The Aleph-Bet

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- Aleph Aleph has no sound of its own but originally was a glottal stop, like the beginning sound of uh-huh.

- Aleph (cursive)

- Bet Bet has two different sounds, B if it has a dot (dagesh) in it [] and V if it does not have dagesh []

- Bet (cursive)

= b = v

The Aleph-Bet

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- Gimmel Gammal in Hebrew means camel. Does the shape of the Gimmel re-mind you of a camel?Gimmel sounds like G as in go - Gimmel (cursive)

= G

- Dalet Dalet makes the sound of D as in dog - Dalet (cursive)

= DHorizontal stroke extends past the vertical leg of the letter

The Aleph-Bet

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Vowel signs ()Vowel signs are written:

Beside the letter Under & beside the letter

Two vowels which say a as in fa ther

Two vowels which say ee as in feet

qametz patach

Two vowels which say o as in hole

chiriq qatan

chiriq gadol

cholam

cholam vav

Under the letter

The Aleph-Bet

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- Hey Hey sounds like H as in hat, but at the end of a word it is silent.

- Hey (cursive)

= Hbe sure there is a break here

- Vav Vav sounds like the letter V, and sometimes a vav is used to indicate a vowel.

- Vav (cursive)

= Vbe sure the top stroke does not go past the horizontal leg

The Aleph-Bet

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- Zayin Zayin sounds like the Zin Zoo- Zayin (cursive)

= Zthe horizontal stroke goes beyond the verticle leg

- Chet Chet sounds like the rough, German ch in Ach!. It sounds like an h with the throat closed.

- Chet (cursive)

= chNote:no gap like the

Note:no foot like the

The Aleph-Bet

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More vowel signs ()

Vowel which makes a quick short e sound, as in petunia or is silent

Two vowels which say oo as in food

Qibutz

Shuruq

Vowel which says long a as in fate

Tzayreh

Vowel which says short e as in get

Seghol

or short e as in get

Sheva

The Aleph-Bet

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- Tet Tet sounds like the t in toy

- Tet (cursive)

= t

- Yod Yod sounds like the letter y in yes and sometimes is used as a vowel letter.

- Yod (cursive)

= y

The Aleph-Bet

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/ - Kaf/Kaf soffit Kaf sounds like the when it is written without dagesh, and like the letter k when written with dagesh. Final kaf has the same sounds as initial or medial kaf.

- Kaf (cursive)

= ch = kNote: base horizontal does not extend beyond the verticle

= L - Lamed - Lamed (cursive)

/

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The Aleph-Bet

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/ - Mem/Mem soffit - Mem (cursive)

/ - Nun/Nun soffit Note that the nun soffit is longer

than the vav ( ,) which is the only way it is distinguished

- Nun (cursive)

= N

Note that the mem soffit has a flat baseline with-out the corners rounded.

= M

/

/

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The Aleph-Bet

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- Samech - Samech (cursive)

Note that the samech has a rounded baseline or corners which are cut off, distinquishing it from the mem soffit

= S

mem soffit samech

-Ayin - Ayin (cursive)

Ayin is a SILENT LETTER, though in ancient times it may have had a deep, glottal stop, somewhat like the stopped throaty sound in uh-huh. In Arabic the the equivalent letter is a throaty G sound.

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The Aleph-Bet

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Note that the peh soffit cursive has the final tale curling downward and back toward the verticle stroke

/ - Peh/Peh soffit - Peh (cursive)

= ph = p

/ - Tzadi/Tzadi soffit- Tzadi (cursive)

Note that the tzadi soffit cursive has the final tale curling upward

= tz

/

/

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The Aleph-Bet

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- Resh- Resh (cursive)

= RNote that the horizontal stroke of the resh does not cross the verticle stroke as is the case in the letter dalet

dalet resh

- Kof - Kof (cursive)

= K

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The Aleph-Bet

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/ - Seen/Sheen- Seen/Sheen (cursive)

= S, = ShNote: in cursive if no dot is written the letter is assumed to be a Sheen

- Tav- Tav (cursive)

= TNote the similarities between

breakno break

no foot foot

heychet

tav

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/ /

/ / /

Complete Aleph/Bet

/ = patach/qametz a as in father

/ = chiriq qatan/chiriq gadol ee as in feet

/ = cholem/cholem vav long o as in hole

/ = qibbutz/shuruq oo as in food

= tzere a as in fate or e as in get

= seghol short e as in get

Vowels = sheva very short e as

in petunia/ = ai as in aisle = same as sim ple patach a = same as sim ple qametz a sometimes long o = same as sim ple seghol e

/ /

/ / /

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The Aleph-Bet

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Additional Vowels = ay as in say = chataf patach same as sim ple patach = chametz chatuf sometimes long o, often same as simple chametz = same as simple seghol