Chapter 1a - twenty-three consonants

Letter Name Pronunciation Transliteration

> Alef silent א b as in boy b ב g as in God g ג Dalet as in day d ד h as in hay h ה w as in way w ו z as in Zion z ז ˙ Óet ch as in Bach ח † Tet t as in toy ט Yod y as in yes y י Kaf k as in king k כ Lamed l as in lion l ל m as in mother m מ n as in now n נ Samek s as in sin s ס < Ayin silent ע Pe p as in pastor p פ Tsade ts as in boots ß צ Qof k as in king q ק r as in run r ר שׂ Sin s as in sin ∞ שׁ sh as in ship ¡ t as in toy t ת Chapter 1b - Hebrew Alphabet five final forms

Five Hebrew letters have “final” forms. When one of these letters occurs at the end of a word, it is written differently than when it appears at the beginning or in the middle of a word. The changing of a letter’s form, however, does not change its pronunciation or transliteration.

Regular Final Example Translit. Translation Form Form drk road, way דרךךכ m nation, people< עםםמ zqn old man, elder זקןןנ ksp money, silver כסףףפ rß earth, land> ארץץצ

Basics of א Chapter 1c - Hebrew Alphabet six begadkephat consonants

Six consonants have two possible pronunciations and are known as begadkephat consonants. To distinguish between the two pronunciations, a dot called Daghesh Lene was inserted into the consonant. The presence of Daghesh Lene indicates a hard pronunciation and its absence denotes a soft pronunciation.

Begadkephat Pronunciation Transliteration Letter בּ b as in boy b ∫ v as in vine ב גּ g as in God g © gh as in aghast ג דּ d as in day d dh as in the ƒ ד כּ k as in king k ¬ ch as in Bach כ פּ p as in pastor p ph as in alphabet º פ תּ t as in toy t ® th as in thin ת Basics of Biblical Hebrew א Chapter 1d - Hebrew Alphabet easily confused letters

Hebrew consonants that look alike (Kaf) כ (Bet) ב .1 (Nun) נ (Gimel) ג .2 (Taw) ת (Óet) ח (He) ה .3 4. שׂ (Sin) שׁ (Shin) (Samek) ס (final Mem) ם .5 (Resh) ר (Dalet) ד .6 () ע () צ .7 (Zayin) ז (Waw) ו .8 (final Nun) ן (Waw) ו .9 (final Nun) ן (final Kaf) ך .10

Hebrew consonants that sound alike (Taw with Daghesh Lene) תּ (Tet) ט .1 (Kaf with Daghesh Lene) כּ (Qof) ק .2 (Sin) שׂ (Samek) ס .3

Basics of Biblical Hebrew א Chapter 1e - Hebrew Alphabet modern pronunciation

The pronunciation of differs in a number of ways from ancient pronunciation. With the three begadkephat consonants listed below, the forms without Daghesh Lene are pronounced like the forms with Daghesh Lene in modern Hebrew.

Traditional Modern Consonant Pronunciation Pronunciation gh as in aghast g as in God ג dh as in the d as in day ד th as in thin t as in toy ת w as in way v as in vine ו

Basics of Biblical Hebrew א