Hebrew language, alphabet and pronunciation (2024)

Hebrew is a member of the Canaanite group of Semitic languages. It was the language of the early Jews, but from 586 BC it started to be replaced by Aramaic. By 200 AD use of Hebrew as an everyday language had largely ceased, but it continued to be used for literary and religious functions, as well as a lingua franca among Jews from different countries.

During the mid-19th century the first efforts were made to revive Hebrew as a everyday language. One man who played a major role in these efforts was Eliezer Ben Yehuda (1858-1922), who was the first to make exclusive use of Hebrew in his home, and encouraged the use of Hebrew among others, as well as its use in schools.

Today Hebrew is spoken by some 5 million people mainly in Israel, where it is an official language along with Arabic. and a further 2 million people speak the language in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Palestinian West Bank and Gaza, Panama, the UK and USA.

Hebrew alphabet (אלפבית עברי)

The first alphabet used to write Hebrew emerged during the late second and first millennia BC. It is closely related to the Phoenician alphabet. The modern Hebrew alphabet was developed from an alphabet known as Proto-Hebrew/Early Aramaic.

The Hebrew alphabet is also known as the Hebrew Square Script, the square script, the block script, the Jewish script or Ktav Ashuri (כְּתָב אַשּׁוּרִי - Assyrian script).

Notable features

• Type of writing system: abjad / consonant alphabet
• Writing direction: right to left in horizontal lines.
• Number of letters: 22 consonants, plus final letters and diacritics
• Used to write: Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, Ladino, Yiddish and many other Jewish languages.
• Some letters (kaf, mem, nun, fe and tzadi) have a final form (sofit), which is used when they appear at the end of a word.
• There are no separate numerals in Hebrew, instead standard western numerals (1, 2, 3, etc) are usually used. In some circ*mstances, however, Hebrew letters are used to represent numbers. For example, in days of the week, for dates in the Hebrew calendar, and in school grades. The numerical values of the letters are shown below.
• Long vowels can be indicated by the letters alef, vav, and yod. Short vowels are not usually marked, except in the Bible, poetry and books for children and foreign learners.

The Hebrew script

Modern Israeli pronunciation

Notes

• het is officially pronounced [ħ], but many people pronounce it [x]
• ʻayin is officially pronounced [ʕ], but many people pronounce it [ʔ]
• ס׳ [sˤ] and ט׳ [ðˤ] are also used, but only for Arabic names

Hebrew vowel points / Niqqud (נִקּוּד טְבֶרְיָנִי)

This system of indicating vowels was devised by the Masoretic scholars in Tiberias in around 750 AD. It is known as Tiberian vocalization, Tiberian pointing, or Tiberian niqqud, or נִיקוּד טְבֵרִיָנִי in Hebrew.

Hear the Modern Hebrew alphabet, with example words:

Modern Cursive Hebrew script

Biblical Hebrew (עִבְרִית מִקְרָאִית) / Classical Hebrew (עִבְרִית קְלַסִּית)

Biblical or Classical Hebrew is the form of Hebrew used in Israel and Judah from about the 10th century BC until the 2nd century AD. Texts include the Hebrew Bible, and other religious and historical writings. It was written without vowel indication at first, and over time some consonants, known as matres lectionis, came to be used to indicate vowels.

Biblical Hebrew was first written with the Phoenician script, which developed into the Paleo-Hebrew script by the 10th or 9th century BC. By the 6th century BC the Aramaic script began to replace the Paleo-Hebrew script.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biblical_Hebrew

Hear the Biblical Hebrew alphabet:

Tiberian Hebrew

This is the reconstructed pronunciation of the Hebrew used between 750-950 AD by Masoretic scholars living in the Jewish community of Tiberias in ancient Judea.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiberian_Hebrew

Hear the Tiberian Hebrew alphabet:

Rashi

The Rashi style is used mainly to write commentaries on texts. It is named after Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (1040-1105 AD) a.k.a. Rashi, one of the greatest medieval Jewish scholars and Bible commentators. Rashi did not use the Rashi sytle to write his commentaries but it is named in honour of him.

Download

Download a Hebrew alphabet chart in Word or PDF format

Sample texts in Hebrew

Without vowels (Serif font - David)

Without vowels (Sans-Serif font - Arial)

With vowels

Cursive script

Another version of the cursive script

Cursive script with ligatures (informal)

Transliteration

Kol benei ha'adam noldu benei xorin veshavim be'erkam uvizxuyoteihem. Kulam xonenu batevuna uvematspun, lefixax xova 'aleihem linhog ish bere'ehu beruax shel axava.

A recording of this text by גל ויסברג (Gal Weisberg)

Another recording of this text by Tal Barnea

An improved version of this text by Yitzchak Gale

Transliteration

Kol benei ha'adam noldu benei xorin veshavim be'erkam uvizxuyoteihem. Kulam xonenu batevuna uvematspun, v xova 'aleihem linhog ish bere'ehu beruax shel axava.

Translation

All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.
(Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights)

Corrections and text samples provided by Tal Barnea

Sample videos in Hebrew

Information about Hebrew | Phrases | Numbers | Time | Tower of Babel | Articles | Hebrew links | Hebrew learning materials

Links

Information about the Hebrew language and alphabet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hebrew_language
http://judaism.about.com/od/hebre1/Hebrew.htm
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/
jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0008_0_08629.html

Modern Hebrew lessons and courses
http://www.zigzagworld.com/hebrewforme
http://www.hebrewpodcasts.com
http://www.ulpan.net
http://hebrewspeaker.blogspot.com
http://www.linguanaut.com/learn_hebrew.htm
http://foundationstone.com.au
http://www.hebraico.pro.br
http://polymath.org/hebrew.php
http://www.hebrewpod101.com/
https://tlv1.fm/podcasts/streetwise-hebrew-show/
Biblical Hebrew lessons and courses
http://www.netwaysglobal.com
http://www.shalom.50megs.com
http://www.hebrew4christians.net
http://visualhebrew.blogspot.ie/

Learn Hebrew online with HebrewPod101
Practical Hebrew - learn to speak the Hebrew that really matters
Learn Hebrew with Ling

Learn Conversational Hebrew

Learn Hebrew with dictionaries, online courses and easy Hebrew magazines

Free Hebrew fonts
http://www.wazu.jp/gallery/Fonts_Hebrew.html
http://opensiddur.org/tools/fonts/
http://oketz.com/fonts/
http://www.daniella.co.il/daniella/bloog/font/Hebrew-font-page1.htm

More Hebrew language links

Semitic languages

Akkadian, Amharic, Arabic (Algerian), Arabic (Bedawi), Arabic (Chadian), Arabic (Egyptian), Arabic (Gulf), Arabic (Hassaniya), Arabic (Hejazi), Arabic (Lebanese), Arabic (Modern Standard), Arabic (Moroccan), Arabic (Najdi), Arabic (Syrian), Aramaic, Argobba, Assyrian / Neo-Assyrian, Canaanite, Chaha, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, Ge'ez, Hadhramautic, Harari, Hebrew, Himyaritic, Jewish Neo-Aramaic, Maltese, Mandaic, Nabataean, Neo-Mandaic, Phoenician, Punic, Qatabanic, Sabaean, Sabaic, Silt'e, Syriac, Tigre, Tigrinya, Turoyo, Ugaritic, Western Neo-Aramaic

Languages written with the Hebrew script

Aramaic, Bukhori, Domari, Hebrew, Jewish Neo-Aramaic, Judeo-Arabic, Judeo-Persian, Juhuri, Knaanic, Ladino, Mozarabic, Yiddish, Yevanic

Consonant alphabets (Abjads)

Ancient Berber, Arabic, Aramaic, Chorasmian, Elymaic, Hatran, Hebrew, Manichaean, Nabataean, North Arabian, Pahlavi, Palmyrene, Parthian, Phoenician, Paleo-Hebrew, Proto-Sinaitic / Proto-Canaanite, Psalter, Punic, Sabaean, Samaritan, Sogdian, South Arabian, Syriac, Tifinagh, Ugaritic

Other writing systems

ALPHABETUM - a Unicode font for ancient scripts, including Classical & Medieval Latin, Ancient Greek, Etruscan, Oscan, Umbrian, Faliscan, Messapic, Picene, Iberian, Celtiberian, Gothic, Runic, Old & Middle English, Hebrew, Sanskrit, Old Nordic, Ogham, Kharosthi, Glagolitic, Anatolian scripts, Phoenician, Brahmi, Imperial Aramaic, Old Turkic, Old Permic, Ugaritic, Linear B, Phaistos Disc, Meroitic, Coptic, Cypriot and Avestan.
https://www.typofonts.com/alphabetum.html

Page last modified: 15.03.23

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