Hebrew Letters That Look Alike

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For those new to learning Hebrew, one of the first reactions after going through the Hebrew Alphabet is to ask the question, "Why do so many letters in Hebrew look alike?!"

This, however, is natural. The first time you learn any new alphabet, all the letters look alike! You probably think this doesn’t happen in English, but that’s only because you have learned English and don’t get mixed up any more! If you don’t believe this, just think for a minute how similar many letters in the English alphabet actually are...

Take the letter a, for example. It’s round - isn’t it easy to confuse it with o? And if you don’t join the o up properly, isn’t it easy to confuse it with c? But it gets worse. The letter v is nearly identical to u, but a bit more pointed at the bottom. If you draw two v’s too close together, it looks like w! Or take b. That’s a confusing one! If you draw it back to front, you get d. If you draw it upside down, you get p. Back to front and upside down, and it’s q. If it’s not closed at the bottom, it looks like h. And as for i - if you forget the dot, it looks like l. Draw it slightly below the line, and it’s the same as j. English, in fact, is renowned for being difficult to read - look at a doctor’s handwriting for proof of this!

There is an important point to be made here. Just as you don’t really confuse the above letters in English, so in Hebrew the letters which seem to look alike now will soon become familiar when you get a little more experience in reading Hebrew and getting used to the Hebrew Alphabet.

So, to help you along, here are a few points to make you aware of the differences between some of the Hebrew letters. These differences apply equally well to both the printed and the written forms of the Hebrew letters.

(Bet) and (Kaf).
Kaf is more rounded than Bet. Bet has straight lines with sharp edges, and the line at the bottom right corner sticks out.


(Gimel), (Nun) and (Kaf).
The bottom right corner of Gimel has a ‘foot’ which sticks out. This is more clearly seen in the written form of the letter. Nun on the other hand, is square at the edges and does not have the foot. Both Gimel and Nun are about half the width of the other letters, and this distinguishes them from Kaf which is wider and rounder.


(Dalet), (Resh) and (Final Kaf).
The top right corner of Dalet has a tittle which sticks out, whereas Resh is rounded at the top corner. Dalet is also squarer than Resh. Both letters are different from Final Kaf because they do not drop below the lower guide line.


(Heh), (Chet) and (Tav).
Heh and Chet have similar shapes, but Heh has a gap in the left vertical line, whereas Chet does not. Both letters are different from Tav because they do not have the little ‘foot’ that sticks out from the bottom left hand corner. Tav is more rounded at the top right corner; this corner does not stick out like the other two letters.


(Vav), (Zayin) and (Final Nun).
These letters are actually very different. First, Final Nun is a final form, and can therefore only ever occur at the end of a Hebrew word. It goes below the lower guide line. Its vertical line is generally slightly sloped, unlike Vav and Zayin whose lines are vertical. The vertical line of Vav extends from the right side, whereas the line of Zayin extends from the middle of the letter. (The written form usually makes this line bent, to make the difference more pronounced.) The top bar of Zayin is sloped, whereas that of Vav is straight.


(Yod) and (Vav).
These letters have similar shapes but Yod is much smaller. Do not draw Yod too long or Vav too short or you will get them confused!


(Mem) and (Tet).
Mem has the gap at the bottom left corner, but Tet has the gap at the top left. The line of Tet extends almost into the middle of the letter, but this does not happen with Mem.


(Final Mem) and (Samech).
These letters are similar, but Final Mem is a square letter and Samech is much more rounded. Remember also that Final Mem is a final letter, and can therefore only ever occur at the end of a Hebrew word. If you see one of these letters at the start or in the middle of a word, then it obviously isn’t Mem! Samech and Final Mem are different from the normal Mem and Tet because they are closed, whereas the latter two are open.


(Tsade), (Ayin) and (Final Tsade).
Careful inspection will show how different these letters are. Final Tsade is the final form, meaning that it only ever occurs at the end of a Hebrew word. It also extends below the lower guide line. Tsade is much more curvy than Ayin.


If you take some time and care to examine the above Hebrew letters closely, you will find that they are not really as alike as they first looked. Once you get some practice, they are really only confused at the very beginning, when you are first starting to learn Hebrew.

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