ְ
∅~e Indicates that the consonant is either followed by no vowel, or a very short vowel. For example, compare the following:
גְּמָלִים
נְמָלִים
See a list of various contexts in which the sh'va is pronounced.
The sh'va is also used in conjunction with one of 3 other niqqud. In these cases, precomposed code points should be used. See 05B1, 05B2, and 05B3.
`, '\u{05B1}': `ֱ
e 'Reduced' vowel (also called very/ultra short, fleeting, or furtive).
הֱוֵא
Formerly, this represented a very short vowel sound, but length is not phonetically distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table
Represents a combination of sh'va (see 05B0) with sɛˈɡol (see 05B6). The Unicode Standard recommends using the precomposed character for the combination, rather than 2 separate code points. It is not decomposed during normalisation.
`, '\u{05B2}': `ֲ
a 'Reduced' vowel (also called very/ultra short, fleeting, or furtive).
אֲדָמָה
Formerly, this represented a very short vowel sound, but length is not phonetically distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table
Represents a combination of sh'va (see 05B0) with paˈtaħ (see 05B7). The Unicode Standard recommends using the precomposed character for the combination, rather than 2 separate code points. It is not decomposed during normalisation.
`, '\u{05B3}': `ֳ
o 'Reduced' vowel (also called very/ultra short, fleeting, or furtive).
צִפֳּרִים
Formerly, this represented a very short vowel sound, but length is not phonetically distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table
Represents a combination of sh'va (see 05B0) with kaˈmats (see 05B8). The Unicode Standard recommends using the precomposed character for the combination, rather than 2 separate code points. It is not decomposed during normalisation.
For more information, see Wikipedia.
`, '\u{05B4}': `ִ
i Vowel.
רִאשׁוֹן
Formerly, this represented a short vowel sound, but length is not phonetically distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table
The (nominally) long form of i is written using this character followed by 05D9.
נִין
`, '\u{05B5}': `ֵ
e Vowel.
נֵבֶל
Formerly, this represented a long vowel sound, but length is not phonetically distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table
`, '\u{05B6}': `ֶ
e Vowel.
נֵבֶל
Formerly, this represented a short vowel sound, but length is not phonetically distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table
See also 05B1, which formerly represented an even shorter sound.
`, '\u{05B7}': `ַ
a Vowel.
שָׁאַל
Formerly, this represented a short vowel sound, but length is not distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table
See also 05B2, which formerly represented an even shorter sound.
`, '\u{05B8}': `ָ
This point represents two sounds.wk
a This sound (historically a long a) is referred to as qamatz gadol (קָמַץ גָּדוֹל kaˈmats ɡaˈdol big qamatz").
שָׁנָה
o This sound (historically a short o) is referred to as qamatz qatan (קָמַץ קָטָן kaˈmats kaˈtan little qamatz).
תָּכְנִית
To reduce ambiguity, modern Israeli writing tends to use 05D5 05B9 instead for the o sound.wk
In some biblical texts a typographic distinction is made between qamatz gadol and qamatz qatan. Where it is necessary to preserve this distinction, the code point 05C7 can be used for qamatz qatan.
See also ֳ [U+05B3 HEBREW POINT HATAF QAMATS] (which historically represented a very short o sound).
For more information, see Wikipedia.
`, '\u{05B9}': `ֹ
o Can be used alone with a consonant that is not a mater lectionis.
פֹּה
However, it is typically used in the combination 05D5 05B9.
קוֹל
Shaping & positioning
When used with most base letters this dot is postioned over the top left of the base letter, eg. חֹ. However, it typically appears more centred in the combination 05D5 05B9.
The combination with VAV can represent either o (ie. the VAV is a mater lectionis), or wo (ie. the VAV is a consonant with an o vowel diacritic). In some Biblical texts, these two possibilities are distinguished typographically: for the former, the dot appears centred over the VAV, whereas for the latter the dot appears on the left side of the VAV. If you want to enforce the left-side distinction (and the font allows it), you should use 05D5 05BA.
When this point is followed by א [U+05D0 HEBREW LETTER ALEF] the dot may appear over the top-right corner of the alef (although font support for that varies), eg. לֹא
If, however, the alef is used as a consonant (ie. it can take its own points), the dot appears at the top-left of the base character it followswh,#Appearance.
תֹּאַר
More details are available at Wikipedia and Unicode p363.
`, '\u{05BA}': `ֺ
o Vowel. This diacritic should only be used in combination with 05D5.
The combination with VAV can represent either o (ie. the VAV is a mater lectionis), or wo (ie. the VAV is a consonant with an o vowel diacritic). In some Biblical texts, these two possibilities are distinguished typographically: for the former, the dot appears centred over the VAV, whereas for the latter the dot appears on the left side of the VAV. If you want to enforce that distinction, and the font supports it, you should use this character to write the consonant+vowel combination (05D5 05BA), and use 05B9 for the combination of mater lectionis+vowel (05D5 05B9).
לִגְוֺעַ
More details are available at Wikipedia and Unicode p363.
`, '\u{05BB}': `ֻ
u Vowel.
כְּתֻמִּים
Formerly, this represented a short vowel sound, but length is not phonetically distinguished in modern Israeli Hebrew. The orthographic distinction is, however, still maintained.wsv,#Comparison_table To reduce ambiguity, though, modern Isreali writing tends to use 05D5 05BC instead for the u sound.wsv,#Comparison_table
`, '\u{05BC}': `ּ
Consonant hardener. The only diacritic to appear inside a consonant, this character is used in vowelled text with 5 characters to map to 'hard' sounds. This is similar to the distinction made in Syriac.
p 05E4 05BC (without dagesh, f).
b 05D1 05BC (without dagesh, v).
t 05EA 05BC (without dagesh also t, because the distinction was lost over time).
k 05DB 05BC (without dagesh, x/χ).
-k 05DA 05BC
Vowel sign. In vowelled text, this character is used in the combination 05D5 05BC to represent the vowel u.
מוּם
`, //'\u{05BD}': ` //ֽ
//`, '\u{05BE}': `־
Used as a hyphen between words, eg.
תל־אביב
It is well used in typography, but less common online because it is not always available on keyboards. Therefore, - [U+002D HYPHEN-MINUS] is often substituted, even though the position of that character is too low when displayed.
`, '\u{05C1}': `ׁ
ʃ Used over the top right of 05E9 (only) to indicate its pronunciation.
אשפה
חשוב
שורש
05E9 represents two phonemes, ʃ and s. If it is necessary to indicate which is intended, one of two diacritics (used only with this character) are used: 05C2 and 05C1. They look identical, but the side to which they are positioned makes the difference.
`, '\u{05C2}': `ׂ
s Used over the top left of 05E9 (only) to indicate its pronunciation.
שונא
משוש
05E9 represents two phonemes, ʃ and s. If it is necessary to indicate which is intended, one of two diacritics (used only with this character) are used: 05C2 and 05C1. They look identical, but the side to which they are positioned makes the difference.
The sound s is more commonly represented by ס.
`, '\u{05C6}': `׆
Rare biblical character that is not part of a word or read aloud in any way, but serves solely to mark up text. Used surrounded by spaces.whp
"While it depends on the particular manuscript or printed edition, it is found in nine places: twice in the Book of Numbers (prior to and after Numbers 10:34-36), and seven times in Psalm 107. It is uncertain today what it was intended to signify."whp
There are numerous different glyph forms for this character, depending on the manuscript. For examples, see wikipedia.
`, '\u{05C7}': `ׇ
o Vowel.
חׇפְשִׁי
In some biblical texts a typographic distinction is made between a (qamatz gadol) and o (qamatz qatan). Where it is necessary to preserve this distinction, this character can be used for qamatz qatan and the code point 05B8 can be used for qamatz gadol.
For more information, see Wikipedia.
`, '\u{05D0}': `א
Initially
'Initial' here means word-initially or word-medially when preceded by an optional glottal stop.
ʔ~∅ as a base for a vowel in pointed text when word-initial and also for mid-word vowels optionally preceded by a glottal stop.
אִשָּׁה
אִישׁ
אוּלַי
אֵזוֹר
אוֹפֶה
אֳרָנִים
אַבְרָהָם
גַּבְרִיאֵל
הָאָרֶץ
The same in full spelling text when followed by י or ו.
אישה
איש
אולי
אופה
אורנים
ɛ or a otherwise in full spelling text.
אזור
אברהם
גבריאל
הארץ
Medially
a in a few words where it represents a mater lectionis.
איראן
לכאן
Finally
∅ when word-final for some words in pointed text. In full spelling text it acts like a mater lectionis for the sounds a and e.
הביא
דשא
אבא
`, '\u{05D1}': `ב
v Consonant.
כבד
טוב
בּ
b 'Hard' consonant, written 05D1 05BC in pointed text.
אבוב
ביטא
In word-initial position, this character generally represents the sound b. A word-initial v sound is generally written using
ג
g Consonant.
גבעה
אגרוף
שלג
In vowelled text, sometimes written 05D2 05BC due to historical phonetic distinctions which are no longer relevant in modern Israeli Hebrew.
גג
Combinations
ג׳
d͡ʒ is 05D2 05F3.
ג׳וק
ג׳ירף
טג׳יקי
`, '\u{05D3}': `ד
d Consonant.
דחף
אדריכל
איבד
In vowelled text, sometimes written as 05D3 05BC due to historical phonetic distinctions which are no longer relevant in modern Israeli Hebrew.
דוד
Combinations
ד׳
ð is 05D3 05F3, used for transliteration of non-Hebrew sounds such as Arabic ذ or English voiced th, eg. ד׳ו אל-חיג׳ה
Sometimes just ד is used.
`, '\u{05D4}': `ה
h as a consonant.
הד
מהפכה
בהמה
Mater lectionis
Appears at the end of a word, and is associated especially with a, but also e and sometimes o. It can be read as follows.
a or e, or sometimes o in full spelling text.
∅ in pointed text.
אדמה
אופה
איפה
`, '\u{05D5}': `ו
v in some words (cf. the more common כ). In pointed spelling a single letter is used, whereas in full spelling it is commonly doubled (but not in pointed text) when word medial, to distinguish it from a mater lectionis.ww
ויסקי
וריד
מוות
צוואר
וו
Word-finally, v may also be written 05D9 05D5 in full spelling text.
יחדיו
This, as in many other cases of VAV, can be ambiguous. For example, compare the previous example with:
רדיו
w in loan words (and historically). There is often no way to tell which pronunciation is intended. However, w tends to use non-standard word-initial spellings including וו and (rarely) 05D5 05F3.
ויילס
ווק
פינגוין
וואו
ו׳יליאם
Matres lectionis
וּ
u In vowelled text this is 05D5 05BC.
הוא
וֹ
o In vowelled text this is 05D5 05B9.
הון
In some words, this o sound is written using this character in the full spelling text, but not in the pointed text. For example, compare the following:
אלוהים
אורנים
Word-initially this is usually, but not always, preceded by א.
אולי
אופה
ובכן
Word-finally it is not usually followed by ALEF or HEH, and in that position not only is it unclear in full spelling text which vowel it represents, but it could also be confused with a consonant sound.
הודו
יריחו
יחדיו
`, '\u{05D6}': `ז
z Consonant.
זֶבְּרָה
גִּזְבָּר
אֹרֶז
Combinations
ז׳
ʒ is 05D6 05F3 in transliteration or loan words.
ז׳רגון
`, '\u{05D6}': `ז
z Consonant.
זברה
גזבר
אורז
Combinations
ז׳
ʒ is 05D6 05F3 in transliteration or loan words.
ז׳רגון
`, '\u{05D7}': `ח
χ Consonant.
חדש
דחליל
קרח
ħ occasionally, eg. חשבון
Combinations
ח׳
Can be followed by ׳ for transliteration of non-Hebrew text, such as the Arabic خ, to indicate that the pronunciation is χ, and not h.
שייח׳
aχ In word-final position this may be pronounced aχ, rather than χa, even though it looks like the latter in pointed text.
בטוח
ירח
רוח
`, '\u{05D8}': `ט
t Consonant.
טלפון
פטמה
בלוט
`, '\u{05D9}': `י
j as a consonant, including the glide at the end of a diphthong.
יָם
בְּעָיָה
אוּלַי
In full spelling text this is often doubled when word-medial, which helps distinguish it from a mater lectionis.
אוֹקְיָנוֹס
אוקיינוס
חֲנָיָה
חנייה
Mater lectionis
i may be written 05B4 05D9 in pointed text, and the letter remains in full spelling text.
נִין
נין
אֲוִיר
אויר
Word-initially or following a glottal stop this is preceded by א.
אִישׁ
מַשָּׂאִית
Word-finally it is not usually followed by ALEF or HEH.
אֲבָהִי
אוֹרִיגָמִי
In full spelling text, it is not always clear whether a word-final location represents a mater lectionis or a consonant glide. For example, compare the following with the examples just above:
אדוני
אולי
`, '\u{05D9}': `י
j as a consonant, including the glide at the end of a diphthong.
ים
בעיה
אולי
In full spelling text this is often doubled when word-medial, which helps distinguish it from a mater lectionis.
אוקיינוס
חנייה
Mater lectionis
i may be written 05B4 05D9 in pointed text, and the letter remains in full spelling text.
נין
אוויר
Word-initially or following a glottal stop this is preceded by א.
איש
משאית
Word-finally it is not usually followed by ALEF or HEH.
אבהי
אוריגמי
In full spelling text, it is not always clear whether a word-final location represents a mater lectionis or a consonant glide. For example, compare the following with the examples just above:
אדוני
אולי
`, '\u{05DA}': `ך
See also the non-word-final variant כ [U+05DB HEBREW LETTER KAF].
χ Final consonant.
הלך
דרך
This letter is unusual in that it carries 05B0 in pointed text, whereas as other word-final consonants do not.
ךּ
k (rare) In vowelled text this is ךּ [U+05DA HEBREW LETTER FINAL KAF + U+05BC HEBREW POINT DAGESH OR MAPIQ], eg. ממּךּ mimɛ̣x̽ɑ̣
`, '\u{05DB}': `כ
χ Consonant.
נכון
סניף
See also the word-final variant ך [U+05DA HEBREW LETTER FINAL KAF].
כּ
k 'Hard' consonant, written 05DB 05BC in pointed text.
הכה
`, '\u{05DC}': `ל
l Consonant.
לילה
גולית
אכל
`, '\u{05DD}': `ם
m Word-final consonant.
מום
אגם
See also the non-word-final form מ [U+05DE HEBREW LETTER MEM].
`, '\u{05DE}': `מ
m Consonant.
מום
גמבה
אמר
See also the word-final variant ם [U+05DD HEBREW LETTER FINAL MEM].
`, '\u{05DF}': `ן
ן
n Word-final consonant.
נין
אמן
See also the non-word-final form נ [U+05E0 HEBREW LETTER NUN].
`, '\u{05E0}': `נ
n eg. נין אנגליה אננס
See also the word-final variant ן [U+05DF HEBREW LETTER FINAL NUN].
`, '\u{05E1}': `ס
s Consonant.
סוף
הסביר
אננס
`, '\u{05E2}': `ע
ʔ~∅ Nominally a glottal stop, but often not pronounced. It is used in similar ways to א.
עדשה
אף פעם
אצבע
`, '\u{05E3}': `ף
f Word-final consonant.
כנף
חורף
See also the non-word-final form, פ [U+05E4 HEBREW LETTER PE].
`, '\u{05E4}': `פ
f Consonant.
פיספס
אופה
See also the word-final variant form, 05E3.
פּ
p 'Hard' consonant, written 05E4 05BC in pointed text, and generally used for loan words.
פינגוין
לפטופ
שופ
A word-final p is usually written using the regular shape, rather than the word-final shape used with f, eg. compare:
שוף
שופ
`, '\u{05E5}': `ץ
t͡s Consonant.
ארץ
ציץ
See also the non-word-final variant 05E6.
Combinations
ץ׳
t͡ʃ is 05E5 05F3 word-finally.
סנדוויץ׳
ריצ׳רץ׳
`, '\u{05E6}': `צ
t͡s Consonant.
ציץ
אצבע
See also the word-final variant ץ [U+05E5 HEBREW LETTER FINAL TSADI].
Combinations
צ׳
t͡ʃ is 05E6 05F3 (or 05E5 05F3).
צ׳יק צ׳ק
ריצ׳רץ׳
`, '\u{05E7}': `ק
k Consonant.
קטן
עקרב
מאבק
`, '\u{05E8}': `ר
ʁ Consonant.
ראשון
ארנק
אמר
Sometimes pronounced ʀ. Commonly written phonemically as r.
Combinations
ר׳
ʁ is also written 05E8 05F3 for transliteration of non-Hebrew text, such as the Arabic غ, to indicate that the pronunciation is ʁ.
ר׳ג׳ר
`, '\u{05E9}': `This consonant has 2 pronunciations, which are only distinguished in pointed text by the position of a dedicated dot above the letter.
שׁ
ʃ Consonant, written 05E9 05C1 in pointed text.
שָׁם
משכן
שמש
שׂ
s Consonant, written 05E9 05C2 in pointed text.
שָׂם
ישראל
משוש
`, '\u{05EA}': `ת
t Consonant.
תות
פתרון
אחת
ש׳
In vowelled text, sometimes written 05EA 05BC due to historical phonetic distinctions which are no longer relevant in modern Israeli Hebrew.
תולעת
Combinations
θ is 05EA 05F3. Used for transliteration of non-Hebrew sounds such as Arabic ﺙ or English th.
קריסטל מת׳
`, '\u{05EF}': `ׯ
`, '\u{05F0}': `װ
`, '\u{05F1}': `ױ
`, '\u{05F2}': `ײ
`, '\u{05F3}': `׳
Hebrew equivalent of a period in abbreviations, eg. גברת is abbreviated as
גב׳
Sound modifier
Also used to modify consonants to create non-native sounds.
The following are found in slang and loanwords that are part of the everyday Hebrew colloquial vocabulary:
Geresh is also used to transcribe other sounds not in the hebrew phonology when transliterating (rather than adoption via loanwords).
Where keyboards do not support this character, ASCII U+0027 APOSTROPHE is commonly used. This is visually substandard, however, since it doesn't align with the top of the hebrew characters like geresh.
`, '\u{05F4}': `״
Placed before the last character of a word to indicate that this is an acronym or abbreviation.
אונסכ״ו
סופ״ש
Where keyboards do not support this character, ASCII U+0022 QUOTATION MARK is commonly used. This is visually substandard, however, since it doesn't align with the top of the hebrew characters like gershaym.
`, '\u{20AA}':`Currency sign representing שקל חדש. It is displayed to the left of the amount, with no separation or with a thin space, eg. ₪12,000
`, }