Modern · Israeli Hebrew
Learn the 22-letter alphabet in both the printed (square) and cursive (handwritten) scripts used in Israel today, with Sephardi pronunciation.
Lesson 1 — The AlphabetAppendix B — The Cursive Alphabet
Core concepts · 6
- 22 consonants, written right-to-left; the same five take final forms (ך ם ן ף ץ).
- The cursive script is what Israelis actually handwrite — learn it alongside the printed letters (Appendix B).
- Pronunciation is Sephardi (the Israeli standard); Ashkenazi differs, e.g. final ת as 's' (Shabbos vs Shabbat).
- Hardest for English speakers: ח (throaty), ע (throat-clearing), א (silent glottal stop, like the gap in 'o'clock').
- Letters carry numerical values (gematria) — rare in modern text, but seen in the lunar calendar.
- The alphabet descends from a proto-Sinaitic script (Appendix A): אלף 'ox', בית 'house' — ancestor of Greek and Latin.
Vocabulary & signs · tap a word to hear, expand for how to say it
first letter — silent glottal stop
say: ʾalef
b with dagesh, v without
say: bet / vet
guttural 'ch' as in loch
say: chet
throat-clearing guttural
say: ʿayin
sh (dot right) / s (dot left)
say: shin / sin
sabbath (Sephardi 't' vs Ashkenazi 's')
say: shabbat
Exercises · answer in the app
Exercise 1 / 4
Which letter is the silent glottal stop?
Bridge to this week
Week 1 drills letter recognition; the OHT adds the cursive hand you'll actually write in Israel, the Sephardi standard, and the same ח/ע/א distinctions your phonetic coach is grading.
The Online Hebrew Tutorial v2.0 — Ben Stitz
Pass this quick check to complete the lesson.
Quick check · 1 / 4