Chapter 1 — Hebrew Letter Recognition Exercise

BBH Chapter 1 · Hebrew Alphabet · 34 items

Instructions: For each Hebrew letter shown, identify: (1) Letter Name, (2) Sound.
All 22 base consonants (including Sin שׂ), 5 sofit (final) forms, and 6 begadkephat letters with dagesh lene are included, presented in mixed order.

#	Letter	Name	Sound
1	ק
✓	ק	Qof	k as in king
2	ם
✓	ם	Mem Sofit	m — final form of מ (occurs word-finally only)
3	בּ
✓	בּ	Bet (hard)	b as in "boy" — dagesh lene; hard form
4	ה
✓	ה	He	h — guttural; often quiescent word-finally
5	ץ
✓	ץ	Tsade Sofit	emphatic ts — final form of צ (occurs word-finally only)
6	ל
✓	ל	Lamed	l
7	גּ
✓	גּ	Gimel (hard)	g as in "go" — dagesh lene; hard form
8	ע
✓	ע	Ayin	(silent) — guttural; distinct from Alef
9	ך
✓	ך	Kaf Sofit	k / kh — final form of כ (occurs word-finally only)
10	ז
✓	ז	Zayin	z
11	תּ
✓	תּ	Taw (hard)	t as in "top" — dagesh lene; hard form
12	נ
✓	נ	Nun	n — has final form ן
13	שׁ
✓	שׁ	Shin	sh as in "shoe" — right dot = Shin
14	דּ
✓	דּ	Dalet (hard)	d as in "day" — dagesh lene; hard form
15	ו
✓	ו	Waw	w (consonantal) — also vowel letter for ō, û
16	ף
✓	ף	Pe Sofit	f as in "fan" — final form of פ (occurs word-finally only); no dagesh, so always soft
17	כ
✓	כ	Kaf (soft)	kh as in "Bach" — soft form
18	י
✓	י	Yod	y as in "yes" (consonantal) — also vowel letter for ī
19	פּ
✓	פּ	Pe (hard)	p as in "pan" — dagesh lene; hard form
20	א
✓	א	Alef	(silent) — guttural
21	ן
✓	ן	Nun Sofit	n — final form of נ (occurs word-finally only)
22	מ
✓	מ	Mem	m — has final form ם
23	ת
✓	ת	Taw (soft)	t / th — soft form
24	כּ
✓	כּ	Kaf (hard)	k as in "king" — dagesh lene; hard form
25	ח
✓	ח	Ḥet	ch as in Bach — guttural
26	ר
✓	ר	Resh	r (uvular) — resists dagesh forte
27	ב
✓	ב	Bet (soft)	v as in "vine" — soft form
28	ט
✓	ט	Tet	t as in toy — emphatic
29	ד
✓	ד	Dalet (soft)	d / dh — soft form
30	פ
✓	פ	Pe (soft)	f as in "fan" — soft form
31	ג
✓	ג	Gimel (soft)	g / gh — soft form
32	ס
✓	ס	Samek	s
33	צ
✓	צ	Tsade	emphatic ts — has final form ץ
34	שׂ
✓	שׂ	Sin	s as in "sun" — left dot = Sin; same letter as Shin with different dot

Letter

Name

Sound

✓

Qof

k as in king

✓

Mem Sofit

m — final form of מ (occurs word-finally only)

בּ

✓

בּ

Bet (hard)

b as in "boy" — dagesh lene; hard form

✓

h — guttural; often quiescent word-finally

✓

Tsade Sofit

emphatic ts — final form of צ (occurs word-finally only)

✓

Lamed

גּ

✓

גּ

Gimel (hard)

g as in "go" — dagesh lene; hard form

✓

Ayin

(silent) — guttural; distinct from Alef

✓

Kaf Sofit

k / kh — final form of כ (occurs word-finally only)

✓

Zayin

תּ

✓

תּ

Taw (hard)

t as in "top" — dagesh lene; hard form

✓

Nun

n — has final form ן

שׁ

✓

שׁ

Shin

sh as in "shoe" — right dot = Shin

דּ

✓

דּ

Dalet (hard)

d as in "day" — dagesh lene; hard form

✓

Waw

w (consonantal) — also vowel letter for ō, û

✓

Pe Sofit

f as in "fan" — final form of פ (occurs word-finally only); no dagesh, so always soft

✓

Kaf (soft)

kh as in "Bach" — soft form

✓

Yod

y as in "yes" (consonantal) — also vowel letter for ī

פּ

✓

פּ

Pe (hard)

p as in "pan" — dagesh lene; hard form

✓

Alef

(silent) — guttural

✓

Nun Sofit

n — final form of נ (occurs word-finally only)

✓

Mem

m — has final form ם

✓

Taw (soft)

t / th — soft form

כּ

✓

כּ

Kaf (hard)

k as in "king" — dagesh lene; hard form

✓

Ḥet

ch as in Bach — guttural

✓

Resh

r (uvular) — resists dagesh forte

✓

Bet (soft)

v as in "vine" — soft form

✓

Tet

t as in toy — emphatic

✓

Dalet (soft)

d / dh — soft form

✓

Pe (soft)

f as in "fan" — soft form

✓

Gimel (soft)

g / gh — soft form

✓

Samek

✓

Tsade

emphatic ts — has final form ץ

שׂ

✓

שׂ

Sin

s as in "sun" — left dot = Sin; same letter as Shin with different dot

Reflection Questions

Sofit recognition: You encounter a word ending in a letter that looks unfamiliar. How do you determine whether it is a sofit form, and which letters have sofit forms?
Guttural behavior preview: Your textbook states that א and ע "cannot take Dagesh Forte." Based on what you know about the guttural letters, why do you think a guttural would resist doubling? How does this relate to their place of articulation?
Consonant vs. vowel letter: The letter ו appears in the middle of a word with a Shureq (וּ) vowel marker. Is ו functioning as a consonant or as a mater lectionis in this position? What clue does the vowel dot give you?