HEBREW · STEP 14
Read kos
Two new letters, one familiar vowel, and a cup to recognize in a psalm.
In this lesson
Find the o you already know
Continue using modern Israeli pronunciation. Read both words and explain the work of vav in them.
Read יוֹם and טוֹב. Does their middle vav give a v sound?
yom, day; tov, good. In both words, holam with vav, וֹ, writes o. It adds no v consonant. Tov's v comes from its final bet without dagesh.
Keep that complete o spelling in view. It returns between today's two new consonants.
Meet kaf, with and without its dot
- כּKaf with dagesh
- k as in key.
- כKaf without dagesh
- The ch sound used in lechem, made toward the back of the mouth.
These are two readings of the same letter. In our modern Israeli model, undotted kaf has the same sound we have used for het. Our reading aid writes that sound ch, as in the name Bach, not the ch of chair.
First identify the letter, then look inside it. Compare kaf כּ with familiar bet בּ: the right side of kaf is more curved. Both can have an inside dot, but one gives k and the other b.
Give the consonant sounds of כּ and כ. Does this dot work like dalet's dot in our pronunciation?
k with the dot; ch without it. This changes the reading, unlike dalet, which remains d with or without its dot in our model. Letter and dot must be read together.
These exercises use pointed writing, where the reading marks are supplied. A completely unpointed text omits such marks more broadly; it requires other reading knowledge.
Read the practice pairs כַּ / כַ and כּוֹ / כוֹ
ka / cha, then ko / cho. The inside dot changes the consonant; the vowel stays the same within each pair. These are practice syllables, not four new vocabulary words.
Meet samekh
Samekh
s as in sun
Samekh has a closed outline. Compare its rounded shape with the more squared final mem you know.
- סSamekh
- Read s. It keeps this shape at the end of our word.
- םFinal mem
- Read m, as at the end of yam.
Which shape gives s: ם or ס? What sound does the other give?
ס, samekh, gives s. ם, final mem, gives m. A closed outline alone is not enough to identify the letter; compare the shapes.
Join ko and s
k + o + s = kos
Cup
- Kaf with dagesh gives k.
- Holam with vav gives o.
- Samekh closes the word with s.
Read one syllable, kos. Keep o steady, then finish with s. Samekh has no following vowel here.
Cover the reading aid. Read כּוֹס, give its meaning, and count its syllables.
kos, cup: one syllable. The first consonant is k, the vowel is o, and the last consonant is s.
Repair these readings: “chos,” “kovs,” and “ko-sa.”
- “Chos” misses the dagesh in kaf. Read k here.
- “Kovs” gives the vowel-helper vav an extra consonant. Here וֹ supplies only o.
- “Ko-sa” adds an unwritten vowel. Stop after s.
A cup in words of thanks
In Psalm 116, the speaker thanks Hashem for rescue and asks how to respond to His goodness. Verse 13 speaks of lifting a cup and calling on Hashem. Read the word for cup from the beginning of that verse.
כּוֹס
Cup.
Read the excerpt. Does kos itself mean “thanks,” or does it name something in the speaker's response?
kos names the cup. The surrounding psalm supplies the setting of deliverance and thanks. The single word does not tell you everything about the cup or the speaker's actions.
If you open the source, locate kos at the right-hand beginning of verse 13. The rest of the phrase includes reading patterns still to learn. Use the translation for that wider context.
Read the cup
Kos fits the common article pattern already practiced. Attach he with patah at the beginning. Kaf's inside dot remains visible, and kaf still gives k in our reading.
ha + kos = ha-KOS
The cup
The dot in this prefixed form also belongs to the article's doubling pattern. As in the earlier examples, it adds no extra vowel or repeated consonant in our modern pronunciation. Ha adds the new syllable.
Read הַכּוֹס and identify the noun inside it. What does the attached article contribute?
ha-KOS, the cup. The noun is כּוֹס, kos. The article adds “the,” pointing to a cup identified in context. The word now has two syllables, not three.
Bring the three new words together
Read each item and give its meaning before opening the answer. These are separate words, not a sentence. Notice which ones have the article.
- הַדָּג
- זָהָב
- כּוֹס
- הַלֶּחֶם
- יוֹם
Check the readings, article forms, and endings
ha-DAG, the fish; za-HAV, gold; kos, cup; ha-LE-chem, the bread; yom, day.
The fish and bread forms have the article. The final sounds are g, v, s, m, m. Keep the stronger beat on hav in zahav and on le in halechem.
Read what you remember
Look away and say the Hebrew for cup, gold, fish. Write all three if you can, including the vowel marks and inside dots. Read your own work before comparing.
Check your three words and explain one feature of each
כּוֹס, kos; זָהָב, za-HAV; דָּג, dag.
- Cup: check kaf's inside dot and the complete holam-vav spelling.
- Gold: check sounded he and final bet read as v.
- Fish: check dalet rather than resh, then finish with g.
Choose the feature you needed help with, cover the model, and try that word once more.
Tomorrow, start with the mixed list in a different order. Then recall the three new words from their meanings. You are expanding a reading repertoire, not racing through a list of letter names.
Explore the sources
Kaf and samekh, University of Texas at Austin (PDF) · Kos: form and meaning · Psalm 116 in context