Pronunciation of Hebrew Words and Letters

Pronunciation of Hebrew Letters

Biblical Hebrew has 22 consonant letters.
Aleph (א) and ayin (ע) do not have any sound on their own. They take the sound of the vowel attached to them.
Bet (ב) can be pronounced as either ‘b’ or ‘v’.
Gimel (ג) is pronounced as ‘g’, while dalet (ד) is pronounced as ‘d’.
He (ה), vav (ו), and zayin (ז) are pronounced as ‘h’, ‘v’, and ‘z’ respectively.
Tet (ט), yod (י), and kaf (כ) are pronounced as ‘t’, ‘y’ and ‘k’.
Lamed (ל) and mem (מ) are pronounced as ‘l’ and ‘m’ respectively.
Nun (נ), samekh (ס), and ayin (ע) are pronounced as ‘n’, ‘s’ and no sound respectively.
Tsade (צ), qof (ק), resh (ר) and shin/sin (ש) are pronounced as ‘ts’, ‘q’, ‘r’, and ‘sh’.
Tav (ת) is pronounced as ‘t’.

Pronunciation of Hebrew Words

Biblical Hebrew is primarily a consonantal language. The pronunciation of words relies heavily on the use of consonants.
Vowels in Biblical Hebrew are generally not written out. Instead, they are represented using a system of dots and dashes (nikkud) that are placed around the consonants.
Consecutive consonants without intervening vowels are usually not allowed in Hebrew unless the second consonant is a waw (ו), yod (י), or a final nun (נ), mem (מ), tsade (צ), pe (פ), or kaf (כ).

Variation in Pronunciation

Certain Hebrew letters change the way they are pronounced depending upon whether they are at the beginning, within, or at the end of a word.
There is often variation in pronunciation between different dialects of Hebrew. For example, the tav (ת) can be pronounced as either ‘t’ or ‘th’.
The dagesh (a dot placed in the centre of certain letters) can change the pronunciation of the letter. For example, the bet (ב) is pronounced as ‘b’ when it has a dagesh, but as ‘v’ when it doesn’t.

By paying consistent attention to the pronunciation of Hebrew words and letters, understanding Biblical Hebrew becomes easier. Keep practicing the pronunciation of these letters and words to become more comfortable with the language.