Chapter 2 — Vowel Identification Exercise

BBH Chapter 2 · Hebrew Vowels · 25 items

Instructions: For each Hebrew form shown, identify: (1) Vowel Name, (2) Vowel Class (A / E / I / O / U / Reduced), (3) Quantity (Long / Short / Reduced), (4) Notes (mater lectionis, composite sheva, dagesh forte, etc.).
The letter מ (mem) serves as the carrier consonant for most items.
# Form Vowel Name Class Quantity Notes
1 מָ
✓ מָ Qamets · A-class · Long · T-bar shape below consonant; the most common long vowel in Hebrew
2 מֵ
✓ מֵ Tsere · E-class · Long · Two horizontal dots below consonant; "ay" sound as in they
3 מִ
✓ מִ Hireq · I-class · Short · Single dot below consonant; "ee" sound
4 מֹ
✓ מֹ Holem · O-class · Long · Single dot above the letter to the upper left; "oh" sound
5 מֻ
✓ מֻ Qibbuts · U-class · Short · Three diagonal dots below consonant; short "oo" sound
6 מְ
(word-initial)
✓ מְ Vocal Sheva · Reduced · Reduced · Word-initial position → always vocal; pronounced as ultra-short murmur /ə/ (schwa)
7 מַ
✓ מַ Patah · A-class · Short · Horizontal bar below consonant; most common short A vowel
8 מֶ
✓ מֶ Seghol · E-class · Short · Three dots in inverted triangle below consonant; "eh" sound as in bed
9 מִי
✓ מִי Hireq Yod · I-class · Long · Hireq with yod mater lectionis; yod is quiescent (no consonantal sound); long I vowel
10 מוֹ
✓ מוֹ Holem Vav · O-class · Long · Holem with vav mater lectionis; vav is quiescent; same sound as plain holem
11 מוּ
✓ מוּ Shureq · U-class · Long · Vav with a dot in its center; vav is the mater lectionis; long "oo" sound
12 מְ
(word-final)
✓ מְ Silent Sheva · — · — · Word-final position → always silent; marks the close of the final syllable; no vowel sound produced
13 מָ
(closed, unaccented syllable)
✓ מָ Qamets Hatuf · O-class · Short · Same glyph as Qamets (long A) — context distinguishes them: closed + unaccented syllable → Qamets Hatuf (short O)
14 מֵי
✓ מֵי Tsere Yod · E-class · Long · Tsere with yod mater lectionis; yod is quiescent (no consonantal sound)
15 כִּי
✓ כִּי Hireq Yod · I-class · Long · Long I with yod mater; Dagesh Lene in kaph (begadkephat, word-initial); word means "because/that/when"
16 מָ
(= Qamets Hatuf)
✓ מָ Qamets Hatuf · O-class · Short · Identical glyph to Qamets; identified as Qamets Hatuf by closed unaccented syllable context; Metheg is absent
17 מֲ
✓ מֲ Hatef Patah · A-class · Reduced · Composite sheva; used under gutturals (א ה ח ע) instead of vocal sheva; most common hatef
18 מֱ
✓ מֱ Hatef Seghol · E-class · Reduced · Composite sheva; E-class; used under gutturals; less common than Hatef Patah
19 מֳ
✓ מֳ Hatef Qamets · O-class · Reduced · Composite sheva; O-class; least common of the three hatef shevas; used under gutturals
20 הֲ
✓ הֲ Hatef Patah · A-class · Reduced · Composite sheva; most common hatef sheva; under gutturals (here ה) instead of vocal sheva
21 הֱ
✓ הֱ Hatef Seghol · E-class · Reduced · Composite sheva; E-class; second most common hatef; used under gutturals
22 הֳ
✓ הֳ Hatef Qamets · O-class · Reduced · Composite sheva; least common hatef sheva; O-class; used under gutturals
23 דָּבָר
✓ דָּבָר Qamets × 2 · A-class · Long · Both vowels are Qamets (long A); word means "word/thing"; Dagesh Forte in dalet doubles it
24 בֵּן
✓ בֵּן Tsere · E-class · Long · Long E under bet; Dagesh Lene in bet (begadkephat, word-initial); word means "son"
25 מַּ
✓ מַּ Patah (short A) with Dagesh Forte · A-class · Short · The dot inside mem is a Dagesh Forte (not Dagesh Lene — mem is not begadkephat); mem is doubled; preceded by a full vowel
Reflection Questions
  1. Qamets or Qamets Hatuf? You encounter the form מָ in an unaccented, closed syllable with no Metheg. How do you determine whether this is a long A (Qamets) or a short O (Qamets Hatuf)? What two pieces of information are most diagnostic?
  2. Sheva identification: The word יִקְטְלוּ contains two shevas — one after the qoph and one after the tet. Without looking ahead to Chapter 3, use the rules from the lesson to determine which of these shevas is silent and which (if either) is vocal.
  3. Mater lectionis vs. consonant: In the word בֵּית ("house"), the yod (י) appears between two consonants with a tsere under the bet. Is the yod functioning as a consonant or as a mater lectionis? What feature of its pointing (or lack thereof) tells you which role it is playing?