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Kaph
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{{Phoenician glyph|letname=Kaph|archar=ﻙ|sychar=ܟܟ|hechar=כ,ך|amchar=kaph|gechar=ከ|phchar=kaph|ipa=k, x|num=11|gem=20}}
{{Arabic alphabet}}
{{Hebrew alphabet}}
{{Syriac alphabet}}
'''Kaph''' (also spelled '''Kap''' or '''Kaf''') is the eleventh letter of many
Semitic abjads, including
Phoenician language Phoenician,
Aramaic language Aramaic,
Hebrew language Hebrew {{Ivrit|×›}} and
Arabic alphabet {{ArabDIN|kÄ?f}} {{ar|ï»™}}. Its value is
IPA {{IPA|[k]}}.
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the
Greek alphabet Greek Kappa (letter) Kappa (Κ),
Latin alphabet Latin K, and the equivalent in the
Cyrillic alphabet.
Origin of Kaph:
Kaph is thought to have been derived from a pictogram of a hand (in both
Hebrew language modern Hebrew and modern Arabic, ''kaph'' means palm).
Hebrew Kaf
Hebrew Pronunciation:
This letter is pronounced like the English letter
K (
IPA: /
Voiceless velar plosive k/) with a dagesh; when this letter appears without the dagesh in its center then it is usually pronounced like a
Voiceless velar fricative velar fricative (
IPA: /
Voiceless velar fricative x/); similar to ''ch'' in German "Bach".
Variations on written form/pronunciation:
{{main|Hebrew phonology}}
The letter Kaph is one of the six letters which can receive a
Dagesh Kal. The six are
Beth (letter) Bet,
Gimel (letter) Gimel,
Daleth, Kaph,
Pe (letter) Pe, and
Taw (letter) Tav (see
Hebrew alphabet#Ancient_Hebrew Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters).
There are two orthographic variants of this letter which alter the pronunciation:
*'''×›Ö¼''' kaph /k/
and
*'''×›''' chaph /x/
=Kaph with the dagesh
=
When the Kaph has a "dot" in its center, known as a
dagesh, then it is pronounced as '''Kaph''', making the same sound that the English
K makes when pronounced. There are various rules in
Hebrew grammar that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used. The [k] is a velar plosive.
=Kaph without the dagesh (Chaph)
=
When this letter appears as '''×›''' ''without'' the
dagesh ("dot") in its center then it is pronounced as '''Chaph'''; this is pronounced as a
Voiceless velar fricative velar fricative (
IPA: /
Voiceless velar fricative x/).
In
Hebrew language modern Israeli Hebrew the pronunciation of Kaph is the same as the pronunciation of
Heth, but many communities have differentiated between them.
=Final form of Kaph
=
At the end of words the letter's written form changes to a ''Chaph Sophit'' (Final Chaph):
*ך This does not alter the pronunciation; it is pronounced as Chaph (see above).
No longer commonly used in modern Hebrew, biblical Hebrew had a ''Kaph Sophit'' (Final Kaph):
*ךּ This does not alter the pronunciation; it is pronounced as Kaph (see above).
Significance of Kaph in Hebrew:
In
gematria, Kaph represents the number 20. Its final form represents 500 but this is rarely used,
Tau (letter) Tav and
Qoph (400+100) being used instead.
As a
prefix, Kaph is a
preposition:
*It can mean "like" or "as". This is an abbreviation of כּמו, ''k'mo'' (like/as)
*In colloquial Hebrew, Kaph and
Shin (letter) Shin together have the meaning of "when". This is a contraction of ×›Ö¼×?שר, ''ka'asher'' (when).
Category:Phoenician alphabet
Category:Arabic letters
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de:Kaph
es:Kaf
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