Hebrew Alphabet

Approximate phonetics below are learner-friendly and reflect Modern Israeli pronunciation; Biblical/Historical pronunciations may differ.

Aleph (ʾ)

Glottal stop or often silent; vowel carrier.

Bet (b / v)

B as in "book" (with dagesh); V as in "vet" (without dagesh).

Gimel (g)

G as in "go".

Dalet (d)

D as in "dog".

He (h)

H as in "hat".

Vav (v / u / o)

V as in "vine"; can also represent the vowels "u" or "o".

Zayin (z)

Z as in "zoo".

Het (Chet) (ḥ / ch)

Guttural "ch" like German "Bach".

Tet (ṭ / t)

T as in "top" (emphatic).

Yod (y / i)

Y as in "yes"; also a vowel "i".

כ ך

Kaf (k / kh)

K as in "king" (with dagesh); kh as a fricative otherwise.

Lamed (l)

L as in "let".

מ ם

Mem (m)

M as in "man".

נ ן

Nun (n)

N as in "nice".

Samekh (s)

S as in "see".

Ayin (ʿ)

Historically a voiced pharyngeal; in Modern Hebrew often silent or a vowel carrier.

פ ף

Pe (p / f)

P as in "pet" (with dagesh); F as in "fun" (without).

צ ץ

Tsadi (ts)

TS as in "cats".

Qof (q / k)

K-like sound, pronounced further back in the throat in some traditions.

Resh (r)

R as rolled/flapped or approximated as "r".

Shin (sh / s)

SH as in "ship" (commonly "sh" in Modern Hebrew).

Tav (t)

T as in "top".