Hebrew has twenty-two letters and no capitals. It is written from right to left, so the first letter, alef, is at the top right. Trace each grey letter with your finger, then with a pencil. The small word under each letter is its name, then its sound. The little number is the number the letter can stand for.
start here, and read this way ←
א
alef
silent
1
ב
bet
b or v
2
ג
gimel
g as in go
3
ד
dalet
d
4
ה
hey
h
5
ו
vav
v, or o, u
6
ז
zayin
z
7
ח
chet
kh, in the throat
8
ט
tet
t
9
י
yud
y, or ee
10
כ
kaf
k or kh
20
ל
lamed
l
30
מ
mem
m
40
נ
nun
n
50
ס
samekh
s
60
ע
ayin
silent
70
פ
pey
p or f
80
צ
tsadi
ts
90
ק
kuf
k
100
ר
resh
r
200
ש
shin
sh or s
300
ת
tav
t
400
Five letters change shape at the end of a word
ך
kaf at the end
k or kh
ם
mem at the end
m
ן
nun at the end
n
ף
pey at the end
f
ץ
tsadi at the end
ts
Where are the vowels? Mostly not written. Vowels are small dots and dashes under a letter, used in children's books but not on a scroll or a street sign. A Hebrew reader fills them in.
How old? Hebrew was first written about three thousand years ago. Scribes still copy the Torah scroll by hand, one letter at a time, with these same letters.
Letters as numbers. Alef is 1, bet is 2, yud is 10, kuf is 100. Find the letter for your age. Eleven is yud then alef, written right to left.
K–5 Lesson