Hebrew Basics
114 flashcards by MentisLibrary
All 22 Hebrew letters, the five that change shape at the end of a word, and the vowel points that real text leaves out, followed by modern Israeli vocabulary and phrases with transliteration.
- א
- Alef. It carries no sound of its own; it holds whichever vowel is written under it.
- ב
- Bet. With a dot inside it is b; without the dot it is v.
- ג
- Gimel. Sounds like g in go.
- ד
- Dalet. Sounds like d in door.
- ה
- He. Sounds like h in house, and is often silent at the end of a word.
- ו
- Vav. Sounds like v, and also spells the vowels o and u.
- ז
- Zayin. Sounds like z in zoo.
- ח
- Chet. A rasping h made in the throat, like the ch in Bach.
- ט
- Tet. Sounds like t in top.
- י
- Yod. Sounds like y in yes, and also spells the vowel i.
- כ
- Kaf. With a dot it is k; without the dot it is a rasping ch.
- ל
- Lamed. Sounds like l in lamp.
- מ
- Mem. Sounds like m in man.
- נ
- Nun. Sounds like n in no.
- ס
- Samech. Sounds like s in sun.
- ע
- Ayin. In modern Israeli Hebrew it is silent, like alef.
- פ
- Pe. With a dot it is p; without the dot it is f.
- צ
- Tsadi. Sounds like the ts in cats.
- ק
- Kuf. Sounds like k in kite.
- ר
- Resh. A soft r made at the back of the throat, close to the French r.
- ש
- Shin. With a dot on the right it is sh; with a dot on the left it is s.
- ת
- Tav. Sounds like t in top.
- Final forms: ך ם ן ף ץ
- Five letters change shape when they end a word.
- Nikud, the vowel points
- Dots and dashes written under, inside or over the consonants to show vowels.
- Kamatz ָ and Patach ַ
- Two marks that both spell a short a sound in modern Hebrew.
- Tzere ֵ and Segol ֶ
- Two marks that both spell an e sound.
- Hirik ִ
- A single dot under the letter, spelling an i sound.
- Holam ֹ and Shuruk וּ
- A dot above the line spells o; a vav with a dot inside spells u.
- Shva ְ
- Two vertical dots meaning either a very short e or no vowel at all.
- שלום
- Hello, goodbye, and peace. One word for all three.