Hebrew/Aleph-Bet/11

Aleph-Bet Lesson 11 — סְקִירָה Review Aleph-Bet Test >>> We have finally completed the Hebrew alphabet course! Let's review what you learned in this level: Letters Here, each consonant is shown in its own box. Each line contains the name of the letter in English, the actual letter, the transliteration used throughout the book and the IPA equivalent. NameLetterTransliterationIPAPronunciationAlephא ’ʔThe glottal stop as in "co’operate". When it appears at the beginning of a word it indicates that the word starts with a vowel. Also makes the "a" sound (as in "apple", "park", or "Dallas" or the "u" sound as in "run").Betבּbb"B" as in "ball".Vetבvv"V" as in "violin".Gimmelגgg"G" as in "give".Jimmelג׳jdʒ"J" as in "jump".Daletדdd"D" as in "dog".Dhaletד׳thð"Th" as in "that".Heהhh"H" as in "heart". When at the end of a word, makes the "a" sound.Vavוvv"V" as in "violin". Also makes the "o", "u", and "w" sounds.Vav-Vavווww"W" as in "weep. Also makes the "v" sound in the middle of words.Zayinזzz"Z" as in "zoo".Zhayinז׳zhʒas in "vision".Ħetחħχ"Ch" as in German "Bach", in Dutch "acht". Tetטtt"T" as in "tomato".Yodיyj"Y" as in "yard". Also makes the short "i" sound as in "kid" and the long "e" sound as in "green".Yod-YodייiiUsed for the long "a" as in "gate" and the long "i" as in "child".Kafכּkk"K" as in "kitten".Kaf Sofit (final)ךּkkRarely used (almost no words end with Kaf).Khafכkhχ"Ch" as in German "Bach", in Dutch "acht". Khaf Sofit (final)ךkhχWhen Khaf is used in the end of a word, it looks like this.Lamedלll"L" as in "lamb".Memמmm"M" as in "mother".Mem Sofit (final)םmmWhen Mem is used in the end of a word, it looks like this.Nunנnn"N" as in "name".Nun Sofit (final)ןnnWhen Nun is used in the end of a word, it looks like this.Samekhסss"S" as in "safe".‘Ayinע‘ʔThe glottal stop as in "co’operate". When it appears at the beginning of a word it indicates that the word starts with a vowel.Peפּpp"P" as in "port".Feפff"F" as in "fame".Fe Sofit (final)ףffWhen Fe is used in the end of a word, it looks like this.Tsadiצtsʦ"Zz" as in "pizza".Tsadi Sofit (final)ץtsʦWhen Tsadi is used in the end of a word, it looks like this.Chadiצ׳chtʃ"Ch" as in "chair".Chadi Sofit (final)ץ׳chtʃWhen Chadi is used in the end of a word, it looks like this.Qofקqk"K" as in "kitten".Reshרrʁ"R" as in German "Frau", in French "français".Shinשׁshʃ"Sh" as in "ship".Sinשׂss"S" as in "safe".Tavתtt"T" as in "tomato".Thavת׳thθ"Th" as in "thing". Niqqud The symbols are arranged by pronunciation. NameDiacriticTransliterationIPAPronunciationQamatsבָּaa"A" as in "spa". Also "a" as in "what".Qamats malei (qamats + Aleph/He)בָּה/בָּאaa"-"Pataħבַּaa"-". Also "a" as in "apple".Pataħ malei (pataħ + Aleph/He)בַּה/בַּאaa"-"Ħataf-pataħחֲaa"-"Tsereבֵּee"E" as in "bet" or long "a" as "gate".Tsere malei (tsere + Yod) בֵּיee"-"Segolבֶּee"-"Segol malei (segol + Yod)בֶּיee"-"Ħataf-segolחֱee"-"Ħolam ħasserבּׂoo"O" as in "stone" or "o" as in "hot".Ħolam maleiבּוֹoo"-"Qamats qatanבָּoo"-"Ħataf-qamatsחֳoo"-"Ħiriqבִּii"I" as in "ski".Ħiriq malei (ħiriq + Yod)בִּיii"-"Qubbutsבֻּuu"U" as in "flu" or "u" as in "put".Shuruqבּוּuu"-"Shvaבְּ. or e. or ə"A" as in "about" when at the beginning of syllable, or indicates the end of a syllable when it's there Numbers Numeric value Letter 1 א 2 ב 3 ג4 ד5 ה6ו7 ז8 ח9 ט10 י11 י"א12 י"ב13י"ג14 י"ד15 ט"ו16 ט"ז17 י"ז18 י"ח19 י"ט20 כ21 כ"א25 כ"ה30 ל35 ל"ו40 מ50 נ60 ס70ע80פ90צ100ק105ק"ה150ק"נ155קנ"ה200ר300ש400תRarely used:500ך600ם700ן800ף900ץ Letters that sound the same Traditional Hebrew had many phonemes that don't exist today. Most of these sounds are called by linguists "pharyngealised", that is, to produce them you need to "voice" (use your vocal cords) while sticking the root of your tongue to the pharynx. Many European Jews found it impossible to make such sounds, so they replaced them with regular consonants, all of which were already existent in Hebrew. For instance: Kaf used to be a regular "k" sound (k). Qof used to be a pharyngealised "k" sound (q). Eventually Qof was pronounced the same as the regular "k". As a result of this merging, many sounds have two letters to represent them. To prevent confusion, here are all the common sounds: Aleph א and ‘Ayn ע both make the glottal stop (’). Vet ב and Vav ו both make the "v" sound (v). At the end of a word, Aleph א and He ה both make the "a" sound (a). Ħet ח and Khaf כך both make the "kh" sound (χ). Tet ט and Tav ת both make the "t" sound (t). Kaf כּ and Qof ק both make the "k" sound (k). Samekh ס and Sin שׂ both make the "s" sound (s). Letters that look the same Many letters in Hebrew are based on other letters. One could almost call them diacritics. For example: Resh ר Yod י Vav ו Many inexperienced readers tend to confuse these letters. ז Zayin ו Vav ן Nun Sofit ם Mem Sofit ס Samekh ה He ח Ħet ת Tav כ Kaf ב Bet ג Gimmel נ Nun ד Dalet ר Resh ך Kaf Sofit Foreign transliteration The fact that there are multiple letters for the same sounds, creates a problem. What letters would you use for foreign words, using the Hebrew alphabet? Can you use any of them? The answer is no. While Tet and Tav, for instance, sound the same, and supposedly we could use both of them, only Tet can be used for the "t" sound. This is because in foreign transliterations Tav might represent the "th" sound (פְּלִימוּת plimuth Plymouth). European Languages A — Aleph א V — Vav in the beginning of syllables; Vet anywhere else Ch, kh, h — Khaf כך in German and Greek; Ħet ח anywhere else T — Tet ט Th — Tav ת, Thav ת׳ S — Samekh ס Sh — Shin שׁ Ts, tz, z — Tsadi צ K — Qof ק Any form of R — Resh ר Tch (as in "chair") — Tchadi צ׳ ץ׳ Zh, j, s (as in "pleasure") — Zhayin ז׳ J, dzh (as in "jam") — Jimmel ג׳ Arabic These transliterations apply only to words of Arabic origin: T — Tav ת Th — Thav ת׳ Dj — Jimmel ג׳ Ħ — Ħet ח Kh — Khet ח׳ Dh — Dhal ד׳ S' — Tsadi צ D' — Dadi צ׳ T' — Tet ט Dh' — Dhet ט׳ Gh — Ghayin ע׳ Q — Qof ק K — Kaf כּ Niqqud When writing foreign words, always use the vowel letters Aleph א, Vav ו and י. There are many exceptions regarding Aleph, but don't take the risk. For example: based on the former table, Tokaj (a town in Hungary famous for its wine) would never be written with Kaf and Tav (then it would be Thokhaj), but rather with Qof and Tet, respectively. But what niqqud would be used? There are some rules: Never use ħataf forms. "O" is always written with ħolam malei (וֹ). "U" is always shuruq (וּ), never qubbuts (בֻּ). As stated before, always use vowel letters, or in other words, malei forms (בָּה/בָּא בַּה/בַּא בִּי בּוֹ בּוּ). It doesn't matter whether the word is written with niqqud or without. Write the "e" without using any vowel letter (this might cause confusion between "e" and "ְ" but this is something you'd have to guess). You can use either Qamats or Pataħ for "a", Segol or Tsere for "e". Then the word Tokaj would be written טוֹקָאי. Aleph-Bet Test >>>