Classical · Biblical Hebrew
Establish the full consonantal alphabet and the Massoretic vowel-point (nikud) system, so any pointed word can be sounded out.
Ch. 1 — The AlphabetCh. 2 — Vocalisation
Core concepts · 6
- All 22 letters are consonants; five take a final form at word-end (כ→ך, מ→ם, נ→ן, פ→ף, צ→ץ).
- Six בגדכפת letters take a daghesh-lene dot to harden: bh/v→b, kh→k, ph/f→p, and so on.
- Vav, Yod and He double as vowel-letters (matres lectionis): ה→â, י→ê/î, ו→ô/û.
- Long vowels — qamets (ā, 'calm'), tsere (ē, 'obey'), hireq (î, 'machine'), holem (ō, 'tone'), shureq (û).
- Short vowels — patach (a, 'mat'), seghol (e, 'then'), short hireq (i, 'hit'), qamets-hatuph (o, 'top'), qibbuts (u, 'shut').
- Vowel points sit under (or over) the consonant they follow; every Hebrew word begins with a consonant.
Vocabulary & signs · tap a word to hear, expand for how to say it
qamets — long 'a' as in calm
say: bā
tsere — 'e' as in obey
say: bē
hireq — 'i' as in machine
say: bî
holem — 'o' as in tone
say: bō
patach — short 'a' as in mat
say: ba
seghol — 'e' as in then
say: be
Exercises · answer in the app
Exercise 1 / 3
Which is a LONG vowel?
Bridge to this week
Your Week 1 pointers (זֶה, זֹאת, אֵלֶּה) and prefixes (הַ-, וְ-) only become reliable to pronounce once you can read the vowel points beneath them — this fills the nikud gap before you ever face unvoweled text.
Teach Yourself Hebrew — R. K. Harrison (E.U.P.)
Pass this quick check to complete the lesson.
Quick check · 1 / 4