02.08. PART 1 THE ALEPHBET

Part 1 The Alephbet ______________________________________________

Each of following eleven lessons introduces two new consonants and may or many not introduce new vowels. Each lesson will also include a practice section, new vocabulary words and sentences. The practice session will allow you to practice the new letters and vowels and refresh yourself on old ones. The vocabulary section will consist of a few words using the new letters and vowels to begin building your Hebrew vocabulary. The Sentences will allow you to begin using your new words in sentences. To assist you in learning the letters and words, I recommend that you put the letters and words you are learning on flashcards so that you can study them at any time.

Transliterations of each of the lessons are provided at the end of the lessons to assist with pronunciation. When reading these transliterations, remember to use the correct Hebrew sound for each vowel. For example the transliterated Hebrew vowel sound "o" is the long "o" sound as in the English word "rope."

Alephbet and Vowels The following is a chart of all the consonants in the Hebrew Alephbet. This chart includes all the variations for each letter. For example the letter beyt can be written as B or b. Several of the letters have a final form as well and are also included (such as m and ~).

Lamed     l             Aleph         a

Mem         ~ m             Beyt         B b

Nun         ! n             Gimel         g

Samech     s             Dalet         d

Ayin         [             Hey         h

Pey         @ P p         Vav         w

Tsade     # c             Zayin         z

Quph         q             Chet         x

Resh         r             Tet         j

Shin         f v             Yud         y

Tavt Kaph & $ K k The Vowels

Below are the names for each of the Hebrew vowels. The letter aleph is used below to show the placement of each vowel and is not part of the vowel.

Cholam maley     A         Qamats     ’a

Qubbuts         ua         Patach    ;a

Shuruq         W         Segol         ,a

Chataph qamats     \a         Tsere         ea

Chataph patach     ]a         Sh’va        .a

Chataph segol/a Chireq ia Cholam oa Letter Comparisons

Several of the Hebrew letters are very similar and at the beginning they are easily confused with other letters that look alike. Below is a chart showing letters of similarity in order to make the reader familiar with the slight differences.

Beyt     b         Dalet     d         Kaph         k

Kaph     k         Resh    r         Pey         p

Beyt     b         Vav     w         Mem         m

Pey     p         Zayin     z         Tet         j

Gimel     g         Vav     w         F. Mem     ~

Nun     n         F. Nun !         Samech     s

Hey     h         Zayin     z         Samech     s

Chet     x         F. Nun !         Tet         j

Hey     h         Chet     x         Ayin         [

Tav     t         Tav     t         Tsade     c