Learn the Hebrew Alphabet: All 22 Letters, Sounds, Pronunciation and Example Words

Published 4 November 2026 · By the AlphabetsLearn Team · 15 min read · For beginners of all ages

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת

This guide teaches the Hebrew alphabet the way most beginners actually learn it. You'll see each letter with its name, sound and a simple example word, then learn the final forms, the vowel marks and the small dot (the dagesh) that changes some sounds. At the end there are exercises, a self-marking quiz and a free printable Hebrew alphabet PDF you can keep beside you while you practise.

What is the Hebrew Aleph-Bet?

The name Aleph-Bet (אָלֶף־בֵּית) comes from the first two letters, Aleph and Bet, in the same way the English word "alphabet" comes from the Greek letters alpha and beta. The Hebrew writing system is used for Modern Hebrew, the main language of Israel, and for Biblical and prayer-book Hebrew. The same letters are also used to write Yiddish and Ladino.

Three features make the Hebrew alphabet different from English:

• It's an abjad, a consonant alphabet. All 22 letters stand for consonants. A few of them (א ה ו י) also help show vowels. Readers fill in the remaining vowels from context, or from the optional vowel marks.
• There are no capital letters. Each letter has one printed shape, plus a special final shape for five letters.
• Printed letters don't join. Unlike Arabic, each printed Hebrew letter stands on its own. Handwritten Hebrew uses a separate cursive style whose shapes look quite different, so most learners start with the print letters shown in this guide.

The square letters used today developed from the Aramaic script more than two thousand years ago, replacing an older script now called Paleo-Hebrew.

Why Hebrew is written from right to left

Hebrew, like Arabic and Aramaic, is written from right to left. The direction was inherited from the older Semitic scripts the Hebrew alphabet grew out of. Historians have proposed reasons such as carving with a chisel in the right hand, but nobody knows for certain. For a learner, these practical points matter more:

• Start reading at the right-hand edge of the line and move left.
• Hebrew books open from what an English reader thinks of as the "back". The first page is on the right.
• Numbers and foreign words stay left to right inside Hebrew text. In יש לי 25 ספרים ("I have 25 books"), you read the words right to left but the number 25 as usual.

Try it: the word שלום (shalom, "hello / peace") begins with ש on the right and ends with ם on the left.

Hebrew alphabet chart: all 22 letters with pronunciation

Here are the Hebrew alphabet letters in order. Each card shows the letter, its name in English and in Hebrew, the sound it usually makes in Modern Israeli Hebrew, and an everyday example word with its transliteration and English meaning. Letter names have several common English spellings (Aleph/Alef, Chet/Het, Yod/Yud, Qof/Kuf, Tsadi/Tzadik). They all refer to the same letters.

• א
  1. Aleph אָלֶף
  Silent; carries a vowel
  אבא
  abba – dad
• ב
  2. Bet / Vet בֵּית
  b with dot (בּ), v without
  בית
  bayit – house
• ג
  3. Gimel גִּימֶל
  g as in "go"
  גמל
  gamal – camel
• ד
  4. Dalet דָּלֶת
  d as in "dog"
  דג
  dag – fish
• ה
  5. He הֵא
  h; usually silent at the end of a word
  הר
  har – mountain
• ו
  6. Vav וָו
  v; also the vowels o or u
  ורד
  vered – rose
• ז
  7. Zayin זַיִן
  z as in "zoo"
  זאב
  ze'ev – wolf
• ח
  8. Chet חֵית
  ch as in Scottish "loch"
  חלב
  chalav – milk
• ט
  9. Tet טֵית
  t as in "top"
  טוב
  tov – good
• י
  10. Yod יוֹד
  y as in "yes"; also the vowel i
  ילד
  yeled – boy, child
• כ
  11. Kaf / Chaf כַּף
  k with dot (כּ), ch without
  כלב
  kelev – dog
• ל
  12. Lamed לָמֶד
  l as in "lion"
  לב
  lev – heart
• מ
  13. Mem מֵם
  m as in "moon"
  מים
  mayim – water
• נ
  14. Nun נוּן
  n as in "nest"
  נר
  ner – candle
• ס
  15. Samekh סָמֶךְ
  s as in "sun"
  ספר
  sefer – book
• ע
  16. Ayin עַיִן
  Usually silent; carries a vowel
  עין
  ayin – eye
• פ
  17. Pe / Fe פֵּא
  p with dot (פּ), f without
  פרח
  perach – flower
• צ
  18. Tsadi צָדִי
  ts as in "cats"
  צב
  tsav – tortoise
• ק
  19. Qof קוֹף
  k as in "kite"
  קוף
  kof – monkey
• ר
  20. Resh רֵישׁ
  r made in the throat (like French r)
  ראש
  rosh – head
• ש
  21. Shin / Sin שִׁין
  sh (שׁ) or s (שׂ)
  שמש
  shemesh – sun
• ת
  22. Tav תָּו
  t as in "top"
  תפוח
  tapuach – apple

Hebrew letter sounds and their English equivalents

Most Hebrew letter sounds exist in English. The tricky part for beginners is that, in Modern Hebrew, several letters share the same sound. They were pronounced differently in the past, and the spelling kept the old distinctions. This table groups them so you know what to expect when you hear a word but don't know how to spell it.

Hebrew final letters: the five final forms explained

Five Hebrew letters have a final form (סוֹפִית, sofit). It's used only when the letter is the last letter of a word. The sound stays the same. Only the shape changes. Four of the final forms stretch down below the line, and final mem closes into a box. The traditional memory word for the five letters is מנצפ״ך (menatzpach), which lists them as מ נ צ פ כ.

Notice that final ך is normally read ch and final ף is normally read f in native Hebrew words. When the same root appears in the middle of a word, the regular form returns. For example, מלך (melech, king) becomes מלכה (malka, queen).

Hebrew vowel marks (Niqqud)

Because the letters are consonants, Hebrew uses optional vowel marks called niqqud (נִקּוּד, "dotting"). They're small dots and lines written mostly under the letter, and read after the consonant they belong to. You'll find niqqud in children's books, the Bible, prayer books, poetry and beginner materials. Everyday adult texts, such as newspapers, signs and messages, usually leave them out.

Modern Hebrew has just five vowel sounds: a, e, i, o, u. Several marks share each sound. In the table, each mark is shown under or beside the letter ב.

Dagesh: how a dot changes pronunciation

A dagesh is a dot placed inside a letter. In Modern Hebrew it changes the sound of only three letters, and these are the ones beginners need to know:

• Rule of thumb for unpointed text: at the very start of a word, ב כ פ are usually b, k and p. After a vowel they are often v, ch and f.
• A dagesh can also appear in other letters (for example גּ דּ תּ). In classical Hebrew it marked doubled or harder sounds. In Modern Hebrew these letters sound the same with or without it.
• Shin and Sin use a different dot, placed on top. A dot on the right shoulder (שׁ) is sh, as in שֶׁמֶשׁ shemesh. A dot on the left shoulder (שׂ) is s, as in שִׂמְחָה simcha (joy).

How to pronounce Hebrew letters: beginner tips

1. Learn the "ch" sound early. ח and כ (without dagesh) sound like the end of Scottish loch or German Bach, a soft scrape at the back of the mouth. They never sound like the "ch" in chair.
2. Keep vowels pure. Hebrew o and e don't glide the way English vowels do. Say shalom with a short, clean "o", not "show-lome".
3. Treat Aleph and Ayin as vowel seats. In most modern speech you simply say the vowel attached to them: אִמָּא = ima.
4. Practise the Resh. The Israeli ר is made at the back of the throat, close to the French r. A rolled Spanish-style r is also understood and is used by some native speakers.
5. Stress the last syllable. Most Hebrew words are stressed on the last syllable: sha-LOM, ye-la-DIM (children). Many common words break the rule, such as YE-led (boy) and SE-fer (book), so learn the stress together with each new word.
6. Learn letters in small groups. Five or six letters a day, with two example words each, is a pace most beginners can keep up.

Common mistakes beginners make

• Mixing up look-alike letters. Compare them side by side:
  • ב Bet has a small heel at the bottom right. כ Kaf is smoothly rounded.
  • ד Dalet has a sharp corner that sticks out. ר Resh is rounded.
  • ה He has a gap at the top left. ח Chet is closed at the top. ת Tav has a little foot on the left leg.
  • ו Vav is a short line. ז Zayin has a flat cap. Final ן Nun drops below the line.
  • ס Samekh is round. Final ם Mem is square.
• Reading left to right out of habit, especially in mixed Hebrew–English text.
• Forgetting final forms. Writing שלומ instead of שלום is a typical beginner error.
• Pronouncing every letter. א, ע and a final ה are usually silent.
• Saying English "ch". חלב is chalav with a throaty ch, never "tchalav".
• Expecting vowel marks everywhere. Practise with pointed texts first, then move gradually to unpointed ones.

Hebrew alphabet learning exercises

Hebrew alphabet practice quiz

Choose one answer for each question, then press Check my answers. Your answers stay in your browser.

Hebrew alphabet printable PDF (free)

A clean, A4 Hebrew alphabet chart for beginners: all 22 letters with names, pronunciation, example words, transliteration and meanings, plus the five final forms, the vowel marks, pronunciation notes and a practice page.

📄 Download Hebrew Alphabet Printable PDF

PDF · A4 · 4 pages · free for home and classroom use

Frequently asked questions about the Hebrew alphabet

Sources and further reading

• Unicode Standard: Hebrew code chart (letters and niqqud)
• Encyclopaedia Britannica: Hebrew alphabet
• The Academy of the Hebrew Language (in Hebrew)