Hebrew is written right-to-left. It has 22 letters, all consonants. Five letters have special final forms when they appear at the end of a word. Vowel sounds are typically indicated by niqqud (vowel points) in beginner texts and are omitted in standard adult print. Click ▶ in the Listen column to hear each letter pronounced.
Watch the full alphabet guide, then use the table below as your reference.
| Listen | Letter | Name | Sound | Final Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| א | Alef | silent / glottal stop | — | Carries the vowel sound of the niqqud attached to it | |
| בּ / ב | Bet / Vet | b (with dagesh) / v | — | בּ with dot = b sound; without = v sound | |
| ג | Gimel | g (hard) | — | Always hard like in "go" | |
| ד | Dalet | d | — | ||
| ה | He | h (often silent at word end) | — | ||
| ו | Vav | v / o / u | — | Used as consonant (v) and as vowel letter (o, u) | |
| ז | Zayin | z | — | ||
| ח | Khet | kh (guttural, like loch) | — | Back-of-throat sound | |
| ט | Tet | t | — | Same sound as Tav in modern Hebrew | |
| י | Yod | y / i | — | Also used as vowel letter | |
| כּ / כ | Kaf / Khaf | k (with dagesh) / kh | ך | Same guttural kh sound as Khet when without dagesh | |
| ל | Lamed | l | — | ||
| מ | Mem | m | ם | ||
| נ | Nun | n | ן | ||
| ס | Samekh | s | — | Same sound as Sin in modern Hebrew | |
| ע | Ayin | silent / guttural | — | Like Alef, carries the vowel; traditionally guttural | |
| פּ / פ | Pe / Fe | p (with dagesh) / f | ף | ||
| צ | Tsadi | ts (as in "bits") | ץ | ||
| ק | Qof | k | — | Same k sound as Kaf with dagesh in modern Hebrew | |
| ר | Resh | r (uvular) | — | Similar to French r | |
| שׁ / שׂ | Shin / Sin | sh / s | — | Dot above right = sh; dot above left = s | |
| ת | Tav | t | — | Same t sound as Tet in modern Hebrew |
Five Hebrew letters change shape when they appear at the end of a word. These are called sofit (final) forms. Using the wrong form is a spelling error — you must always use the final form at the end of a word.
| Regular Letter | Final Form | Name | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| כ | ך | Kaf Sofit | מֶלֶךְ (melech — king) |
| מ | ם | Mem Sofit | שָׁלוֹם (shalom — peace) |
| נ | ן | Nun Sofit | יַרְדֵּן (Yarden — Jordan) |
| פ | ף | Pe Sofit | סוֹף (sof — end) |
| צ | ץ | Tsadi Sofit | אֶרֶץ (erets — land) |
The fastest way to lock in the alphabet is through interactive practice. Try these free games:
Hebrew Letter Blaster
Fast-paced arcade-style game — shoot the right letter before it escapes!
Play Now