Chapter 1 — Hebrew Confusable Letter Pairs Exercise

BBH Chapter 1 · Hebrew Alphabet · 34 pairs

Instructions: For each pair of Hebrew letters shown, provide: (1) Name of Letter A, (2) Name of Letter B, (3) the key visual feature that distinguishes them.
#Letter ALetter BName AName BKey Difference
1 כ ב
✓ כ ב Kaf (soft) Bet (soft) כ has a small foot projecting from the lower-left corner; ב has a flat base with no foot
2 ד ר
✓ ד ר Dalet Resh ד has a sharp right-angle at the upper-right corner; ר is gently rounded — "Dalet is Definite, it has a corner"
3 ה ח
✓ ה ח He Ḥet The left leg of ה hangs free (gap at top-left); ח's two legs are joined at the top — "He has a Hole"
4 מ ס
✓ מ ס Mem Samek מ is open at the lower-right with angular corners; ס is a fully enclosed oval with no opening
5 ו ז
✓ ו ז Waw Zayin ז has a horizontal top bar; ו is a plain vertical stroke with no bar
6 ו י
✓ ו י Waw Yod ו is taller and plain; י is shorter with a small curved top hook
7 ט מ
✓ ט מ Tet Mem ט is closed with an inward-curling top; מ is open at the bottom-right — "Tet is Tight (closed)"
8 ע צ
✓ ע צ Ayin Tsade ע has two arms curving symmetrically; צ has an additional downward stroke on the right side
9 שׁ שׂ
✓ שׁ שׂ Shin Sin Identical body; Shin has a dot on the upper right, Sin has a dot on the upper left — "Shin dot shoots Right"
10 מ ם
✓ מ ם Mem Mem Sofit ם is fully closed (a closed rectangle); מ is open at the bottom-right
11 ו ן
✓ ו ן Waw Nun Sofit Both are plain vertical strokes; ן descends far below the baseline while ו is short and stays above it
12 ד ך
✓ ד ך Dalet Kaf Sofit Both have a horizontal top; ך has a long tail descending below the baseline while ד is short and compact
13 פ כ
✓ פ כ Pe (soft) Kaf (soft) פ has a small inward-curling projection inside its cup; כ is a plain open cup with a small foot at the lower-left
14 צ ע
✓ צ ע Tsade Ayin צ has an extra right-pointing arm at the lower right; ע has two arms curving symmetrically with no extra stroke
15 א צ
✓ א צ Alef Tsade א is built around a diagonal backbone with two symmetrical arms; צ has two upward-curving arms joined at the bottom with a rightward extension
16 ה ת
✓ ה ת He Taw ה has a gap at the top-left where the left leg is detached from the roof; ת has two legs both fully joined to the roof
17 ח ת
✓ ח ת Ḥet Taw ת's right leg curves outward at the bottom; ח's two legs descend straight with no curve
18 כ נ
✓ כ נ Kaf (soft) Nun כ is a broad open cup facing left with a foot at the lower-left; נ is narrow with a short top bar and a foot at the lower-right
19 ב כ
✓ ב כ Bet (soft) Kaf (soft) ב has a flat base with no foot; כ has a small foot projecting from the lower-left corner
20 ר ד
✓ ר ד Resh Dalet ר is gently rounded at the upper-right; ד has a sharp right-angle corner — "Dalet is Definite, it has a corner"
21 ח ה
✓ ח ה Ḥet He ח's two legs are joined at the top; ה's left leg hangs free (gap at top-left) — "He has a Hole"
22 ס מ
✓ ס מ Samek Mem ס is a fully enclosed oval with no opening; מ is open at the lower-right with angular corners
23 ז ו
✓ ז ו Zayin Waw ז has a horizontal top bar; ו is a plain vertical stroke with no bar
24 י ו
✓ י ו Yod Waw י is shorter with a small curved top hook; ו is taller and plain
25 מ ט
✓ מ ט Mem Tet מ is open at the bottom-right; ט is closed with an inward-curling top — "Tet is Tight (closed)"
26 שׂ שׁ
✓ שׂ שׁ Sin Shin Identical body; Sin dot is upper-left, Shin dot is upper-right — "Shin dot shoots Right"
27 ם מ
✓ ם מ Mem Sofit Mem ם is fully closed (a closed rectangle); מ is open at the bottom-right
28 ן ו
✓ ן ו Nun Sofit Waw Both are plain vertical strokes; ן descends far below the baseline while ו is short and stays above it
29 ך ד
✓ ך ד Kaf Sofit Dalet ך has a long tail descending below the baseline; ד is short and compact with a horizontal top
30 כ פ
✓ כ פ Kaf (soft) Pe (soft) כ is a plain open cup with a small foot at the lower-left; פ has a small inward-curling projection inside its cup
31 צ א
✓ צ א Tsade Alef צ has two upward-curving arms joined at the bottom with a rightward extension; א is built around a diagonal backbone with two symmetrical arms
32 ת ה
✓ ת ה Taw He ת has two legs both fully joined to the roof; ה has a gap at the top-left where the left leg is detached
33 ת ח
✓ ת ח Taw Ḥet ת's right leg curves outward at the bottom; ח's two legs descend straight with no curve
34 נ כ
✓ נ כ Nun Kaf (soft) נ is narrow with a short top bar and a foot at the lower-right; כ is a broad open cup facing left with a foot at the lower-left