BHBE 1: Writing and Pronouncing Hebrew

BIBLICAL
HEBREW
By Example
Lesson 1
WRITING AND  
PRONOUNCING HEBREW
‫ית‬ ִ‫ר‬ ְ‫ב‬ ִ‫ע‬
‫ית‬ ִ‫א‬ ָ‫ר‬ ְ‫ק‬ ִ‫מ‬
ּ‫ה‬ ָ‫ֹת‬ּ‫י‬ ִ‫נ‬ ְ‫ב‬ ַ‫ת‬ ְּ‫כ‬

IN THIS LESSON
Learn how to write and
pronounce the Hebrew
consonants and vowels.

TECHNICAL NOTE
Biblical Hebrew reads from
right to left.

TECHNICAL NOTE
In this lesson, the names of Hebrew
consonants, vowels, and other marks
are spelled as they sound to English
speakers, not according to their
traditional spellings.

Let’s start with the Hebrew
consonants.
In the examples that follow,
the /ah/ sound comes from the
vowel (the line under the letter),
not from the consonant.

Let’s turn now to the Hebrew
vowels.
In the examples that follow,
the /b/ sound comes from the
consonant ‫בּ‬, not from the
vowel.

‫ה‬ ָ‫/בּ‬ ָ‫בּ‬ , ַ‫בּ‬
/bah/

‫י‬ ֵ‫/בּ‬ ֵ‫בּ‬
/bey/

‫י‬ ִ‫/בּ‬ ִ‫בּ‬
/bee/

‫ֹ/בּוֹ‬‫בּ‬ , ָ‫בּ‬
/boh/

‫בּוּ‬ , ֻ‫בּ‬
/boo/

The next few marks introduced
here are sometimes called “half
vowels.”

ֳ‫בּ‬ , ֲ‫בּ‬
/bah/

The ﬁnal mark introduced here is
not exactly a vowel, but that’s the
closest category we have in English.

◌ ְ‫בּ‬ ְ‫◌ב‬
/v/

◌ ְ‫בּ‬ ְ‫◌ב‬
/beh/

Part 3
Explanation  
of Consonants

‫ף‬ ֶ‫ל‬ ָ‫א‬ ‫א‬=
The letter ʔahlef is a glottal stop,
pretty close to silent for practical
purposes.

‫ית‬ ֵ‫בּ‬ ‫ב‬=
When it has a dagesh (dot) inside,
beyt sounds like the b in bravo.
Without the dagesh, it sounds like
the v in victor.

‫ל‬ ֶ‫ימ‬ ִ‫גּ‬ ‫ג‬=
Gimel sounds like the g in golf.
You need not try to pronounce
‫גּ‬ and ‫ג‬ diﬀerently.

‫ת‬ ֶ‫ל‬ ָ‫דּ‬ ‫ד‬=
Dahlet sounds like the d in delta.
You need not try to pronounce ‫דּ‬
and ‫ד‬ diﬀerently (though some
charts and textbooks advise
pronouncing ‫ד‬ like the th in then).

‫א‬ ֵ‫ה‬ ‫ה‬=
Hey sounds like the h in hotel.

‫ו‬ ָ‫ו‬ ‫ו‬=
Vahv sounds like the v in victor.

‫ן‬ִ‫י‬ָ‫ז‬ ‫ז‬=
Zahyin sounds like the z in Zulu.

‫ית‬ ֵ‫ח‬ ‫ח‬=
Kheyt is a voiceless pharyngeal fricative.
Act like you’re making the sound of h in
hotel, but make the sound way back in your
pharynx rather than in your mouth,
without vibrating your vocal cords. Charts
and textbooks often compare the sound to
the ch in Bach, but it’s airier than that.

‫ית‬ ֵ‫ט‬ ‫ט‬=
Teyt sounds like the t in tango.

‫יוֹד‬ ‫י‬=
Yohd sounds like the y in Yankee.

‫ף‬ ַ‫כּ‬ ‫כ‬=
When it has a dahgesh inside, kaf
sounds like the k in kilo.
Without the dahgesh, it sounds airier,
almost the same as the letter ‫ח‬.
At the end of a word, ‫כ‬ changes its
shape to ‫ך‬.

‫ד‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ָ‫ל‬ ‫ל‬=
Lahmed sounds like the l in Lima.

‫ם‬ ֵ‫מ‬ ‫מ‬=
Meym sounds like the m in Mike.
At the end of a word, ‫מ‬ changes
its shape to ‫ם‬.

‫נוּן‬ ‫נ‬=
Noon sounds like the n in November.
At the end of a word, ‫נ‬ changes its
shape to ‫ן‬.

‫ְך‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ָ‫ס‬ ‫ס‬=
Sahmek sounds like the s in sierra.

‫ן‬ִ‫י‬ ַ‫ﬠ‬ ‫ע‬=
ʕahyin is a voiced pharyngeal fricative.
Charts and textbooks usually advise
beginning students to treat it as silent.
It’s really closer to an almost inaudible g
as in golf, made way back in the throat.

FUN FACT
When Jews in the Hellenistic
era translated biblical texts
from Hebrew to Greek, they
represented the ‫ע‬ sound as γ
in proper nouns.

‫א‬ ֵ‫פּ‬ ‫פ‬=
When it has a dahgesh inside,
pey sounds like the p in papa.
Without the dahgesh, it
sounds like the f in foxtrot.
At the end of a word, ‫פ‬
changes its shape to ‫ף‬.

‫י‬ ֵ‫ד‬ ָ‫צ‬ ‫צ‬=
Tsadey sounds like the
ts at the end of cats.
At the end of a word, ‫צ‬
changes its shape to ‫ץ‬.

‫קוֹף‬ ‫ק‬=
Qohf sounds like the k in kilo.
(Yes, it sounds just like ‫כּ‬.)

‫ישׁ‬ ֵ‫ר‬ ‫ר‬=
Charts and textbooks usually advise
beginners to pronounce reysh like the
r in Romeo. Modern Israeli speakers
trill the sound at the back of the
tongue; it almost sounds like gargling.

‫ין‬ ִ‫שׂ‬ ‫שׂ‬=
Seen sounds like the s in sierra.
(Yes, it sounds just like ‫ס‬.)

‫ין‬ ִ‫שׁ‬ ‫שׁ‬=
Sheen sounds like the
sh in ship.

FUN FACT
‫שׂ‬ and ‫שׁ‬ are really
considered one letter
with two sounds.

‫ו‬ ָ‫תּ‬ ‫ת‬=
Tahv sounds like the t in tango.
(Yes, that’s the same sound as ‫ט‬.)
You need not pronounce ‫תּ‬ and ‫ת‬
diﬀerently (though some charts
and textbooks advise pronouncing
‫ת‬ like the th in think).

Part 4
Explanation  
of Vowels

‫ח‬ ַ‫ת‬ ַ‫פּ‬ ◌=
Pahtahkh sounds like the a in father.
ַ

Kahmeyts sounds like the a in father.
(Yes, it sounds just like pahtahkh.)
Kahmeyts is sometimes combined
with ‫ה‬ at the end of a word, with no
change in sound.
‫ץ‬ ֶ‫מ‬ ָ‫ק‬ ◌= ָ

Pahtahkh and kahmeyts sometimes
combine with ‫י‬, which makes either
one sound like the English word eye.

Segohl sounds like the e in egg.
Segohl is sometimes
combined with ‫י‬, which makes
it sound like the ey in they.
‫גוֹל‬ ְ‫ס‬ ◌= ֶ

Tseyrey sounds like the ey in they.
Tseyrey is sometimes combined
with ‫י‬, with no change in sound.
‫י‬ ֵ‫ר‬ ֵ‫צ‬ ◌= ֵ

Kheereq sounds like the ee in bee.
Kheereq is sometimes combined
with ‫י‬, with no change in sound.
‫ק‬ ֶ‫יר‬ ִ‫ח‬ ◌= ִ

Kahmeyts-khatoof sounds like the word oh.
Kahmeyts-khatoof looks exactly like
kahmeyts. For best results, assume this
symbol represents kahmeyts, and learn by
example when it represents kahmetys-
khatoof.
‫טוּף‬ ָ‫ץ־ח‬ ֵ‫מ‬ ָ‫ק‬ ◌= ָ

Khohlem sounds like the word oh.
Khohlem is sometimes combined
with ‫ו‬, appearing as ‫וֹ‬, with no
change in sound.
‫ם‬ ֶ‫חוֹל‬ ◌= ֹ

Keeboots sounds like the oo in
moon.
‫בּוּץ‬ ִ‫ק‬ ◌= ֻ

‫ק‬ ֶ‫שׁוּר‬ =
Shoorek sounds like the oo in
moon. (Yes, it sounds just like
keeboots.)
◌‫וּ‬

Khateyf-pahtahkh sounds like
the a in arise. It’s the same
sound as pahtahkh, but said
more quickly and never stressed.
‫ח‬ ַ‫ת‬ ַ‫ף־פּ‬ ֵ‫ט‬ ָ‫ח‬ ◌= ֲ

Khateyf-kahmeyts sounds like
the o in omit. It’s the same sound
as kameyts-khatoof, but said
more quickly and never stressed.
‫ץ‬ ֵ‫מ‬ ָ‫ף־ק‬ ֵ‫ט‬ ָ‫ח‬ ◌= ֳ

Khateyf-segohl sounds like the e
in excuse. It’s the same sound as
segohl, but said more quickly
and never stressed.
‫גוֹל‬ ְ‫ף־ס‬ ֵ‫ט‬ ָ‫ח‬ ◌= ֱ

Sheva can seem complicated
at ﬁrst, but it’s so common
that you’ll get used to it soon.
‫א‬ ָ‫ו‬ ְ‫שׁ‬ ◌= ְ

A sheva at the beginning of a word or
the second of two consecutive shevas
is called sheva naʕ or “moving sheva.” It
sounds just like khateyf-segohl.
‫ע‬ ָ‫נ‬ ‫א‬ ָ‫ו‬ ְ‫שׁ‬
◌◌
=
ְ
◌◌ְְ

Any other sheva is called sheva nahkh
or “resting sheva.” It is silent.
‫ח‬ ָ‫נ‬ ‫א‬ ָ‫ו‬ ְ‫שׁ‬
◌◌
=
ְ
◌◌ְְ

TECHNICAL NOTE
There are some more precise rules
governing shevas, but these will do
for now.

TIP
Listen to the audio Hebrew Bible
available at www.aoal.org/
hebrew_audiobible.htm to get
used to the sounds of Hebrew words.

CREDITS
SCRIPTED BY
Dr. Chris Heard
PARTIALLY FUNDED BY
Pepperdine University
Faculty Innovation in Teaching and Learning Grant
ARTWORK CREATED BY
Dr. Chris Heard using licensed resources for DAZ Studio
Freepik via Flaticon (CC-BY)
NARRATED BY
Dr. Chris Heard
Rene Heard

BHBE 1: Writing and Pronouncing Hebrew

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BHBE 1: Writing and Pronouncing Hebrew