears in the ToraH (at Gene-sis 30:18), and some folks pronounce it like

רכששי during each appearance in the הרות (Tō-RĀH) until (and potentially including)

סחניפ תשרפ (Pārā-SHĀT Pīne-CHĀS—Num-bers 25:10-30:1).

is pronounced like the ש“s” in “sit.” הש = SEH

Sīn ןיש

ש



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ש ש ש ש Never Right“ ש ש ש To Sin” Dot-on-the-Right Shīn

In proper Hebrew, a ש (with the dot of a Dāgēsh Chāzāq) is sounded as “doubled” (like saying “sh… sh…” really fast) or lengthened (like holding, “shhhhhh…”). Proper Hebrew is a very uncommon thing these days. Oy vey, today’s youth!

See the box two boxes above and the one box to the right.

םשה = hash-SHĒM

Shīn ןיש

ש

ש ש ש ש Never Right“ ש ש ש To Sin” Dot-on-

the-Left Sīn

In proper Hebrew, a ש (with the dot of a Dāgēsh Chāzāq) is sounded as “doubled” (like saying just the two “s” sounds in “miss somebody” really fast) or lengthened (like imitating something sizzling: “ssssss…”). Proper Hebrew is a very uncommon thing these days. Nobody has any manners. This is sad.

See the box two boxes above and the one box to the right.

השה = has-SEH

Sīn ןיש

ש



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*Tiny Toe Tāv ת ת ת ת ת ת ת

*Sadly, this mnemonic doesn’t work for certain Ashkenazic Jews, Yemenite Jews, and other folks. See the Notes on the left.

FUN FACTS: Many Ashkenazic Jews pronounce ת, with no dot of a Dāgēsh Qal—like the “s” in “sit;” these same Jews pronounce ת—with a Dāgēsh Qal—like the “t” in “tell.” Many Yemenite Jews pronounce ת like the “th” in “Thin things thinking;” Yemenite Jews pronounce ”.with a Dāgēsh Qal—like the “t” in “tell—תThe ancient pronunciation of ת with no Dāgēsh is probably not the “t” as in “tell” that is common in modern Israel.

WARNING: Be careful around whom you pronounce ת as “s,” “t” or “th;” tink abous thith.

is often pronounced like תthe “t” in “tell.” To keep it distinct from the ת, we’ll transliterate ת as “t” with an underline.

ףות = TŌF

Tāv ות

ת



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ת ת ת ת ת ת ת Tiny Toe Tāv

While there is disagreement about how to pronounce ת with no Dāgēsh Qal (with Ashkenazic Jews saying “s” as in “sit,” Yemenite Jews saying “th” as in “think”)—basically everybody agrees that ת should be pronounced like the “t” in “tell.” FUN FACT: The Dāgēsh Qal is that same dot that appears inside a כ ,ד ,ג ,ב (along with the final form of In medieval Hebrew, the dot of .ת and ,פ ,(ךthe Dāgēsh Qal distinguished these letters from other letters that sounded similar to the forms of these letters without a Dāgēsh Qal: ב, ת and ,פ ,(ך ,and its final form) כ ,ד ,גrespectively. Most native Hebrew speakers today do not make a distinction in how they pronounce ג vs. ד ;ג vs. ד; and ת vs. ת. Still, many Jews—of Yemenite, Ashkenazic and other origins—distinguish between ת vs. ת. In the Hebrew Bible, there is the occasional ר, and, sometimes, it seems that the dot in ר might also be a Dāgēsh Qal.

is pronounced like the ת“t” in “tell.”

ףות = TŌF

Tāv ות

ת

Many thanks to Shana Lee and to (my incredible mother) Ellen Rank for many of these mnemonics I have borrowed. (Some of these are my own.)

Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Hebrew ......Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About...

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