Hebrew/Aleph-Bet/8

 Aleph-Bet Lesson 8 —

Welcome to the eighth lesson of the Hebrew alphabet! In this relatively short lesson you will learn two new Hebrew letters - and.

Samekh
The fifteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet is Samekh. Like Sin, it makes the "s" sound (IPA: /s/, "s" as in "safe").

Qof
The nineteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet is Qof (many Israelis pronounce the letter's name as "Quf"). Like Kaf, it makes the "k" sound (IPA: /k/, "k" as in "kitten").

In order to make the distinction between Qof and Kaf (something which will assist you in spelling), Qof is transliterated as a Q. Traditionally, Qof is pronounced as IPA: /q/, same as Kaf only that you make the sound deeper in your throat. The International Phonetic Alphabet symbol for this sound, as well as the common transliteration of it in Semitic languages, is Q - which is why this letter was chosen for that purpose.

Full Writing - Ktiv Malei
As we have already learned, in most texts niqqud aren't written. But there are some letters - Aleph, Vav and Yod - that also produce the "a", "o", "u" and "i" sounds respectively. How can these be expressed when there are no vowels?

These letters are used to assist the reader in distinguishing between words. For instance:

Ktiv ħasser ("empty writing, with niqqud, without vowel letters): mitah bed Ktiv malei ("full writing", without niqqud, with vowel letters):  mitah bed

This form - without niqqud, but with vowel letters for support - is known as ktiv malei "full writing" - because it incorporates the "full" form of the word, with the most letters.

Note: There is no vowel letter for the "e" sound, though it's supposed to be Yod. Also, Aleph is rarely used in Hebrew as a vowel letter, mostly in foreign words (as in varshah Warsaw).

Words
sliħah excuse me, pardon, sorry, forgiveness (feminine, singular) daqqah minute, thin (feminine, singular) sukkot Sukkot, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles (Jewish holiday) (feminine, plural) (full writing: ) siman sign, symbol, mark ‏ (masculine, singular) sagol purple (masculine, singular) (FW: ) qof monkey, ape (masculine, singular) qemaħ flour (masculine, singular) mas tax (masculine, singular)

Summary
In this lesson, you've learned: Practice what you've learned in the exercises.
 * The letters Samekh and Qof.
 * The words and.
 * "Full writing" - writing with vowel letters replacing niqqud symbols.

Next lesson: Aleph-Bet 9 >>>