HEBREW · STEP 7
Read tov
One new letter, one familiar vowel, and a final sound worth noticing.
Recover yesterday's reading
Read these before looking at any hints. Continue using modern Israeli pronunciation.
Read תּוֹרָה and בֵּן. Does the inside dot do the same thing in both?
to-RA, Torah, teaching or instruction; ben, son. Tav remains t with or without its dot in our pronunciation. In bet, the dot distinguishes b from v. Identify the letter as well as the dot.
Meet tet
Tet
t as in table
Tet gives the same t sound as tav in our pronunciation, but it is a different letter. Its shape curls inward at the top. Compare the printed shapes rather than choosing a letter just because its sound fits.
- טTet
- New letter, familiar t sound.
- תTav
- The letter at the end of בַּת.
Which letter is tet: ת or ט? Can you swap them in a word?
ט is tet. Both sound t, but a word has its own spelling. Keep the letter the word actually uses.
Read these practice syllables: טַ, טִ, טוֹ
ta, ti, to. Patah gives a, hiriq gives i, and holam with vav gives o. These are sound practice, not three new vocabulary words.
Put the b/v distinction to work
In your first lesson, you met bet with and without an inside dot. Now use that distinction to read a whole word.
- בּWith dagesh
- b as in book.
- בWithout dagesh
- v as in vine, often called vet.
These are two readings of the same letter. Bet has no special final shape. In our pointed words, look inside the letter to choose b or v; look below it for any vowel.
Read the practice pairs בַּ / בַ and בֵּ / בֵ
ba / va and be / ve. In each pair the vowel stays the same. The inside dot changes the consonant. Give e the sound in ten.
A completely unpointed text omits these reading marks more broadly. Today we are reading pointed words: the missing dot inside bet is meaningful within that system.
Close the word with v
to + v = tov
Good
- Tet gives t.
- Holam with vav gives o.
- The final bet has no inside dot, so finish with v.
One syllable: tov. Keep o steady, then touch your upper teeth lightly to your lower lip for v. The last letter has no vowel here, so do not add one.
Cover the sound hint. Read טוֹב and identify the letter that gives v.
tov, good. The final ב gives v. The middle וֹ helps write the o vowel; it contributes no v here.
Repair both readings: “tob” and “to-va.”
For “tob,” check inside the final bet: there is no dagesh, so use v, not b. For “to-va,” check beneath it: there is no vowel to add. Blend t + o + v into one syllable.
Read good in the creation account
Genesis 1:3 tells of the creation of light. The next verse says that God saw the light and judged it good. In this short excerpt, read only the last Hebrew word, on the left. The first word and its letters are for a later step.
כִּי טוֹב
That it was good.
Read the word you know. What is called good in this verse?
טוֹב, tov. In Genesis 1:4, the light is called good. The surrounding verse tells you what the adjective describes; the word by itself does not name the light.
The same short phrase appears again as Genesis 1 describes creation. Keep the particular verse in view when asking what is being called good.
Same sound, different work
Read each item as its own word. Then explain the spelling instead of relying on recognition alone.
Compare טוֹב, תּוֹרָה, and בַּת
tov, good; to-RA, Torah; bat, daughter.
- Tov begins with tet; Torah begins with tav. Both begin with t, but their first letters differ.
- Bat begins with bet with dagesh, b. Tov ends with bet without dagesh, v.
- Tov and bat each have one syllable. Torah has two.
Recall before you look
Look away from the page. Say the Hebrew words for good, peace, son, and mother. Then write any two in Hebrew on paper, including the marks you remember.
Check your recall and choose one repair
Good: טוֹב, tov. Peace: שָׁלוֹם, sha-LOM. Son: בֵּן, ben. Mother: אֵם, em.
If you missed a mark, name its job before copying it. If the reading was right but the meaning was missing, pair that word with its meaning and recall it again without looking.
Tomorrow, read טוֹב before opening the explanation. Point separately to the o spelling and the v consonant. Then return to בֵּן to check the b/v contrast.
Explore the sources
Tet and bet/vet, Chabad · Pointed and unpointed writing, Academy of the Hebrew Language · Tov: form and meaning · Genesis 1:4