In contrast to English, Hebrew is printed from right to left, not the other way around. As you become familiar with the Hebrew alphabet chart, keep this in mind. The twenty-three letters of the Hebrew alphabet should be carefully studied and memorized starting on the right.
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Table of Contents
Explanation of the Hebrew writing system
The Hebrew alphabet, which is written from right to left, has twenty-three consonants or letters, as was already mentioned. You must first memorize the Hebrew alphabet in order in order to begin learning Hebrew. You should also become familiar with the names, pronunciations, and transliterated values of all the Hebrew letters.
The names and pronunciations of each Hebrew letter are listed in the following chart.
| Hebrew Letter | Name | Pronunciation |
| א | Alef | (silent) |
| ב | Bet | b as in boy |
| ג | Gimel | g as in God |
| ד | Dalet | d as in day |
| ה | He | h as in hay |
| ו | Waw | w as in the way |
| ז | Zayin | z as in Zion |
| ח | Ḥet | ch as in Bach |
| ט | Tet | t as in toy |
| י | Yod | y as in yes |
| כ | Kaf | k as in king |
| ל | Lamed | l as in lion |
| מ | Mem | m as in mother |
| נ | Nun | n as in now |
| ס | Samek | s as in sin |
| ע | Ayin | (silent) |
| פ | Pe | p as in pastor |
| צ | Tsade | ts as in boots |
| ק | Qof | k as in king |
| ר | Resh | r as in run |
| שׂ | Sin | s as in sin |
| שׁ | Shin | sh as in ship |
| ת | Taw | t as in toy |
Hebrew letter pronunciations א and ע
You probably noticed when going through the Hebrew alphabet chart above that the letters א and ע are silent and have no phonetic significance. So how are they to be pronounced when they appear in Hebrew words?
Even though the consonant ע is silent, it does have some pronunciation significance. However, the spelling of y is so subtly nuanced for English speakers that, for all intents and purposes, we are also treating it as silent. Neither of these two consonants will have a phonetic value when they appear in a word; only their associated vowels will be affirmed. This indicates that only the “a” vowel will be rendered if an א or ע is given it.
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Hebrew characters’ final forms
The final forms of five Hebrew letters in the Hebrew alphabet chart are available. In other words, if any of these letters appear at the end of a word rather than the start or the middle, it is written differently. However, a letter’s transliteration or pronunciation is unaffected by changes to its form. Below is a list of the five ultimate forms. Additionally, you must memorize these final forms. Keep in mind that the anglicized version of the Hebrew illustrations is written from left to right, while the Hebrew examples themselves are written from right to left.
| Regular Form | Final Form | Example | Transliteration | Translation |
| כ | ך | דרך | drk | road, way |
| מ | ם | עם | ʿ m | nation, people |
| נ | ן | זקן | zqn | old man, elder |
| פ | ף | כסף | ksp | money, silver |
| צ | ץ | ארץ | ʾrṣ | earth, land |
Beginning letters
Two different pronunciations are possible for six of the Hebrew consonants in the Hebrew alphabet chart. These are referred to as the begadkephat consonants collectively. This phrase is just a mnemonic that makes it simple to remember these six letters (בגדכפת). A Daghesh Lene was added to the consonantal character (בּגּדּכּפּתּ) to help distinguish between the two pronunciations.
The Daghesh Lene suggests a hard pronunciation when it is present, and a soft pronunciation when it is not. Only the begadkephat letters contain a Daghesh Lene. The different pronunciations listed below should be studied by the student. You’ll also recognize that each note without the Daghesh Lene has a tiny horizontal line transliterated onto it, either directly beneath or above the English character. Recall the transliteration as well as the pronunciation.
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| Begadkephat Letter | Pronunciation | Transliteration |
| בּ | b as in boy | b |
| ב | v as in vine | b̠ |
| גּ | g as in God | g |
| ג | gh as in aghast | ḡ |
| דּ | d as in the day | d |
| ד | dh as in the | ḏ |
| כּ | k as in king | k |
| כ | ch as in Bach | ḵ |
| פּ | p as in pastor | p |
| פ | ph as in the alphabet | p |
| תּ | t as in toy | t |
| ת | th as in thin | ṯ |
Hebrew alphabet’s gutturals in the Hebrew alphabet chart
The Hebrew alphabet has four guttural letters. Because they are uttered at the back of the throat, they are known as gutturals. The consonants with a guttural sound are ה, ע, א, and ח. Occasionally, ר will also sound guttural. You only need to memorize which consonants are gutturals for the time being. You will eventually learn the rules that apply to the usage of these consonants.
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Hebrew characters are prone to confusion in the Hebrew alphabet chart
As in English, where the capital I and lowercase l in the word “Idol” look alike, some pairs or groups of consonants can occasionally blend together and cause confusion for the beginning student. You have probably also noticed that the sounds of various Hebrew letters can be similar (just as in English with the c in cat and the k in kite). It can be useful to compare the factors that are associated and pay close attention to how they differ in order to avoid any misunderstandings. These consonant groups don’t need to be committed to memory. The only thing that matters is that you can tell apart the various letters and sounds.
Hebrew script transliteration
Not for the reason of reading or pronouncing biblical Hebrew, but rather for studying other books that make use of Hebrew words without ever using Hebrew characters, it is crucial to learn the transliteration system. Hebrew font characters are not used in many commentaries, word study books, doctrinal dictionaries, or other language resources; instead, Hebrew letters are transliterated into their English alphabet equivalents. The majority of the time, these books will include a transliteration system list somewhere in the introduction, typically between both the table of contents and the initial chapter or section.
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FAQs Regarding Hebrew alphabet chart
Q1. In the Hebrew alphabet, which letters are absent?
Vowels. There are no vowel letters in the Hebrew alphabet.
Q2. How do the Hebrew letters function?
Unlike English, which is written from left to right, Hebrew is written from right to left. The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters, all of which are consonants. Alef is the beginning letter and Tav is the final one.
Q3. Why are there no vowels in the Hebrew alphabet?
In contrast to other Indo-European languages like English, French, and German, Hebrew does not use vowels in its alphabet. In actuality, the vowel scheme was never a part of the Hebrew alphabet because Hebrew is one of the oldest languages still in use today.
Q4. Are There Number Values of the Hebrew Letters?
The Hebrew alphabet, also known as the aleph-bet, has a numerical value for each letter. The values 1 through 10 are assigned to the first 10 letters (consonants, in reality). The following nine letters are worth 20, 30,… 100.
Q5. Which Hebrew letter is the smallest?
Yod, the smallest letter, has a lot of kabbalistic and mystical significance because it is so small.
Q6. Where did the Hebrew alphabet originate?
During the Persian, Hellenistic, and Roman eras, the Canaanite “Hebrew” alphabet developed from the Aramaic alphabet (c. 500 BC – 50 AD). It took the place of the Paleo-Hebrew alphabet, which was employed in the earliest Hebrew-language epigraphic records.
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