Hebrew Alphabet for Beginners: 22 Letters & Pronunciation

Hebrew looks unfamiliar at first glance. The lines run from right to left, the letters are square and compact, and many words seem to be missing their vowels. It's easy to assume the writing system will take months to crack.

In practice, the Hebrew alphabet is smaller than the English one. It has 22 letters and no capitals. Once you recognize the letters and understand a few rules, you can start sounding out real words.

This guide is a Hebrew alphabet walkthrough for beginners. You'll get all 22 letters with their names and pronunciation, the five final forms, the letters that change sound, tips for telling look-alike letters apart, and a short list of words to practice on. By the end, you'll know how to read Hebrew at a basic level and what to practice next.

How the Hebrew Alphabet Works

A few basic ideas make the letters much easier to learn.

Hebrew Is Written Right to Left

You start at the right edge of the page and move left. Books open from what English readers would call the back cover. 

It's Primarily an Alphabet of Consonants

The 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet represent consonants, and short vowels usually aren't written as separate letters. Four letters, aleph (א), hey (ה), vav (ו), and yod (י), can also help show vowel sounds in certain words. That's why they seem to have more than one job.

To show vowels more precisely, a system of small dots and dashes called niqqud can be placed under, over, or beside the letters. Niqqud appears in children's books, textbooks, dictionaries, and prayer books. Most newspapers, websites, and everyday adult writing leave it out, and native readers fill in the vowels from their knowledge of the language. If you want to go deeper, see our guide to Hebrew vowels and niqqud.

Modern Hebrew has five basic vowel sounds: a, e, i, o, and u. Here is what they look like on the letter lamed (ל):

No Capital Letters, and Where "Aleph Bet" Comes From

Hebrew has one form of each letter and no uppercase or lowercase versions. Speakers call the alphabet the alefbet after its first two letters, aleph and bet. English follows the same idea: "alphabet" comes from the Greek alpha and beta, which trace back to the Phoenician letter names. (You can compare this with the Greek alphabet.)

You'll see the Hebrew Aleph Bet written as Alef-Bet, Aleph-Beth, and similar variants. Israel's Academy of the Hebrew Language sets official rules for Hebrew spelling and transliteration, but everyday English spellings of letter names still vary from book to book, so don't be thrown when a different resource spells them differently.

Hebrew Alphabet for Beginners: The 22 Letters at a Glance

The table below covers Hebrew alphabet pronunciation as used in modern Israeli Hebrew. Some traditional and regional pronunciations differ, especially for chet and ayin.

#	Letter	Name	Sound	Notes
1	א	Aleph (Alef)	A brief pause, or no audible sound	Like the catch in "uh-oh." Usually carries a vowel.
2	ב	Bet / Vet	b (with dot: בּ) or v (no dot: ב)	Which sound applies depends on the dot or the word.
3	ג	Gimel	g as in "go"	Always a hard g.
4	ד	Dalet	d as in "dog"
5	ה	Hey (He)	h as in "hat"	Often silent at the end of a word.
6	ו	Vav	v, or the vowel o / u
7	ז	Zayin	z as in "zoo"
8	ח	Chet (Het)	kh, like "loch"	A rasping sound from the back of the throat.
9	ט	Tet	t as in "top"
10	י	Yod	y as in "yes," or the vowel i / e
11	כ / ך	Kaf / Khaf	k (with dot: כּ) or kh (no dot: כ, ך)	ך is the final form.
12	ל	Lamed	l as in "lamp"
13	מ / ם	Mem	m as in "mom"	ם is the final form.
14	נ / ן	Nun	n as in "no"	ן is the final form.
15	ס	Samekh	s as in "sun"
16	ע	Ayin	A brief pause, or no audible sound	Some speakers use a deeper throat sound.
17	פ / ף	Pe / Fe	p (with dot: פּ) or f (no dot: פ, ף)	ף is the final form.
18	צ / ץ	Tsadi (Tzadi)	ts as in "cats"	ץ is the final form.
19	ק	Qof (Kuf)	k as in "kite"
20	ר	Resh	r	Usually made at the back of the mouth, a bit like the French r.
21	ש	Shin / Sin	sh (dot on the right: שׁ) or s (dot on the left: שׂ)
22	ת	Tav (Taf)	t as in "top"

Sounds That Take Some Getting Used To

Most consonants have easy English equivalents. A few need extra attention.

• Chet (ח) and khaf (כ) sound the same in modern Hebrew. The sound is like the "ch" in Scottish loch or German Bach.
• Aleph (א) and ayin (ע) are pronounced as a brief pause or not audibly at all in much of modern Israeli speech, and both usually carry a vowel. Pronunciation varies among speakers and communities, and some pronounce ayin with a deeper throat sound. Either way, you'll be understood.
• Resh (ר) is not the English r. Most Israelis pronounce it at the back of the mouth, and a tapped or rolled r is also understood.

Different Letters, Same Sound

Several Hebrew letters share a sound in modern Hebrew:

• Tet (ט) and tav (ת) are both t.
• Kaf with a dot (כּ) and qof (ק) are both k.
• Samekh (ס) and sin (שׂ) are both s.
• Chet (ח) and khaf (כ) are both kh.

Spelling keeps the historical differences, so you learn which letter a word uses as you meet the word. Hearing the sound won't always tell you the letter.

Learning Tip: When you first learn Hebrew, don't try to memorize all 22 letters in one sitting. Practice a few letters at a time, write them repeatedly, and then use them in simple Hebrew words.

The Five Final Letters (Sofit)

Five letters change shape when they come at the end of a word. These are called sofit, or final, forms. Only the shape changes. The pronunciation stays the same.

Regular	Final	Name	Example
כ	ך	Kaf	מלך (melekh, king)
מ	ם	Mem	שלום (shalom, peace)
נ	ן	Nun	ענן (anan, cloud)
פ	ף	Pe	כסף (kesef, money or silver)
צ	ץ	Tsadi	ארץ (eretz, land)

Four of the final forms (ך ן ף ץ) drop below the baseline, so they're easy to spot. Final mem (ם) is a closed box that stays on the line. The five are sometimes grouped as the letters מנצפ"ך, a shorthand many learners use to remember them.

Letters That Change Sound: Dots and Doubles

Four letters can be pronounced two ways in modern Hebrew, depending on a dot.

Letter	With dot	Without dot	Example
ב	בּ = b	ב = v	בית (bayit, house) begins with b
כ	כּ = k	כ / ך = kh	כלב (kelev, dog) begins with k; מלך ends in kh
פ	פּ = p	פ / ף = f	פרח (perach, flower) begins with p; ספר (sefer, book) has an f
ש	שׁ = sh	שׂ = s	שלום (shalom) uses sh; שמחה (simkha, joy) uses s

The dot inside bet, kaf, and pe is called a dagesh. In pointed (niqqud) texts you'll typically see it marked, and it also has other grammatical uses you don't need to worry about yet. In everyday unpointed writing, it usually isn't shown, so you'll see plain ב, כ, פ, and ש and learn which sound to use from the word itself.

A rough rule of thumb helps: at the start of a word, bet, kaf, and pe are usually the "hard" b, k, p sounds. Later in a word, they are often the softer v, kh, f. There are exceptions, especially in words borrowed from other languages, so treat it as a guide and not a law.

Telling Look-Alike Letters Apart

Some of the biggest early stumbling blocks are letters that resemble each other. These descriptions apply to standard printed Hebrew fonts.

Pair or group	How to tell them apart
ב and כ	Bet has sharp corners and a base that juts out slightly to the right. Kaf is smooth and rounded.
ד and ר	Dalet has a square top-right corner with a small overhang. Resh is rounded.
ה, ח, and ת	Hey has a small gap between the left leg and the top bar. Chet is closed. Tav is also closed but has a little foot on its left leg.
ו, ז, and ן	Vav is a plain short vertical stroke. Zayin has a small cap across the top. Final nun drops below the line.
ס and ם	Samekh is fully rounded. Final mem is a squared-off box.

Hebrew handwriting looks noticeably different from print. Most learners start with print, since that's what you'll see in books, signs, and websites, and add handwriting later.

How to Read Hebrew: Your First Words

Reading Hebrew for the first time means holding three things together. You go right to left, you identify each letter, and you supply the vowels that aren't written. These starter words show how that works.

Hebrew	Letters	Sounds like	Meaning
שלום	ש ל ו ם	shalom	hello, goodbye, peace
תודה	ת ו ד ה	toda	thank you
אבא	א ב א	aba	dad
אמא	א מ א	ima	mom
מים	מ י ם	mayim	water
ספר	ס פ ר	sefer	book
בית	ב י ת	bayit	house
כלב	כ ל ב	kelev	dog

A few things worth noticing:

• In שלום, the vav stands for the vowel o, and the a after shin isn't written at all.
• In תודה, the final hey doesn't sound like h. It just marks the ending vowel a.
• Compare אבא and אמא. Both are spelled aleph, another consonant, aleph, yet one is aba and the other is ima. Unpointed Hebrew asks you to learn each word, not just decode letters.
• In כלב, the first letter is a hard k and the last is a v. Both are the dot-and-no-dot pairs from earlier.

Once you can read שלום, you're ready to move on to more Hebrew greetings and everyday phrases. Try reading the words above aloud from right to left, then check yourself against the pronunciation column.

A Simple Plan to Learn the Hebrew Alphabet

Here's one way to learn the Hebrew alphabet without feeling overwhelmed. It's a suggested approach, so adjust it to your pace.

1. Learn in small groups. Take four or five letters at a time, in alphabetical order, and don't move on until you can recognize them without looking at the chart.
2. Say the name and sound aloud. Hebrew letters pronunciation sticks better when you hear yourself say it, not only when you read it.
3. Write each letter by hand. Copying the letters from right to left helps you notice the details that separate look-alikes.
4. Read text with niqqud first. Children's books and beginner textbooks include the vowel marks, so you can sound out whole words with support.
5. Add the finishing details. Once the basic letters feel comfortable, learn the five final forms and the dot rules, and then start reading short words without niqqud.
6. Review a little every day. Short, regular sessions tend to work better than one long one. Flashcards, a Hebrew keyboard on your phone, and reading real signs or labels are all good ways to keep the letters fresh.

When the alphabet feels solid, learning Hebrew numbers is a natural next step.

Conclusion

The Hebrew alphabet for beginners comes down to a small, manageable set of ideas. There are 22 letters that mainly represent consonants, five of which have final forms, and a few of which change sound with a dot. The rest is practice, first with individual letters and then with whole words.

Start with the Aleph Bet in short groups, get comfortable with the look-alike letters, and read simple words aloud until the sounds feel automatic. With those foundations in place, reading Hebrew becomes something you can steadily build on.

FAQ

How many letters are in the Hebrew alphabet?
There are 22 letters. If you count the five final forms as separate shapes, there are 27 distinct letter forms in total.

Does the Hebrew alphabet have vowels?
Not as a separate set of vowel letters. Vowels are shown with optional dots and dashes called niqqud, and four letters (aleph, hey, vav, and yod) can also help indicate vowel sounds. Everyday adult writing usually leaves the vowel marks out.

What does "Aleph Bet" mean?
It's the Hebrew name for the alphabet, formed from the names of the first two letters, aleph and bet, much as "alphabet" comes from alpha and beta.

Is it hard for English speakers to learn how to read Hebrew?
The alphabet itself is small, which many learners find approachable. The bigger challenges are reading right to left, getting used to the few unfamiliar sounds, and reading text without vowel marks.

Do I need to learn Hebrew handwriting?
For reading books, signs, and websites, print letters are enough. Handwriting looks different, so learn it if you want to write by hand or read handwritten notes.

Sources

The following authoritative and educational resources were consulted to support the information presented in this article.

1. Academy of the Hebrew Language — Orthography — Information on Hebrew orthography, niqqud, vocalized and unvocalized writing, and vowel indicators.
```
2. Academy of the Hebrew Language — An Overview of Hebrew — Background on the Hebrew alphabet, consonants, vowel indication, and the Hebrew writing system.
3. Omniglot — Hebrew Language, Alphabet and Pronunciation — Reference material covering the Hebrew alphabet, pronunciation, writing direction, final forms, and vowel points.
```

Note: Source links are provided for educational reference and verification. Pronunciation may vary between Hebrew traditions, communities, and individual speakers.