1. In English... In Hebrew... Read from left to right Read from right to left 26 letters, some consonants, some vowels 22 letters, all consonants No capital letters Uppercase and lowercase letters Letters do not change form at end 5 letters change form at the end Inconsistent Pronunciation (cat vs. circle) Almost always consistent Pronunciation sometimes varies around the world Pronunciation sometimes varies around the world

2. The Hebrew Aleph-Bet

3. Hebrew Aleph-Bet א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח Khet Zayin Vav He Dalet Gimel Bet Aleph ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע Ayin Samek Nun Mem Lamed Kaf Yod Tet פ צ ק ר שׁ שֹ ת Tav Shin Sin Resh Qof Tsade Pe

4. Consonants The Aleph-Bet is made up entirely of Consonants. Within the Aleph-Bet are special groups of Consonants Gutturals BeGaDKePhaT Final Forms 4 (plus ר) 6 5 See if you can find the members of these categories…

5. Aleph Sound: Silent Aleph is unpronounced and takes on the sound of the vowel it is given. Aleph is a guttural consonant. Example:אָב(father) א

6. Bet Sound: “B” as in “Boy” “V” as in “Vet” Bet has two pronunciations and is a member of the Begadkephat. The “B” sound has a dagesh lene and the “V” sound does not.Bet can be confused with Kaf(כ).ב כ Examples: בֵּן(son) הֶבֶל(Abel) בּ ב

7. Gimel Sound: “G” as in “Good” Gimel is a member of the Begadkephatbut now has only one pronunciation. Anciently it also had a “Gh” sound as in “ghost”. Example: גָּד(Gad) ג

8. Dalet Sound: “D” as in “Dog” Dalet is a member of the Begadkephatbut now has only one pronunciation.Anciently it also had a “th” sound as in “then”.Dalet can be confused with Resh (ר). ד ר Example: דָּוִד(David) ד

9. He Sound: “H” as in “Help” He is easily confused with Khet (ח) and Tav (ת).ה ח ת He is a guttural consonant.Example: הֶבֶל(Abel) ה

10. Vav Sound: “V” as in “Velvet” Vav is easily confused with Zayin (ז) and final Nun (ן). ו ז ן Example:וְ(and, or, also, even) ו

11. Zayin Sound: “Z” as in “Zoo” Zayin is easily confused with Vav (ו) and final Nun (ן). ז ו ן The sound of Zayin “z” is easily confused with the sound of Tsade “ts”. Example: זָקֵן(old man, elder) ז

12. Khet Sound: “Ch” as in “Bach” Khet is easily confused with He (ה) and Tav (ת).ח ה ת Khet is a guttural consonant. Example: חֶבְרוׁן(Hebron) ח

13. Tet Sound: “T” as in “Talk” Tet shares the “T” sound with Tav (תּ). Example: טוׁב(good) ט

14. Yod י Sound: “Y” as in “Yes” Yod is often confused with Vav. וי Example: יוׂסֵף(Joseph)

15. Kaf כ כּ ך Sound: “K” as in “KitKat” “Ch” as in “Bach” Khet has two pronunciations and is a member of the Begadkephat. The “K” sound has a dagesh lene and the “Ch” sound does not. Kaf is often confused with Bet. כ ב Final Form: ך Example: כֹּהֵן(priest)

16. Lamed ל Sound: “L” as in “Like” Example: לֵוִי(Levi)

17. Mem מ ם Sound: “M” as in “Mom” Mem can be confused with Samech (ס).מ ם ס Final Form: ם Example:מְאֹד(very)

18. נ ן Nun Sound: “N” as in “Next” Nun may be confused with Bet or Kaf. נ ב כ Final Form: ן Example: נָבִיא(prophet)

19. Samech Sound: “S” as in “Son” Samech can be confused with Mem (מ). Example: סִינַי(Sinai) ס מ םס

20. Sound: Silent Ayin is unpronounced and takes on the sound of the vowel it is given. Ayin is easily confused with Tsade (צ).צ ע Ayin is a guttural consonant. Example: עֶבֶד(servant) Ayin ע

21. Pe Sound: “P” as in “Pay” “F” as in “Fast” Pe has two pronunciations and is a member of the Begadkephat. The “P” sound has a dagesh lene and the “F” sound does not.Final Form: ף Example:פָּלָל(pray) נֶפֶשׁ(spirit) פ פּ ף

22. צץ Tsade Sound: “Ts” as in “Lets” Tsade is easily confused with Ayin (ע).צ ע Final Form: ץ Example:צִיּוֹן(Zion)

23. Qof ק Sound: “K” as in “KitKat” Qof shares the “K” sound with Kaf (כ). Example: קַיִן(Cain)

24. Resh Sound: “R” as in “Right” Resh can be confused with Dalet (ד). ד רResh acts like a guttural consonant and should be included when you list gutturals. Example: רַב(much) ר

25. Shin Sound: “Sh” as in “Shell” Shin can be confused with Sin (שׂ). שׁ שׂ Example: שַׁבָּת(Sabbath) שׁ

26. Sin Sound: “S” as in “Sin” Sin can be confused with Shin (שׂ). שׁ שׂ Example: שָׂרָה(Sarah) שׂ

27. Tav Sound: “T” as in “Test” Tav is a member of the Begadkephat but now has only one pronunciation. Anciently it also had a “th” sound as in “thin”. Tav is easily confused with He (ה) and Khet (ח).ה ח ת Example: תּוֹרָה(Torah, law) ת

28. א ה ח ע (ר) Gutturals ב ג ד כ פ ת בּ גּ דּ כּ פּ תּ כ מ נ פ צ ך ם ן ף ץ Final Forms BeGaDKePhaT

29. Gutturals (ר) א ה ח ע Gutturals are pronounced in the back of the throat. Resh (ר) acts like a guttural sometimes, even though it is not pronounced at the back of the throat. Gutturals have special rules and are notorious for changing vowels from the expected.(Honestly, Gutturals are sort of a pain in the neck.)

30. BeGaDKePhaT When a Begadkephat has a dagesh, the basic sound changes to a softer pronunciation. ב ג ד כ פ ת בּ גּ דּ כּ פּ תּ “T” “F” “CH” “D” “G” “V” “T” “P” “K” “D” “G” “B” Only 3 (ב כ פ) have a different sound for Biblical and Modern Hebrew.

31. Final Forms These consonants have special forms when placed at the end of a word. כ מ נ פ צ ך ם ן ף ץ Tsade Pe Nun Mem Kaf Tsade Pe Nun Mem Kaf Sofit Sofit Sofit Sofit Sofit