Learn The Hebrew Alphabet

Learning the Hebrew alphabet is one of the essential steps you need to do in order to master the Hebrew language. The alphabet itself consists out of 22 letters and 5 of them have a final letter version which we will discuss down the line!

Keep in mind Hebrew is written right to left!

The 22 Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet

#	Letter	Name	Transliteration	Approximate Sound
1	א	אָלֶף	Alef	Usually silent / vowel carrier
2	ב	בֵּית	Bet	B as in boy
3	ג	גִּימֶל	Gimel	G as in go
4	ד	דָּלֶת	Dalet	D as in dog
5	ה	הֵא	He	H as in house
6	ו	וָו	Vav	V as in very
7	ז	זַיִן	Zayin	Z as in zoo
8	ח	חֵית	Chet	Roughly like the ch in Bach
9	ט	טֵית	Tet	T as in top
10	י	יוֹד	Yod	Y as in yes
11	כ	כַּף	Kaf	K as in king
12	ל	לָמֶד	Lamed	L as in look
13	מ	מֵם	Mem	M as in man
14	נ	נוּן	Nun	N as in no
15	ס	סָמֶךְ	Samekh	S as in sun
16	ע	עַיִן	Ayin	Traditionally a throat sound; often subtle/silent in Modern Hebrew
17	פ	פֵּה	Pe	P as in park
18	צ	צָדִי	Tsadi	Ts as in cats
19	ק	קוֹף	Qof	K-like sound
20	ר	רֵישׁ	Resh	R sound
21	ש	שִׁין	Shin	Sh as in ship
22	ת	תָּו	Tav	T as in top

The Five Final Hebrew Letters

When at the end of a word, the following letters will be written in their final form.

Regular Form	Final Form	Name
כ	ך	Kaf
מ	ם	Mem
נ	ן	Nun
פ	ף	Pe
צ	ץ	Tsadi

For example:

מֶלֶךְ — melech — king

The final ך appears because Kaf is the last letter of the word.

Another example is:

שָׁלוֹם — shalom — peace

Here, ם is the final form of Mem.

Learning these five pairs is important because you will encounter them constantly when reading Hebrew.

Hebrew Letters and Vowels

Hebrew is slightly different from English when it comes to vowels.

The Hebrew alphabet primarily represents consonants. Traditionally, Hebrew vowels are indicated using a system of dots and marks called נִקּוּד (Nikud).

Nikud can appear above, below, or inside Hebrew letters.

For example:

בַּ

The dot and mark indicate the vowel sound.

You may encounter Hebrew written with Nikud in children’s books, language-learning materials, dictionaries, religious texts, and educational resources.

Modern Hebrew for adults, however, is very often written without Nikud.

For example:

שָׁלוֹם — with Nikud

שלום — without Nikud

Both represent the same word.

Hebrew Letter Sounds

Some Hebrew letters have sounds that are familiar to English speakers, while others require some practice.

For example:

מ — Mem sounds like M.

ל — Lamed sounds like L.

נ — Nun sounds like N.

ש — Shin can sound like SH.

Other letters are less familiar.

ח — Chet

ח is commonly transliterated as ch. It is produced farther back in the throat than the English “ch” in chair.

A better comparison for many learners is the sound in the German word Bach.

ע — Ayin

ע traditionally represents a consonant produced in the throat. In Modern Israeli Hebrew, however, many speakers pronounce it very lightly or do not distinguish it strongly from other sounds.

ר — Resh

The Hebrew ר is different from the typical American English R. Its pronunciation varies between speakers and regions.

צ — Tsadi

צ is pronounced approximately like ts, as in the end of the English word cats.

Letters That Can Have More Than One Sound

Some Hebrew letters can represent different sounds depending on their context.

One important example is ב.

With a dot called a דָּגֵשׁ (dagesh):

בּ = B

Without the dot:

ב = V

Similarly, כ can represent a K sound when it has a dagesh:

כּ = K

Without the dagesh:

כ = a throat/fricative sound, usually transliterated kh.

The letter פ can also change:

פּ = P

פ = F

These distinctions become easier as you encounter more Hebrew words.

Hebrew Alphabet Chart for Beginners

Here is a compact chart you can use for memorization:

Hebrew	Name	Sound
א	Alef	—
ב	Bet	B / V
ג	Gimel	G
ד	Dalet	D
ה	He	H
ו	Vav	V
ז	Zayin	Z
ח	Chet	Kh
ט	Tet	T
י	Yod	Y
כ	Kaf	K / Kh
ל	Lamed	L
מ	Mem	M
נ	Nun	N
ס	Samekh	S
ע	Ayin	— / throat sound
פ	Pe	P / F
צ	Tsadi	Ts
ק	Qof	K
ר	Resh	R
ש	Shin	Sh / S
ת	Tav	T

How to Learn the Hebrew Alphabet

The best way to learn the Hebrew alphabet is to combine recognition, pronunciation, and writing practice.

1. Learn the Letters in Order

Start with:

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י

Then continue with:

כ ל מ נ ס ע פ צ ק ר ש ת

Learning the traditional order will make it easier to use Hebrew dictionaries, charts, and educational materials.

2. Learn the Letter Names

Don’t only memorize the shapes. Learn the names as well:

אָלֶף — Alef

בֵּית — Bet

גִּימֶל — Gimel

and so on.

Knowing the names makes it much easier to talk about Hebrew spelling.

3. Practice Writing

Write each letter several times.

Pay particular attention to letters that look somewhat similar, such as:

ד / ר

ה / ח

ו / י

כ / ב

The more you write them, the faster you will recognize them.

4. Start Reading Simple Words

Once you know the letters, start combining them into short Hebrew words.

For example:

אִמָּא — ima — mother

אַבָּא — aba — father

מֶלֶךְ — melech — king

סֵפֶר — sefer — book

שָׁלוֹם — shalom — peace

This is where memorizing the alphabet begins to turn into actual reading ability.

The Hebrew Alphabet Is the Foundation of Hebrew

You do not need to memorize hundreds of Hebrew words before you can begin reading. Once you understand the 22 letters, the five final forms, and the basics of Nikud, you have the foundation necessary to start decoding Hebrew words.

At first, Hebrew letters may look unfamiliar. With regular practice, however, they quickly become recognizable.

A good learning progression is:

Hebrew letters → letter sounds → Nikud → simple words → sentences → fluent reading

The most important thing is to practice consistently. Even a few minutes of reading and writing Hebrew every day can make a significant difference.

אָלֶף־בֵּית — Alef-Bet — is your first step toward reading Hebrew.