Dictionary of Meaning
<<Back
Please select a letter:
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
0-9
Click here for Shopping
Hebrew alphabet
*** Shopping-Tip: Hebrew alphabet
{{SpecialCharsNote}}
:''This article is mainly about Hebrew letters. For Hebrew diacritical marks, see
niqqud (for the vowel points) and
cantillation.''
{{alphabet}}
{{Hebrew alphabet}}
The '''Hebrew
alphabet''' is a set of 22 letters used for writing the
Hebrew language. It has also been used in mildly adapted forms for writing several languages of the Jewish diaspora, most famously
Yiddish language Yiddish,
Ladino language Ladino, and
Judaeo-Arabic languages Judaeo-Arabic (for a full and detailed list, see
Jewish languages). Hebrew is written from right to left.
The Hebrew word for "alphabet" is ×?לף-בית (''alef-bet''), named after the first two letters of the Hebrew alphabet. The Hebrew alphabet was in origin an
abjad, in other words it had letters for
consonants only, but means were later devised to indicate vowels, first by using consonant letters as
matres lectionis, later by separate vowel points or
nikud.
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.
The modern ''script'' used for writing Hebrew (usually called the '''Jewish script''' by scholars, and also traditionally known as the '''square script''', or the '''Assyrian script'''—not to be confused with the Eastern variant of the
Syriac alphabet), evolved during the
3rd century BC from the
Aramaic script, which was used by
Jew Jews for writing Hebrew since the
6th century BC. Prior to that, Hebrew was written using the old '''Hebrew script''', which evolved during the
10th century BC from the Phoenician script; the
Samaritan Samaritans still write Hebrew in a variant of this script for religious works (see
Samaritan alphabet).
Short table
The Hebrew alphabet consists of the following letters. Some letters have a different form used at the ends of words: 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 (Hebrew) Alef'''||'''
Beth (letter) Bet/Vet'''||'''
Gimel (letter) Gimel'''||'''
Daleth Dalet'''||'''
He (letter) He'''||'''
Waw (letter) Vav'''||'''
Zayin'''.html">Heth (letter)
Het'''||'''
Teth Tet'''||'''
Yodh Yod'''||'''
Kaph Kaf/Chaf'''
|-
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×?
×?
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ב
ב
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×’
×’
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ד
ד
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×”
×”
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ו
ו
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×–
×–
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×—
×—
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ט
ט
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×™
×™
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×›
×›
|-
| ||||||||||||||||||||style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|ך
ך
|-
|'''
Lamedh Lamed'''||'''
Mem'''.html">Nun (letter)
Nun'''||'''
Samekh'''.html">Ayin'''
|'''Pe (letter)|Pe/Fe'''||'''
Tsade Tsadi'''||'''
Qoph Qof'''||'''
Resh'''.html">Shin (letter)
Shin/Sin'''||'''
Taw (letter) Tav'''
|-
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ל
ל
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| מ
מ
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×
×
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ס
ס
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×¢
×¢
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| פ
פ
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| צ
צ
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ק
ק
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ר
ר
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ש
ש
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ת
ת
|-
| ||style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×?
×?
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ן
ן
|||||style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×£
×£
|style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top| ×¥
×¥
|||||style="font-size:300%" height=40 valign=top|
|}
Description
Both the old Hebrew script and the modern Hebrew script have only one
Case (orthography) case, but in the modern script some letters have special
final form final forms used only at the end of a word. This is similar to the
Arabic alphabet, although much simpler. The Hebrew alphabet is an
abjad:
vowel vowels are normally not indicated. Where they are it is because a weak
consonant such as ×? ''alef'', ×” he, ו ''vav'', or ×™ ''yod'' has combined with a previous vowel and become silent or by imitation of such cases in spelling of other forms. When used to write
Yiddish, the Hebrew writing system is a true alphabet (see
Yiddish orthography), except where Hebrew words are written in Yiddish.
To preserve the proper vowel sounds, scholars developed several different sets of
diacritic symbols called ''
nikud'' (× ×™×§×•×“; literally: "applying points"). One of these, the 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).
Hebrew letters may also be used as
number numbers; see the entry on
Hebrew numerals. This use of letters as numbers is used in
Kabbalah (
Judaism Jewish mysticism) in a practice known as
gematria.
Main table
The following table is a breakdown of each letter in the Hebrew alphabet, describing its written
glyph or glyphs, its name or names, its
Latin script transliteration values used in academic work, and its
pronunciation in reconstructed historical forms and
dialect dialects using the
International Phonetic Alphabet. If two glyphs are shown for a letter, then the left-most glyph is the Final form of the letter (or right-most glyph if your browser doesn't support right-to-left text layout).
Name and transliteration
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan=3 | Symbol
!! colspan=6 | Name
!! colspan=4 | Transliteration
|-
! colspan=3 | Academic !! rowspan=2 | Uni-
code Stan-
dard !! rowspan=2 |
Israeli Hebrew Israeli
!! rowspan=2 | Ash-
kenazi
!! colspan=3 |Academic !! rowspan=2 | Israeli
|-
!
Unicode Uni-
code !!
Typeface Font-friendly !!
ISO-8859-1-friendly !! Uni-
code!! Font-friendly!! ISO-8859-1-friendly
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×?
|| {{unicode|ʾÄ?Ì?lepÌ„}} || ’Ä?leph || 'à leph
|| alef || alef || alef
|| {{unicode|ʾ}} || ’ || '
|| ' (1)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ב
|| {{unicode|bêṯ, ḇêṯ}} || bêth, bhêth || bêth, bhêth
|| bet || bet, vet || beis, veis
|| {{unicode|b, ḇ}} || b, bh || b, bh
|| b, v
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×’
|| {{unicode|gÃmmel, ḡÃmel}} || gÃmel, ghÃmel || gÃmel, ghÃmel
|| gimel || gimel || gimmel
|| {{unicode|g, ḡ}} || g, gh || g, gh
|| g
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ד
| {{unicode|dÄ?Ì?leṯ, á¸?Ä?Ì?leṯ}} || dÄ?leth, dhÄ?leth || dà leth, dhà leth
|| dalet || dalet || doles
|| {{unicode|d, �}} || d, dh || d, dh
|| d
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×”
|| ? || hê || hê
|| he || he, hei, e, ei || hei
|| {{unicode|h, Ḏ}} || ? || ?
|| h (2)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ו
|| {{unicode|wÄ?w}} || wÄ?w || wà w
|| vav || vav || vov, vof
|| ? || w || w
|| v
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×–
|| ? || záyin || záyin
|| zayin || zayin || zayin
||? || z || z
|| ?
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×—
|| {{unicode|ḥêṯ, (3) ḫêṯ}} || ħêth, (3) xêth || h`êth, (3) xêth
|| het || chet || ches
|| {{unicode|ḥ, (3) ḫ}} || ħ, (3) x || h`, (3) x
|| kh, ch (4)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ט
|| {{unicode|á¹Ãªá¹¯}} || ţêth || t`êth
|| tet || tet || tes
|| {{unicode|á¹}} || Å£ || t`
|| t
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×™
|| {{unicode|yô�}} || yôdh || yôdh
|| yod || yod, yud || yud
|| ? ||y || y
|| y, i (8)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ך כ
|| {{unicode|kÄ?pÌ„, ḵÄ?pÌ„}} || kÄ?ph, khÄ?ph || kà ph, khà ph
|| kaf || kaf, chaf || kof, chof
|| {{unicode|k, ḵ}} || k, kh || k, kh
|| k, ch
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ל
|| {{unicode|lÄ?Ì?meá¸?}} || lÄ?medh || là medh
|| lamed || lamed || lomed
|| ? || l || l
|| l
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×? מ
|| mēm || mēm || mèm
|| mem || mem || mem
|| ? || m|| m
|| m
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ן ×
|| ? || nûn || nûn
|| nun || nun || nun
|| ? || n || n
|| n
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ס
|| {{unicode|sÄ?Ì?mekh}} || sÄ?mekh || sà mekh
|| samekh || samech || somech
|| ? || s|| s
|| s
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×¢
|| {{unicode|ʿáyin,}} (3) {{unicode|ġáyin}} || ‘áyin, (3) ġáyin || `áyin, (3) 3áyin
|| ayin || ayin || ayin, oyin
|| {{unicode|ʿ}}, (3) {{unicode|ġ}} || ‘, (3) ġ || `, (3) 3
|| ' (9)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ף פ
|| {{unicode|pê, p̄ê}} || pê, phê || pê, phê
|| pe || pe, pei, fe/fei || pei, fei
|| {{unicode|p, p̄}} || p, ph || p, ph
|| p, f
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ץ צ
|| {{unicode|á¹£Ä?á¸?ê}} || ÅŸÄ?dhê || s`à dhê
|| tsadi || tzadi, tzadik || tsodi, tsodik
|| {{unicode|á¹£}} || ÅŸ || s`
|| tz, ts, z
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ק
|| {{unicode|qÅ?pÌ„}} || qôph || qôph
|| qof || kof, kuf || kuf
|| ? || k || k
|| q
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ר
|| {{unicode|rêš}} || rêš || rêsh
|| resh || resh, reish || reish
|| ? || r|| r
|| r
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ש
|| {{unicode|šîn, śîn}} || šîn, śîn || shîn, lhîn
|| shin || shin, sin || shin, sin
|| {{unicode|Å¡, Å›}} || Å¡, Å› || sh, lh
|| sh, s
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ת
|| {{unicode|tÄ?w, ṯÄ?w}} || tÄ?w, thÄ?w || tà w, thà w
|| tav || tav, taf || tov, tof, sov, sof
|| {{unicode|t, ṯ}} || t, th || t, th
|| t
|}
Numerical value and pronunciation
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! rowspan=3 | Symbol
!! rowspan=3 | Numerical
Value
!! colspan=7 | Pronunciation (
International Phonetic Alphabet IPA)
|-
!! rowspan=2 |
Israeli Hebrew Modern Israeli
!! rowspan=2 |
Ashkenazi Hebrew Ashkenazi
!! rowspan=2 |
Sephardi Hebrew language Sephardi
!! rowspan=2 |
Yemenite Hebrew language Yemenite
!! rowspan=2 |
Tiberian Hebrew Tiberian
!! colspan=2 | Reconstructed
|-
!
Mishnaic Hebrew Mishnaic !!
Biblical Hebrew Biblical
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×?
|| 1
|| [
glottal stop {{IPA|Ê”}}, - {{IPA|]}} || [ - ] || {{IPA|[ Ê”, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ Ê”, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ Ê”, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ Ê”, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ Ê” ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ב
|| 2
|| {{IPA|[
voiced bilabial plosive b,
voiced labiodental fricative v ]}} || {{IPA|[ b, v~v̥ ]}} || {{IPA|[ b, b~
voiced bilabial fricative β~v ]}} || {{IPA|[ b ]}} || {{IPA|[ b, v ]}} || {{IPA|[ b, β ]}} || {{IPA|[ b ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×’
|| 3
|| {{IPA|[
voiced velar plosive É¡ ]}} || {{IPA|[ É¡~É¡ÌŠ ]}} || {{IPA|[ É¡, É¡~
voiced velar fricative ɣ ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiced postalveolar affricate ʤ, ɣ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ɡ, ɣ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ɡ, ɣ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ɡ ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ד
|| 4
|| {{IPA|[
voiced alveolar plosive d ]}} || {{IPA|[ d~d̥ ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiced dental plosive d̪~
voiced dental fricative ð ]}} || {{IPA|[ d̪, ð ]}} || {{IPA|[ d̪, ð ]}} || {{IPA|[ d̪, ð ]}} || {{IPA|[ d̪ ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×”
|| 5
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless glottal fricative h~
glottal stop Ê”, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ h, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ h, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ h, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ h, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ h, - ]}} || {{IPA|[ h ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ו
|| 6
|| {{IPA|[
voiced labiodental fricative v ]}} || {{IPA|[ v~v̥ ]}} || {{IPA|[ v ]}} || {{IPA|[
labial-velar approximant w ]}} || {{IPA|[ w ]}} || {{IPA|[ w ]}} || {{IPA|[ w ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×–
|| 7
|| {{IPA|[
voiced alveolar fricative z ]}} || {{IPA|[ z~z̥ ]}} || {{IPA|[ z ]}} || {{IPA|[ z ]}} || {{IPA|[ z ]}} || {{IPA|[ z ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiced alveolar affricate dz ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×—
|| 8
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless velar fricative x~
voiceless pharyngeal fricative ħ ]}} || {{IPA|[ x ]}} || {{IPA|[ ħ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ħ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ħ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ħ, x ]}} || {{IPA|[ ħ, x ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ט
|| 9
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless alveolar plosive t ]}} || {{IPA|[ t ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiceless dental plosive t̪ ]}} || {{IPA|[ t̴̪ ]}} (5) || {{IPA|[ t̴̪ ]}} || {{IPA|[ t̪Ë? ]}} (6) || {{IPA|[ t̪ʼ ]}} (7)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×™
||10
|| {{IPA|[
palatal approximant j ]}} || {{IPA|[ j ]}} || {{IPA|[ j ]}} || {{IPA|[ j ]}} || {{IPA|[ j ]}} || {{IPA|[ j ]}} || {{IPA|[ j ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ך כ
|| 20
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless velar plosive k,
voiceless velar fricative x ]}} || {{IPA|[ k, x ]}} || {{IPA|[ k, x ]}} || {{IPA|[ k, x ]}} || {{IPA|[ k, x ]}} || {{IPA|[ k, x ]}} || {{IPA|[ k ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ל
|| 30
|| {{IPA|[
alveolar lateral approximant l ]}} || {{IPA|[ l~É« ]}} || {{IPA|[ l ]}} || {{IPA|[ l ]}} || {{IPA|[ l ]}} || {{IPA|[ l ]}} || {{IPA|[ l ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×? מ
|| 40
|| {{IPA|[
bilabial nasal m ]}} || {{IPA|[ m ]}} || {{IPA|[ m ]}} || {{IPA|[ m ]}} || {{IPA|[ m ]}} || {{IPA|[ m ]}} || {{IPA|[ m ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ן ×
|| 50
|| {{IPA|[
alveolar nasal n ]}} || {{IPA|[ n ]}} || {{IPA|[
dental nasal n̪ ]}} || {{IPA|[ n̪ ]}} || {{IPA|[ n̪ ]}} || {{IPA|[ n̪ ]}} || {{IPA|[ n̪ ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ס
|| 60
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless alveolar fricative s ]}} || {{IPA|[ s ]}} || {{IPA|[ s ]}} || {{IPA|[ s ]}} || {{IPA|[ s ]}} || {{IPA|[ s ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiceless alveolar affricate ts ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×¢
|| 70
|| [ {{IPA|
glottal stop Ê” ~
voiced pharyngeal fricative Ê•}}, – ] || [ - ] || [ {{IPA|Ê•,
velar nasal Å‹,}} – ] || [ {{IPA|Ê•}} ] || [ {{IPA|Ê•}} ] || [ {{IPA|Ê•,
voiced velar fricative ɣ}} ] || [ {{IPA|ʕ, ɣ}} ]
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ף פ
|| 80
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless bilabial plosive p,
voiceless labiodental fricative f ]}} || {{IPA|[ p, f ]}} || {{IPA|[ p, f ]}} || {{IPA|[ f ]}} || {{IPA|[ p, f ]}} || {{IPA|[ p,
voiceless bilabial fricative ɸ ]}} || {{IPA|[ p ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ץ צ
|| 90
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless alveolar affricate ʦ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ʦ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ʦ ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiceless alveolar fricative sÌ´ ]}} (5) || {{IPA|[ sÌ´ ]}} || {{IPA|[ sË? ]}} (6) || {{IPA|[
voiceless alveolar affricate ʦʼ,
voiceless postalveolar affricate ʧʼ,
voiceless alveolar lateral affricate t͡ɬʼ ]}} (7)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ק
|| 100
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless velar plosive k ]}} || {{IPA|[ k ]}} || {{IPA|[ k ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiced velar plosive É¡ ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiceless uvular plosive q ]}} || {{IPA|[ q ]}} || {{IPA|[ kʼ ]}} (7)
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ר
|| 200
|| {{IPA|[
voiced uvular fricative Ê? ]}} || {{IPA|[
uvular trill ʀ ]}} || {{IPA|[
alveolar trill r~
alveolar flap ɾ ]}} || {{IPA|[ r~ɾ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ɾ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ɾ ]}} || {{IPA|[ ɾ ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ש
|| 300
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless postalveolar fricative ʃ,
voiceless alveolar fricative s ]}} || {{IPA|[ ʃ, s ]}} || {{IPA|[ ʃ, s ]}} || {{IPA|[ ʃ, s ]}} || {{IPA|[ ʃ, s ]}} || {{IPA|[ ʃ,
voiceless alveolar lateral fricative ɬ ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiceless postalveolar affricate ʧ,
voiceless alveolar lateral affricate t͡ɬ, s ]}}
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ת
|| 400
|| {{IPA|[
voiceless alveolar plosive t ]}} || {{IPA|[ t,
voiceless alveolar fricative s ]}} || {{IPA|[
voiceless dental plosive t̪,
voiceless dental fricative θ ]}} || {{IPA|[ t̪, θ ]}} || {{IPA|[ t̪, θ ]}} || {{IPA|[ t̪, θ ]}} || {{IPA|[ t̪ ]}}
|}
Notes
# unwritten in initial and final positions, though often not written at all
# unwritten in final positions
# archaic
# h initial or after consonants, ch everywhere else
#
velarization velarized or
pharyngealization pharyngealized
# pharyngealized
# sometimes said to be
ejective consonant ejective but more likely
glottalized.
# i in final positions or before consonants
# often not written at all
----
* Historically, the consonants ב ''bet'', ג ''gimel'', ד ''dalet'', כ ''kaf'', פ ''pe'', and ת ''tav'' each had two sounds: one hard (
plosive consonant), and one soft (
fricative consonant), 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'' (דגש), while the soft sounds lack a ''dagesh''. In
masoretic manuscripts, the soft fricative consonants are indicated by a small line on top of the letter; this diacritical mark is called ''raphe'' (רפה), but its use has been largely discontinued in printed texts.
* ×? ''alef'', ×” ''he'', ו ''vav'' and ×™ ''yod'' are consonants that can sometimes fill the position of a vowel. ''vav'' and ''yod'' in particular are more often vowels than they are consonants.
* ש ''shin'' and ''sin'' are two separate
phoneme phonemes written with the same letter. They are not mutually
allophony 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 sin-dot is above the upper-left side of the letter.
* In
Israel's general population, many consonants have merged to the same pronunciation. They are:
** ×? ''alef'' with ''ayin'' and (varyingly) ×” ''he''
** ב ''bet'' (without ''dagesh'') with ו ''vav''
** ×— ''het'' with ×› ''kaf'' (without ''dagesh'')
** ט ''tet'' with ת ''tav'' (both with and without dagesh)
** כ ''kaf'' (with ''dagesh'') with ק ''qof''
** ס ''samekh'' with שׂ ''sin'' (but not with ש×? ''shin'')
** צ ''tsadi'' with the consonant cluster תס ''tav-samekh''
Vowel formation
Some of the letters, as well as their consonantal function, also acted as ''matres lectionis'' to represent vowels, as follows:
{|class="wikitable"
|-
!Symbol!!Name!!Vowel formation
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×?
|| alef
|| ê, ệ, áº, â, ô
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×”
|| he
|| ê, ệ, áº, â, ô
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|ו
|| vav
|| ô, û
|-
| align="center" style="font-size:200%"|×™
|| yod
|| î, ê, ệ
|}
=Vowels and Consonants in Ancient Hebrew
=
Some of the variations in sound mentioned above are due to a systematic feature of
Ancient Hebrew. The six consonants /p t k b d g/ were pronounced differently depending on their position. These letters were also called BeGeDKePHeT (
IPA chart for English pronounced {{IPA|/beɪgɛd'kɛfɛt/}}) letters. (The full details are very complex; this summary omits some points.) They were pronounced as stops [p t k b d g] at the beginning of a syllable, or when doubled. They were pronounced as
fricatives {{unicode.html">International Phonetic Alphabet
IPA {{IPA|[f θ x v ð ɣ]}} when preceded by a vowel. The stop and double pronunciations were indicated by the ''dagesh''. In Modern Hebrew the sounds {{unicode|[�]}} 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.
ו ''vav'' was a semivowel /w/ (as in English, not as in German).
×— ''het'' and ×¢ ''ayin'' were
pharyngeal consonant pharyngeal fricative consonant fricatives, צ ''tsadi'' was an
emphatic consonant emphatic /s/, ט ''tet'' was an emphatic /t/, and ק ''qof'' was /q/. All these are common
Semitic languages Semitic consonants.
שׂ ''sin'' (the /s/ variant of ש ''shin'') was originally different from both ש×? shin and ס ''samekh'', but had become /s/ the same as ס ''samekh'' by the time the vowel pointing was devised. Because of
cognates with other
Semitic languages, this phoneme is known to have originally been a
lateral consonant, most likely
International Phonetic Alphabet IPA the
fricative {{IPA.html">Welsh language
Welsh ''ll'') or the
affricate {{IPA|/tɬ/}} (as in
Náhuatl ''tl'').
History
Archaeology Archeological evidence indicates that the original Hebrew script is related to the
Phoenician alphabet Phoenician script that was in wide use in the
Middle East region at the end of the
2nd millennium BCE. (Eventually, in
Europe, this alphabet evolved into the
Greek alphabet Greek and
Roman alphabet Roman alphabets). Phoenician script was borrowed by the
Hebrews during the
12th century BCE 12th or
11th century BCE, and around the
10th century BCE[[http://www.clevelandjewishnews.com/articles/2006/03/17/news/local/archaelogyfind0317. 10th century BCE script]], a distinct Hebrew variant, the original "Hebrew script", emerged. This script was widely used in the ancient kingdoms of
Kingdom of Israel Israel and
Kingdom of Judah Judah until they fell in the
8th century BCE 8th and
6th century BCE 6th centuries BCE, respectively.
Following the
Babylonian captivity of Judah Babylonian exile,
Jew Jews gradually stopped using the Hebrew script, and instead adopted the
Babylon Babylonian Aramaic script (which was also originally derived from the Phoenician script). This script, used for writing Hebrew, later evolved into the Jewish, or "square" script, that is still used today. "Square"-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. According to traditional
Judaism Jewish thought, the Hebrew writing system contained all the current letters at the time of
Moses, although
Ezra is known for his contribution to the square form.
Following the decline of
Hebrew language Hebrew and
Aramaic as the spoken languages of the Jews, the Hebrew alphabet was adopted 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 end of the
19th century, despite several unsuccessful attempts to replace it with the Latin alphabet.
Possible Linguistic Origins
The Hebrew alphabet is thought to have developed in the same way as the
Phoenician alphabet; each letter representing a picture. This is noted in the
Mathers table, a table that appeared in a
kabalah Kabbalistic book, ''The Kabbalah Unveiled'' (an English translation of ''
Kabbalah Denudata The Kabbalah Denudata'' by
Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers S.L. MacGregor Mathers). Over time, historical scholars believe, the letters evolved into the modern rectangular alphabet:
*×? aleph - "ox"
*ב bet - "house"
*×’ gimel - "camel"
*ד dalet - "fish" or "door"
*×” heh - "jubilation" or "window"
*ו vav - "hook"
*×– zayin - "manacle" or "weapon"
*ח {{ArabDIN|ḥ}}et - "enclosure" or "fence"
*ט {{ArabDIN|á¹}}et - "snake"
*×™ yad - "arm" or "hand"
*×› kaf - "hand" or "palm"
*ל lamed - "goad"
*מ mem - "water"
*× nun - "fish"
*ס samech - "prop"
*×¢ 'ayin - "eye"
*פ peh - "mouth"
*צ tsadee - "plant"
*ק kaph - "monkey" or "back of the head"
*ר reš - "head"
*ש šin - "tooth"
*ת tav - "signature"
Unicode Table
The
Unicode Hebrew block extends from U+0590 to U+05FF and from U+FB20 to U+FB40. It includes
letters,
Ligature (typography) ligatures,
combining diacritical marks (''
niqqud'' and
cantillation marks) and
punctuation.
{| class="Unicode"
|- align="center"
| || ||0||1||2||3||4||5||6||7||8||9||A||B||C||D||E||F
|- align="center"
|590|| ||Ö?||Ö‘||Ö’||Ö“||Ö”||Ö•||Ö–||Ö—||Ö˜||Ö™||Öš||Ö›||Öœ||Ö?||Öž||ÖŸ
|- align="center"
|5A0|| ||Ö ||Ö¡||Ö¢||Ö£||Ö¤||Ö¥||Ö¦||Ö§||Ö¨||Ö©||Öª||Ö«||Ö¬||Ö||Ö®||Ö¯
|- align="center"
|5B0|| ||Ö°||Ö±||Ö²||Ö³||Ö´||Öµ||Ö¶||Ö·||Ö¸||Ö¹||Öº||Ö»||Ö¼||Ö½||Ö¾||Ö¿
|- align="center"
|5C0|| ||×€||×?||ׂ||׃||ׄ||×…||׆||ׇ||׈||׉||׊||׋||׌||×?||׎||×?
|- align="center"
|5D0|| ||×?||ב||×’||ד||×”||ו||×–||×—||ט||×™||ך||×›||ל||×?||מ||ן
|- align="center"
|5E0|| ||× ||ס||×¢||×£||פ||×¥||צ||ק||ר||ש||ת||׫||׬||×||×®||ׯ
|- align="center"
|5F0|| ||װ||ױ||ײ||׳||״||׵||׶||׷||׸||׹||׺||׻||׼||׽||׾||׿
|- align="center" colspan="18"
|
----
|- align="center"
|FB20|| ||ﬠ||ﬡ||ﬢ||ﬣ||ﬤ||ﬥ||ﬦ||ﬧ||ﬨ||﬩||שׁ||שׂ||שּׁ||שּׂ||אַ||אָ
|- align="center"
|FB30|| ||אּ||בּ||גּ||דּ||הּ||וּ||זּ||||טּ||יּ||ךּ||כּ||לּ||||מּ||
|- align="center"
|FB40|| ||נּ||סּ||||ףּ||פּ||||צּ||קּ||רּ||שּ||תּ||וֹ||בֿ||כֿ||פֿ||ﭏ
|}
Note: The codes װ ױ ײ are intended for Yiddish. They are not used in Hebrew.
HTML Code Table
These are the Hebrew
Numeric character reference Numeric Character References. 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.
'''Alef-Bet'''
{|border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="8" width="500" style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable"
|-
| width="25%" |ג||width="25%" |ב||width="25%" |בּ||width="25%" |א
|-
!ג||ב||בּ||א
|-
|ז||ו||ה||ד
|-
!ז||ו||ה||ד
|-
| כּ||י||ט||ח
|-
! כּ||י||ט||ח
|-
|מ||ל||ך||כ
|-
!מ||ל||ך||כ
|-
|ס||ן||× ||×?
|-
!ס||ן||נ||ם
|-
|ף||פ||פּ||ע
|-
!ף||פ||פּ||ע
|-
|ר||ק||ץ||צ
|-
!ר||ק||ץ||צ
|-
|ת||תּ||שׂ||שׁ
|-
!ת||תּ||שׂ||שׁ
|}
'''Vowels and Unique Characters'''
{| width=250 border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="8" style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable"
|-
| width=50%|Short/Hard||Long/Soft
|}
{| width=250 border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="8" style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable"
|-
| width=50%|( Ö· )||( Ö¸ )
|-
!ַ||ָ
|-
|( Öµ )||( Ö¶ )
|-
!ֵ||ֶ
|-
|וֹ||( ֹ )
|-
!וֹ||ֹ
|-
|וּ||( Ö» )
|-
!וּ||ֻ
|-
|( Ö´ )|| Letter Yud ( ×™ )
|-
!ִ||י
|}
{| width=250 border="1" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="8" style="text-align:center;" class="wikitable"
|-
| width=50% | Shva Nach ( Ö° )||Shva Nah ( Ö° )
|-
!ְ||ְ
|-
| colspan="2" |Dagesh ( Ö¼ )
|-
! colspan="2" |ּ
|}
See also
*
History of the Hebrew language
*
Niqqud
References
(using new citation method)
Roots of the Hebrew Alphabet
-
Hoffman, Joel M. 2004. ''In the Beginning: A Short History of the Hebrew Language.'' New York: NYU Press.
-
Saenz-Badillos, Angel. 1993. ''A History of the Hebrew Language.'' Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
*
Mathers table
-
''Aleph-Beth Quick Study Chart.'' February 28, 2005. Qumran Bet Community. Retrieved January 5th, 2006.
-
''The Ancient Hebrew Language and Alephbet.'' August 11, 2004. The Ancient Hebrew Research Center. Retrieved January 5th, 2006.
External links
{{Commons|Hebrew alphabet}}
-
HebAlpha, freeware to assist in learning the alphabet
-
Al's Hebrew Transliterator, converts latin alphabet transliteration into Hebrew HTML codes
-
A free online course to learn the Hebrew consonants
-
Hebrew translit for typing Hebrew with an English keyboard
-
Transliterate your English name into Hebrew Letters
Category:Abjad writing systems
Category:Canaanite languages
Category:Hebrew alphabet
als:Hebräisches Alphabet
ar:كتابة عبرية
ast:Alfabetu hebréu
br:Lizherenneg hebraek
ca:Alfabet hebreu
da:Hebraisk alfabet
de:Hebräisches Alphabet
es:Alfabeto hebreo
eo:Hebrea alfabeto
fr:Alphabet hébreu
gl:Alfabeto hebreo
ko:히브리 문�
it:Alfabeto ebraico
he:×?לפבית עברי
lad:Alefbet ebreo
nl:Hebreeuws alfabet
ja:ヘブライ文å—
no:Hebraisk alfabet
nn:Det hebraiske alfabetet
pl:Alfabet hebrajski
pt:Alfabeto hebraico
ro:Alfabetul ebraic
ru:ЕврейÑ?кий алфавит
sk:Hebrejská abeceda
sr:ХебрејÑ?ко пиÑ?мо
fi:Heprealainen kirjaimisto
sv:Hebreiska alfabetet
tr:Ä°brani Alfabesi
uk:ГебрейÑ?ька абетка
zh:希伯æ?¥å—æ¯?
{{catmore}}
{{CategoryTOC}}
Category:Hebrew language
Category:Abjad writing systems
Category:Letters by alphabet
als:Kategorie:Hebräisches Schriftzeiche
ca:Categoria:Alfabet hebreu
de:Kategorie:Hebräisches Schriftzeichen
es:CategorÃa:Alfabeto hebreo
fr:Catégorie:Lettre de l'alphabet hébreu
ko:분류:히브리 문�
he:קטגוריה:×”×?לפבית העברי
nl:Categorie:Hebreeuws alfabet
nn:Kategori:Det hebraiske alfabetet
pt:Categoria:Alfabeto hebraico
fi:Luokka:Heprealaiset kirjaimet
see
Hebrew_alphabet
{| width="144" style="border: 1px solid #ccccff;margin-left:0.5em; float: right; clear:right;" dir="rtl"
|-
! bgcolor="#ccccff" colspan="6" |
Hebrew alphabet
|- align="center" class="nounderlines"
| ||
Aleph (Hebrew) ×? ||
Beth (letter) ב ||
Gimel (letter) ×’ ||
Dalet ד ||
|- align="center" class="nounderlines"
|
He (letter) ×” ||
Waw (letter) ו ||
Zayin ×– ||
Heth (letter) ×— ||
Teth ט ||
Yodh ×™
|- align="center" class="nounderlines"
|
Kaph כך ||
Lamedh ל ||
Mem מ×? ||
Nun (letter) × ×Ÿ ||
Samekh ס ||
Ayin ×¢
|- align="center" class="nounderlines"
|
Pe (letter) פף ||
Tsade צץ ||
Qoph ק ||
Resh ר ||
Shin (letter) ש ||
Taw (letter) ת
|-
| colspan="6" style=" border-top: 1px solid; white-space: nowrap; font-size: .8em" dir="ltr" align="center" |
Hebrew alphabet#History History ·
Romanization of Hebrew Transliteration Niqqud ·
Dagesh ·
Gematria Cantillation ·
Hebrew numerals Numeration
|}
Category:Hebrew alphabet
*** Shopping-Tip: Hebrew alphabet
