The Alphabet אָלֶף־בֵּית alef-bet
The Hebrew Bible is written with 22 letters. All 22 are consonants, written from right to left. Vowels are not letters; they were added later as dots and dashes around the letters. This page sets out each letter’s name, sound and shape in a table, then shows the five final forms and the look-alike letters one by one in real words from Genesis 1–2.
the names of the first two letters, א (alef) and ב (bet), joined
Colour key blue = added at the front · orange = added at the end · purple = a mark inside (dot · doubled letter · changed vowel) · underline = the word this page is about
1What the Hebrew letters are
Hebrew has 22 letters, and all of them are consonants. Readers supplied the vowels from knowledge; later, vowel signs (dots and dashes) were written around the letters (see Vowels).
Hebrew is written from right to left. So the first word of Genesis, בְּרֵאשִׁית (bereshit, “in the beginning”), begins with the ב at the far right. There are no capital letters.
Five letters (כ מ נ פ צ) change shape at the very end of a word. These are the final forms (Hebrew סוֹפִיּוֹת sofiyyot, “the end ones”). The sound and meaning stay the same; only the shape changes.
2Where the name comes from — אָלֶף־בֵּית alef-bet
In Hebrew the alphabet is called אָלֶף־בֵּית (alef-bet): the name of the first letter א, אָלֶף (alef), joined to the name of the second letter ב, בֵּית (bet).
Greek did the same with its first two letters, alpha (α) and beta (β), which gave English the word “alphabet.”
Each letter has a name, and the first sound of the name is the letter’s sound: בֵּית (bet) begins with b, מֵם (mem) with m. א (alef) and ע (ayin), however, begin with a throat stop and are nearly silent today.
3At a glance — five features of Hebrew letters
- 1. Right to leftWords and lines start at the right — בְּרֵאשִׁית (Gen 1:1) begins with ב.
- 2. 22 consonants onlyEvery letter is a consonant. Vowels are shown by signs below, above or inside the letters (see Vowels).
- 3. Five final formsכ מ נ פ צ become ך ם ן ף ץ at the end of a word — in מַיִם (Gen 1:6) the same מ is מ in front and ם at the end.
- 4. Letters that change sound with a dotב כ פ read b · k · p with a dot (dagesh) inside, and v · kh · f without — בָּרָא (bara, 1:1) and וָבֹהוּ (vavohu, 1:2).
- 5. Two sounds for שA dot at the upper right gives שׁ (sh); at the upper left, שׂ (s) — הַשָּׁמַיִם (1:1) and וַיַּעַשׂ (1:7).
4The 22 letters — name · sound · final form · look-alikes
The order is the Hebrew alphabetical order. “Sound” is the common reading pronunciation.
| Letter | Name | Hebrew name | Sound | Final form | Look-alikes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| א | Alef | אָלֶף | silent (a brief throat stop ’) — a seat for a vowel | — | ע (both nearly silent today) |
| ב | Bet | בֵּית | בּ b · ב v | — | כ — ב has a corner sticking out at the lower right; כ is rounded |
| ג | Gimel | גִּימֶל | g | — | נ — ג has a separate foot at the lower left |
| ד | Dalet | דָּלֶת | d | — | ר ך — ד has a sharp corner at the upper right, ר is rounded, ך drops below the line |
| ה | He | הֵא | h (usually silent at the end of a word) | — | ח ת — the left leg of ה does not touch the roof |
| ו | Vav (Waw) | וָו | v (older w) · as a vowel letter וֹ o · וּ u | — | ז ן י — ו has a small head and stops at the line |
| ז | Zayin | זַיִן | z | — | ו — the head of ז sticks out on both sides |
| ח | Het | חֵית | ḥ, a rasping h from deep in the throat | — | ה ת — both legs of ח are joined to the roof |
| ט | Tet | טֵית | t | — | מ — the top of ט curls inward |
| י | Yod | יוֹד | y · as a vowel letter ִי i · ֵי e | — | ו — י is the smallest letter, floating above the line |
| כ | Kaf | כַּף | כּ k · כ kh (a rasping k) | ך | ב — rounded is כ, a corner is ב |
| ל | Lamed | לָמֶד | l | — | none — the only letter that rises high above the line |
| מ | Mem | מֵם | m | ם | ט; final ם with ס |
| נ | Nun | נוּן | n | ן | ג כ; final ן with ו |
| ס | Samekh | סָמֶךְ | s | — | ם — ס is round; ם is square at the bottom |
| ע | Ayin | עַיִן | older: a squeezed throat sound ‘ · today usually silent | — | צ — the arms of ע meet at the bottom and the tail goes left |
| פ | Pe | פֵּא | פּ p · פ f | ף | כ — פ has a small tongue inside at the top |
| צ | Tsade | צָדִי | ts | ץ | ע |
| ק | Qof | קוֹף | q (a k made further back) | — | ה — the left leg of ק goes below the line |
| ר | Resh | רֵישׁ | r | — | ד ך |
| ש | Sin / Shin | שִׁין | שׁ sh (dot on the right) · שׂ s (dot on the left) | — | שׁ and שׂ differ only by the place of the dot |
| ת | Tav | תָּו | t | — | ח ה — ת has a foot at the lower left |
ט and ת, כּ and ק, ס and שׂ once sounded different but are usually read alike today. Even when they sound the same, the text’s own letter must be followed exactly.
5Right to left — the first word of the Bible
Read the first word of Genesis 1:1 one letter at a time, starting from the right.
bereshit — in the beginning
From the right: בּ (bet, b) → ר (resh, r) → א (alef) → שׁ (shin, sh) → י (yod) → ת (tav, t). Six letters, but three syllables: be-re-shit. The colored א is silent; it rests (see Gutturals). י is a vowel letter lengthening the ִ (i) before it (see Vowels). The first part בְּ is the preposition “in,” and רֵאשִׁית is “beginning.”
YLVIn beginning (bereshit) God created the heavens and the earth.
6The five final forms — used only at the end of a word
These five letters change shape at the very end of a word. Four of them (ך ן ף ץ) drop a long tail below the line; ם closes into a square.
| Normal | Final | Name | A word in Genesis 1–2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| כ | ך | final kaf (כַּף סוֹפִית) | חֹשֶׁךְ darkness (1:2) |
| מ | ם | final mem (מֵם סוֹפִית) | מַיִם waters (1:6) |
| נ | ן | final nun (נוּן סוֹפִית) | כֵן so (1:7) |
| פ | ף | final pe (פֵּא סוֹפִית) | עוֹף bird (1:21) |
| צ | ץ | final tsade (צָדִי סוֹפִית) | הָאָרֶץ the earth (1:1) |
A final form is not a new letter but the end shape of the same letter, so there are still 22 letters. When an ending is added and the letter is no longer last, it returns to its normal shape.
7Final forms — real examples from the Bible
Notice the same letter in its normal shape at the start or middle and its final shape at the end.
mayim — waters
The same letter מ (mem) appears twice. At the start (right) it has the normal shape מ; at the end (left) the final shape ם. Both sound m.
YLVAnd God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide between waters and waters."
ye‘ofef — let (it) fly
The last root letter פ of ע-ו-ף (fly) is repeated. The middle one has the normal shape פֵ; the last one has the final shape ף. Neither has a dot, so both read f.
YLVAnd God said, "Let the waters swarm with swarms, a living soul (nephesh); and let birds fly above the earth upon the face of the firmament of the heavens."
veḥoshekh — and darkness
The final kaf ךְ is written with a sheva (ְ, two dots) inside. It does not add a sound; it shows the word ends on a consonant (see Sheva). There is no dot in it, so it reads kh.
YLVAnd the earth was formlessness and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit (ruach) of God was hovering upon the face of the waters.
khen — so
כ (kaf) + ֵ (e) + the final ן (final nun). ן is a vertical stroke like ו, but it reaches below the line.
YLVAnd God made the firmament, and divided between the waters which were under the firmament and the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
gan — a garden
גּ (gimel) + ַ (a) + the final ן. The normal נ is easily confused with ג; the final ן goes below the line and is easily confused with ו.
YLVAnd YHWH God planted a garden in Eden, from the east, and there he put Adam whom he had formed.
ha’arets — the earth
The final ץ (final tsade) is the normal צ with its tail drawn straight down below the line. It sounds ts. In 1:26 בְּצַלְמֵנוּ (in our image) the normal צ stands in the middle.
YLVIn beginning (bereshit) God created the heavens and the earth.
8Letters whose sound changes with a dot — ב כ פ
Six letters, ב ג ד כ פ ת (remembered as בְּגַדְכְּפַת begadkefat), can take a dot (dagesh) inside. In today’s reading only ב כ פ clearly change sound.
| Letter | With the dot | Without the dot |
|---|---|---|
| ב bet | בּ b | ב v |
| כ kaf | כּ k | כ kh (a rasping k) |
| פ pe | פּ p | פ f |
| ג ד ת | גּ g · דּ d · תּ t | the same sound today (thought to have differed once) |
When the dot appears and when it drops is explained on the Dagesh page. The final forms ך ף almost never take the dot, so they are usually read kh · f.
9With and without the dot — real examples from the Bible
bara — (he) created
The first letter בּ has a dot inside, so it reads b. A ב at the start of a word usually has the dot.
YLVIn beginning (bereshit) God created the heavens and the earth.
vavohu — and empty
The בֹ after וָ (and) has no dot, because a vowel ָ (a) comes right before it. So it reads v, not b: “vohu.” תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) is a rhyming pair.
YLVAnd the earth was formlessness and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit (ruach) of God was hovering upon the face of the waters.
ki — that, because
כּ has a dot, so it reads k: “(saw the light) that (it was good).”
YLVAnd God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided between the light and between the darkness.
pene — the face of
The first letter פּ has a dot, so it reads p: “on the face of the deep.”
YLVAnd the earth was formlessness and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit (ruach) of God was hovering upon the face of the waters.
‘of — bird, winged creature
The final ף has no dot, so it reads f. The first letter ע (ayin) is nearly silent today, so it sounds “of.”
YLVAnd God created the great sea-creatures (tannin), and every living soul (nephesh) that creeps, with which the waters swarmed, after their kind, and every winged bird after its kind; and God saw that it was good.
10שׁ and שׂ — told apart by the place of one dot
A dot at the upper right of ש makes שׁ (shin, sh); at the upper left, שׂ (sin, s).
hashshamayim — the heavens
The dot on שׁ is at the upper right, so it reads sh. The dot inside is a dagesh (doubling): hash-shamayim (see Dagesh).
YLVIn beginning (bereshit) God created the heavens and the earth.
vayya‘as — and (he) made
The dot on the last letter שׂ is at the upper left, so it reads s. It is the שׂ of the root ע-שׂ-ה (make, do).
YLVAnd God made the firmament, and divided between the waters which were under the firmament and the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so.
‘esev — plants, herbs
The middle שֶׂ has its dot on the left, so it reads s. The last ב has no dot, so it reads v.
YLVAnd God said, "Let the earth sprout vegetation, herb yielding seed, fruit tree making fruit after its kind, in which is its seed, upon the earth"; and it was so.
11Look-alike letters — telling them apart in real words
Words where similar letters stand together or close by.
tohu — formless
The ת (tav) on the right has a foot at the lower left; the ה (he) in the middle has a gap — its left leg does not touch the roof. In the same verse, ח (het), the first letter of חֹשֶׁךְ (darkness), has both legs joined to the roof. Tell ה ח ת apart by the legs and the foot.
YLVAnd the earth was formlessness and emptiness, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the spirit (ruach) of God was hovering upon the face of the waters.
‘ets — tree
This two-letter word has two letters often confused: ע (ayin) and the final ץ (final tsade). In ע the two arms meet at the bottom and the tail goes left; in ץ the right arm bends up and the tail drops straight below the line.
YLVAnd YHWH God made to sprout from the ground (adamah) every tree pleasant to sight and good for food, and the tree of life (chai) in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
’eḥad — one
The last letter ד (dalet) has a sharp corner at the upper right. The ר (resh) in הָאָרֶץ (1:1) is rounded at the same spot. Reading ד as ר makes a different word, so watch this corner.
YLVAnd God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, day one.
12Consonants that also help vowels — ה ו י (א)
All the letters are consonants, but ה ו י (sometimes א) are also used to mark long vowels. These are the vowel letters (Hebrew אִמּוֹת קְרִיאָה immot qeri’ah, “mothers of reading”; Latin matres lectionis).
Examples: in אוֹר (’or, light, 1:3) the ו stands for “o,” not v. The final וּ of תֹהוּ (tohu, 1:2) is “u.” The י of אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, 1:1) stands for the “i” before it. The final ה of לָיְלָה (laylah, night, 1:5) is silent and shows the word ends in “a.”
The same letters also serve as consonants: the first י of יְהִי (yehi, 1:3) is the consonant y. So when you see ו or י, ask first: “Does this letter carry its own vowel sign?” If it does, it is a consonant; if it only supports the vowel of the letter before it, it is a vowel letter (see Vowels).
13Easy to confuse
Final forms are not different letters. ם is מ, and ך is כ. In a lexicon they are looked up as the same letter.
ך (final kaf), ד (dalet) and ר (resh) all bend at the top, but only ך goes below the line. ן (final nun) and ו (vav) are both strokes, but only ן goes below the line.
Do not mix up three dots. A dot inside a letter (dagesh, בּ), the dot on top of ש (shin or sin), and the dot inside ו (וּ u) do entirely different jobs (see Dagesh and Vowels).
Same sound, different letter. ט and ת, כּ and ק, ס and שׂ are read alike today but are different letters that form different roots. When looking up a root, use the exact letters of the text.