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The Hebrew Alphabet

22 letters, right to left

22 letters, written right to left

Hebrew has 22 consonant letters and reads from right to left.

📊 First letters
Letter Name Sound
א alef silent / glottal
ב bet b or v
ג gimel g
ד dalet d
ה he h
💬 Examples
א ב ג ד
alef bet gimel dalet
alef, bet, gimel, dalet
📝 First four letters (read right to left)
שלום
shalom
hello / peace
📝 Read right-to-left: ש-ל-ו-ם
Five letters have final forms

כ מ נ פ צ change shape at the end of a word.

📊 Final letters
Regular Final Name
כ ך khaf
מ ם mem
נ ן nun
פ ף pe
צ ץ tsadi
💬 Examples
מים
mayim
water
📝 מ at the start, ם (final mem) at the end
ארץ
eretz
land / country
📝 ץ = final tsadi
Vowels are usually not written

Vowel points (niqqud) exist but are normally omitted.

💬 Examples
ספר
sefer
book
📝 Written without vowels; read 'sefer'
ספר
sapar / safar
barber / counted
📝 Same letters, different vowels and meanings