Chapter 1 — Hebrew Letter Recognition Exercise

BBH Chapter 1 · Hebrew Alphabet · 30 items

Instructions: For each Hebrew letter shown, identify: (1) Letter Name, (2) Transliteration, (3) Sound, (4) Special Category (guttural / begadkephat / sofit form / normal).
Parts A–B: standard letters and sofit forms. Part C: begadkephat letters shown with dagesh lene — describe the hard pronunciation.

Part A — Standard Letters (1–22)

#LetterNameTransliterationSoundSpecial Category
1א
✓אAleph · ʾ · Silent / glottal stop · Guttural; quiescent
2ב
✓בBeth · b / v · b (hard) or v (soft) · Begadkephat (soft form — no dagesh)
3ג
✓גGimel · g / gh · g (hard) or gh (soft) · Begadkephat (soft rarely distinguished today)
4ד
✓דDalet · d / dh · d (hard) or dh (soft) · Begadkephat (soft rarely distinguished today)
5ה
✓הHe · h · h · Guttural; often quiescent word-finally
6ו
✓וWaw · w · w (consonantal) · Normal; also mater lectionis (vowel letter for ō, û)
7ז
✓זZayin · z · z · Normal
8ח
✓חCheth · ḥ · ch as in German Bach · Guttural; cannot take Dagesh Forte
9ט
✓טTeth · ṭ · emphatic t (no English equivalent) · Normal (emphatic series)
10י
✓יYod · y · y as in yes (consonantal) · Normal; also mater lectionis (vowel letter for ī, ê)
11כ
✓כKaph · k / kh · k (hard) or kh as in Bach (soft) · Begadkephat; has sofit form (ך)
12ל
✓לLamed · l · l · Normal
13מ
✓מMem · m · m · Normal; has sofit form (ם)
14נ
✓נNun · n · n · Normal; has sofit form (ן)
15ס
✓סSamech · s · s · Normal
16ע
✓עAyin · ʿ · Silent / pharyngeal (distinct from Aleph) · Guttural; cannot take Dagesh Forte
17פ
✓פPe · p / f · p (hard) or f (soft) · Begadkephat; has sofit form (ף)
18צ
✓צTsade · ṣ · emphatic ts · Normal (emphatic series); has sofit form (ץ)
19ק
✓קQoph · q · q (uvular, deeper than k) · Normal
20ר
✓רResh · r · r (uvular) · Behaves like guttural in some contexts; resists Dagesh Forte
21שׁ
✓שׁShin · š · sh as in sheep · Normal (shin dot on right; sin dot on left = שׂ = s)
22ת
✓תTaw · t / th · t (hard) or th as in the (soft) · Begadkephat

Part B — Final (Sofit) Forms (23–27)

Each of these letters appears only at the end of a word. Identify the letter, give its name (include "sofit"), its transliteration, sound, and note it as a sofit form.

#LetterNameTransliterationSoundSpecial Category
23ך
✓ךKaph sofit · k / kh · k (hard) or kh (soft) · Sofit form of כ — word-final only
24ם
✓םMem sofit · m · m · Sofit form of מ — word-final only; closed square shape
25ן
✓ןNun sofit · n · n · Sofit form of נ — word-final only; long descending stroke
26ף
✓ףPe sofit · p / f · p (hard) or f (soft) · Sofit form of פ — word-final only; also begadkephat
27ץ
✓ץTsade sofit · ṣ · emphatic ts · Sofit form of צ — word-final only; long descending tail

Part C — Begadkephat Letters with Dagesh Lene (28–30)

Each letter below carries a dagesh lene (dot inside). Identify the letter name, transliteration, sound (hard pronunciation), and note it as begadkephat with dagesh lene.

#LetterNameTransliterationSoundSpecial Category
28בּ
✓בּBeth (with dagesh lene) · b · b as in boy — hard stop · Begadkephat — dagesh lene = hard pronunciation
29כּ
✓כּKaph (with dagesh lene) · k · k as in king — hard stop · Begadkephat — dagesh lene = hard pronunciation
30פּ
✓פּPe (with dagesh lene) · p · p as in pan — hard stop · Begadkephat — dagesh lene = hard pronunciation

Reflection Questions

  1. Sofit recognition: You encounter a word ending in what looks like an unfamiliar letter — a long downward stroke. How do you determine whether this is a final nun (ן) or final kaph (ך), and what does your identification tell you about the letter's base form?
  2. Guttural behavior preview: Your textbook states that א and ע "cannot take Dagesh Forte." Based on what you know about guttural letters, why do you think a guttural would resist the doubling that dagesh forte produces? How might this affect vowel patterns in surrounding syllables?
  3. Consonant vs. vowel letter: The letter ו appears in the middle of a word carrying a shureq dot (וּ). Is ו functioning as a consonant or as a mater lectionis in that position? What clue does the placement of the dot give you?