[BACK]

Custom Search

Click Here to hear the whole Hebrew Alaf-Beth:


Click on any of the names of the letters in the chart below to hear how they are pronunced:

Ghimal  Gh pronounced like the French R. Sounds  similar to a gargling sound in the  back of the throat.  This pronunciation is shared by Yemenite Jews, Iraqi Jews,  Iranian Jews, and some other communities. The Ashkenazi [Eastern European] Community  and 'Modern Hebrew' makes no distinction between Ghimal and Jimal.  They pronounce both Ghimal and Jimal as a normal G as in Good.	Jimal   J as in Joy.  Communities other than the Yemenite Jewish community pronounce this as a normal G as in Good.	Veth   V as in Valley.  Iraqi Jews pronounce this as a soft B sound.	Beth  B as in boy.	Alaf   The sound of Alaf depends on the vowel attached to this letter.
Waw  W as in Will.  Yemenite Jews, Iranian Jews, Iraqi Jews, Moroccan Jews, and other communities share this pronunciation.  The Ashkenazi [Eastern European] Jewish community and 'Modern Hebrew' pronounce this letter like a V as in Valley, the same as the letter Veth.	Strong Heh   A normal H sound made deeper in the throat and with more force. I am not sure whether other communities apart from the Yemenite Jews make this distinction.  It does not exist in 'Modern Hebrew.'	Heh  H as in House.  Many do not pronounce H at all in 'Modern Hebrew.'	DHaladh  TH as in the word THEY.  This sound is made by exhaling while pressing the tip of the tongue to the upper front teeth while humming.  Yemenite Jews, Iranian Jews, Iraqi Jews, and some other communities have this pronunciation in common.  The Ashkenazi [Eastern European] Community and 'Modern Hebrew' makes no distinction between THalath and Dalath.  They pronounce both as D as in Door.	Daladh  D as in Door.
Kaf   K as in Kitchen.  The form of this letter on the right is how it appears when it is the last letter in a word.  Jews from Eastern Europe and 'Modern Hebrew' both make no distinction between Kaf and Quf, pronouncing both as K as in Kitchen.	Yudh  When Yudh is the first letter in a word or if there is a shwa or another vowel beneath it, it is pronounced as Y as in You.  Otherwise it is pronounced as EE as in We.	Tet   A sound similar to and somewhere between T and D.  This sound is made by elevating back of tongue while lowering the tip of tongue.  Yemenite Jews, Iranian Jews, Iraqi Jews, and other communities have similar pronunciations.  The Ashkenazi community and 'Modern Hebrew' makes no distinction between Tet and the letter Tau.	Hheth   A sound similar to H, but made exhaling just like while making a normal H sound, though while constricting the back of the throat.  Yemenite Jews, Iranian Jews, Iraqi Jews, Moroccan Jews, and others share this sound.  The Ashkenazi community and many speakers of 'Modern Hebrew' make no distinction between this letter and the letter Khaf.	Zahn   Z as in Zipper.
Samakh  S as in Snack.  There might be a distinction between the sound of Samakh and the sound of Seen, but I have not yet learned of such.  I have, however, heard that it is a tradition from Sinai that the letters Samakh and Seen make the same sound.  I have my own way of understanding how this may be acceptable.	Nun   N as in Nice.  The form of this letter on the right is how it appears when it is the last letter in a word.	Mem   M as in Mother. The form of this letter on the right is how it appears when it is the last letter in a word.	Lamad   L as in Life.	Khaf   Kh as in the Scottish word Loch or the name of the musician Bach.  This sound is made by exhaling while at the same time pressing the far back of one's tongue up to the roof of the back of one's throat.  The form of this letter on the right is how it appears when it is the last letter in a word.
Quf   G as in Good.  Iranian Jews, Iraqi Jews, and some other communities pronounce this as a dry sound between G and K made deep in the back of the throat.  The Ashkenazi Community and 'Modern Hebrew' make no distinction between this letter and the letter Kaf.  They pronounce this letter as K, as in Kick.	Ssadeh  An S sound made while lifting the back of tongue and lowering the tip of the tongue. Yemenite Jews, Iranian Jews, Iraqi Jews, and some other communities preserved this sound.  The Ashkenazi community and 'Modern Hebrew' pronounce this as TS as in StreeTS.  The form of this letter on the right is how it appears when it is the last letter in a word.	Feh   F as in Free. The form of this letter on the right is how it appears when it is the last letter in a word.	Peh  P as in Paper. Communities around Iraq had lost the distinction between Peh and Feh.  They pronounced Peh as Feh.  They have since restored Peh to their pronunciation. Maybe other communities should act similarly with some other letters. The form of this letter on the right is how it appears when it is the last letter in a word.	Ahn  A sound, depending on whatever vowel is attached to this letter, that is made while exhaling and constricting the deep lower part of the throat.  This is similar to the sound made when a doctor presses a wooden stick down your throat and says "Say Ahhh."
Thau   TH as in THree.  This sound is made by pressing the tip of the tongue on the front upper teeth and exhaling without humming.  Jews of Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Morocco, and some other communities, had this pronunciation in common.  The Ashkenazi Community pronounces this letter as S as in Snake. They make no distinction between this letter and Seen and Samakh.  'Modern Hebrew'  makes no distinction between this letter and Tau.	Tau  T as in Teach.	Seen   S as in Save.	Shin   Sh as in Shore.	Resh   An R pronounced like the Spanish R and the Arabic R.  Made by 'rolling' the tip of the tongue on the front upper teeth.  This pronunciation was shared by almost all communities until Jews came to the United States and adopted the 'English R.'  'Modern Hebrew' adopted the 'French R' for this letter.  The 'French R' is actually the correct pronunciation of Ghimal.
VOWELS:  Hear all their sounds.	In the following section concerning Hebrew vowels, the Hebrew letter Alaf is simply representing any of the other Hebrew letters.  When reading Hebrew, first one pronounces the sound of the letter, and then the sound of the vowel underneath or above it.  The only exceptions I recall are when Heh, Hheth, or Ahn are the last letter in a word.  In these cases, one would first pronounce the sound of the vowel under the letter, and then the sound of the letter itself, either Heh, Hhet, or Ahn.
Qamahss An AW sound, and in Fall.  Yemenite Jewish pronunciation and many Ashkenazi communities share this pronunciation in common.  All other communities make no distinction between Qamahss and Phatahh, as far as I know.	Phatahh An AH sound, as in Father.	Sagol An AH sound, as in Father.  The same sound as Phatahh; This is because in Yemenite Jewish tradition the Sagol simply doesn't exist.  Ashkenazim and everyone else (as far as I know) pronounce Sagal like EH, just like the Ssehra in non-Ashkenazi Hebrew.	Hheereeq An Eey sound, as in We.	Ssehra An EH sound, as in Fed.  Many Ashkenazim pronounce this as Ay as in They.
Shwa A pause or break in the pronunciation of a word.	Shewruq[shewruq] An EW / U sound as in Chew or Through.	Shewruq[qubewss] An EW / U sound as in Chew or Through.	Hhohlom[hhuhsehr] An OH sound as in Window.  Some Ashkenazim pronounce this as OY, as in Toy.	Hhohlom[maleh] An OH sound as in Window, but without pronouncing the w sound after the o.  Some Ashkenazim pronounce this as OY, as in Toy.
SIMILAR SOUNDS:
Khaf and Ghimal Hear the difference.	Khaf  and Hhet Hear the difference.	Hhetand Heh Hear the difference.	Tet  and Tau Hear the difference.	Tet and Daladh Hear the difference.
Resh and Ghimal Hear the difference.	Seen Samakh and Ssadhe Hear the difference.	DHaladh and THau Hear the difference.	Feh and THau Hear the difference.	DHaladh and Zahn Hear the difference.
Seen Samakh and THau Hear the difference.	Phatahh and Qamahss Hear the difference.	Qamahss and Hhohlom Hear the difference.	Hhohlom and Shewruq Hear the difference.

[BACK]