Hebrew reading quick reference

Find the letter

These entries use the common modern Israeli reading model practiced in the lessons. Our aid ch means the sound in Bach. Jewish reading traditions vary, including their treatment of alef and ayin, and of het and kaf.

א · Alef

Begins the marked vowel in em, im and af. Do not add an a before it.

בּ / ב · Bet / vet

b with the inside dot; v without it in pointed writing.

ג · Gimel

g as in go. Its inside dot does not change this course reading.

ד · Dalet

d. Compare its corner with resh. Its inside dot does not change this reading.

ה · He

h in zahav and the article; final vowel-helper roles in Torah and pe below.

ו · Vav

In the practiced spelling וֹ, it helps write o without an added v. Other roles come later.

ז · Zayin

z. Compare its head with vav’s.

ח · Het

ch as in Bach in our reading model, not ch as in chair.

ט · Tet

t. A different letter from tav.

י · Yod

y in yam and yom. Its short shape differs from vav; other roles come later.

כּ / כ · Kaf

k with the inside dot; ch without it in pointed writing.

ל · Lamed

l.

מ · Mem

m. Its final form appears below.

נ · Nun

n. Its final form appears below.

ס · Samekh

s. Compare its rounded closed shape with final mem.

ע · Ayin

Begins am and ets with the marked vowel in our model. It remains distinct from alef.

פּ / פ · Pe

p with the inside dot; f without it in pointed writing.

צ · Tsadi

ts together, with no vowel between t and s.

ק · Qof

k in kol and sak. A different letter from kaf.

ר · Resh

r. Compare its rounded top corner with dalet.

שׁ / שׂ · Shin / sin

Upper-right dot: sh. Upper-left dot: s. The name sin is pronounced seen.

ת · Tav

t. Its inside dot does not change this course reading.

A shared sound does not make two letters interchangeable. Look at the shape and its marks before choosing a reading.

Check the ending

Five letters have a special shape at the end of a word. Read each pair as ordinary shape, then final shape.

כ → ך

מֶלֶךְ · ME-lech · king

מ → ם

עַם · am · a people

נ → ן

בֵּן · ben · son

פ → ף

אַף · af · nose

צ → ץ

עֵץ · ets · tree

Final shape marks position, not an extra vowel or syllable. It does not itself mean f or ch: shape and pointing are separate things to check.

Check the vowel

These are the six vowel spellings practiced so far. Keep a, e, i and o steady; the reading aids are not English spelling rules.

בַּ · Patah

A horizontal stroke: a in בַּת, bat.

יָ · Qamats

A T-shaped mark: a in יָם, yam, and the other words in this set.

בֵּ · Tsere

Two side-by-side dots: e as in ten, in בֵּן, ben.

לֶ · Segol

Three dots in a triangle: e in לֶחֶם, LE-chem. Same vowel quality here, different written sign.

אִ · Hiriq

One dot below: i as in machine, in אִם, im.

וֹ · Holam with vav

A steady o in יוֹם, yom. Add no v consonant.

A silent ending in one familiar word

In מֶלֶךְ, ME-lech, the two vertical sheva dots under final kaf add no vowel. The word has two syllables. Other sheva settings need further learning.

Give each dot its job

• Inside bet, kaf or pe: check the b/v, k/ch or p/f distinction in pointed writing. See kaf and pe.
• Inside a letter after the article: a dot can mark the grammatical doubling pattern. Our practiced modern reading adds no vowel or repeated consonant. A dot already present in ben, bat, dag or kos does not prove that an article was added.
• Above shin or sin: physical right selects sh; physical left selects s. This is not a vowel. See the shin/sin contrast.
• Below a letter or in וֹ: identify the specific vowel sign. “It has a dot” is not enough to choose the sound.

These comparisons use pointed writing, with reading marks supplied. Fully unpointed writing needs other reading knowledge.

Find a familiar word

Capitals mark the stronger spoken part: LE-chem starts strongly; za-HAV finishes strongly. The short meanings below match the uses practiced in the lessons.

אַף

af · nose

אִם

im · if

אֵם

em · mother

בֵּן

ben · son

בַּת

bat · daughter

דָּג

dag · fish

זָהָב

za-HAV · gold

טוֹב

tov · good

יוֹם

yom · day

יָם

yam · sea

כּוֹס

kos · cup

לֶחֶם

LE-chem · bread

מֶלֶךְ

ME-lech · king

עַם

am · a people or nation

עֵץ

ets · tree; wood in other settings

פֶּה

pe · mouth

צֵל

tsel · shade

קוֹל

kol · voice or sound

שַׂק

sak · sack; sackcloth in the Genesis passage

שָׁלוֹם

sha-LOM · peace

שֵׁם

shem · name

שָׁם

sham · there

תּוֹרָה

to-RA · Torah, teaching or instruction

Watch he’s role

In za-HAV, he gives h. Final he supports a in to-RA and e in pe. Add no final h or extra syllable to those last two words.

Find a practiced article form

The attached article adds the, identifying the noun in its setting. These seven forms are the ones practiced so far; the article lesson explains their pattern.

הַבֵּן

ha-BEN · the son

הַבַּת

ha-BAT · the daughter

הַלֶּחֶם

ha-LE-chem · the bread

הַיָּם

ha-YAM · the sea

הַדָּג

ha-DAG · the fish

הַזָּהָב

ha-za-HAV · the gold

הַכּוֹס

ha-KOS · the cup

The base word keeps its stronger beat: ha-LE-chem, not ha-le-CHEM. Other article patterns need further teaching; do not apply this operation to every word in the bank.

Sources behind the lookup

Hebrew consonants, University of Texas at Austin (PDF) · Hebrew vowels (PDF) · The definite article (PDF)

The university charts cover more than this lookup. Here, the examples stay with the letter roles and vowel spellings already practiced.

Put the lookup to work

Try a word first, identify the uncertain shape or mark, then use the matching section above. Close the reference and read the whole word again.

You have met the basic letter shapes. More vowel patterns, word forms and connected reading come next.

Cumulative Hebrew reading workshop →