BBH Chapter 1 — Hebrew Alphabet¶
Download: Anki import (.txt) · Flashcards Deluxe (-fd.txt)
Hebrew consonants: letter → name and pronunciation. 34 cards.
Import ch1-alphabet-deck.txt directly into Anki (File → Import).
How to Use¶
- Front of card: Hebrew character or syllable
- Back of card: Name / transliteration / pronunciation
- Edit source:
data/decks/bbh/ch1-alphabet-deck.yaml - Rebuild:
python scripts/build_bbh_decks.py
The 22 Consonants (canonical order)¶
One card per letter in aleph-bet order. Begadkephat letters appear here in their soft (no-dagesh) form; hard (dagesh) forms are in the next group. Shin and Sin are listed as two separate entries.
| # | Front (Hebrew) | Back |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | א | Aleph — ʾ — silent (glottal stop); guttural letter |
| 2 | ב | Beth, soft form (Vet) — v — /v/ as in 'vine' |
| 3 | ג | Gimel, soft form (Ghimel) — g/gh — /g/ as in 'go' (soft rarely distinguished today) |
| 4 | ד | Dalet, soft form (Dhalet) — d/dh — /d/ as in 'day' (soft /dh/ as in 'the', rare today) |
| 5 | ה | He — h — /h/ as in 'hay'; often quiescent at end of syllable; guttural |
| 6 | ו | Vav — v/w — /v/ or /w/ (consonantal); also functions as a vowel letter |
| 7 | ז | Zayin — z — /z/ as in 'zoo' |
| 8 | ח | Chet — ḥ — guttural fricative /kh/ as in 'Bach'; guttural letter |
| 9 | ט | Tet — ṭ — emphatic /t/ (no English equivalent; like 't' but emphatic) |
| 10 | י | Yod — y — /y/ as in 'yes' (consonantal); also functions as a vowel letter |
| 11 | כ | Kaph, soft form (Khaf) — kh — /kh/ as in 'Bach' |
| 12 | ל | Lamed — l — /l/ as in 'lamp' |
| 13 | מ | Mem — m — /m/ as in 'man' |
| 14 | נ | Nun — n — /n/ as in 'now' |
| 15 | ס | Samekh — s — /s/ as in 'sun' |
| 16 | ע | Ayin — ʿ — silent pharyngeal stop; guttural; distinct from Aleph |
| 17 | פ | Pe, soft form (Fe) — f — /f/ as in 'fan' |
| 18 | צ | Tsade — ṣ — emphatic /ts/ as in 'ca-ts' |
| 19 | ק | Qof — q — uvular /q/ (deeper than /k/, no English equivalent) |
| 20 | ר | Resh — r — uvular /r/; resists Dagesh Forte; sometimes grouped with gutturals |
| 21 | שׁ | Shin — š — /sh/ as in 'shoe' (right dot = shin dot) |
| 22 | שׂ | Sin — ś — /s/ as in 'sun' (left dot = sin dot) |
| 23 | ת | Tav, soft form (Thav) — t/th — /t/ as in 'top' (soft /th/ as in 'the', rare today) |
Begadkephat — Hard Forms (with Dagesh Lene)¶
The six begadkephat letters (ב ג ד כ פ ת) each receive a dagesh lene when they begin a word or follow a closed syllable. The dagesh produces the hard (stop) pronunciation.
| # | Front (Hebrew) | Back |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | בּ | Beth, hard form (Bet) — b — /b/ as in 'boy' · dagesh lene present |
| 2 | גּ | Gimel, hard form — g — /g/ as in 'go' · dagesh lene present |
| 3 | דּ | Dalet, hard form — d — /d/ as in 'day' · dagesh lene present |
| 4 | כּ | Kaph, hard form (Kaf) — k — /k/ as in 'king' · dagesh lene present |
| 5 | פּ | Pe, hard form — p — /p/ as in 'pan' · dagesh lene present |
| 6 | תּ | Tav, hard form — t — /t/ as in 'top' · dagesh lene present |
Final (Sofit) Forms¶
Five consonants have a special shape when they appear as the last letter of a word. These are called sofit (סוֹפִית, 'final') forms. The mnemonic for the five letters is כַּמְנַפַּץ (kamnafats).
| # | Front (Hebrew) | Back |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | ך | Kaph Sofit — k/kh — final form of כ (soft) / כּ (hard) |
| 2 | ם | Mem Sofit — m — final form of מ (closed square shape) |
| 3 | ן | Nun Sofit — n — final form of נ (long descending stroke) |
| 4 | ף | Pe Sofit — f — final form of פ/פּ (open form with descending tail) |
| 5 | ץ | Tsade Sofit — ṣ — final form of צ (long descending tail) |