Q&A for How to Read Hebrew

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What makes the ee sound?

Community Answer

The letter י or khirik (khirik is a little point under a letter, like in the word קיר (Kir - another word for a wall).

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Question

How do I translate English to Hebrew but use English letters instead of Hebrew ones?

Community Answer

Use simple phonetics. First translate it to Hebrew, then sound it out using English letters.

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Question

How do I pronounce "L'Shanah Tovah?" Do I pronounce the 'L'?

Community Answer

The "L" is pronounced. You would pronounce it "Leh-Sh-na Toe-vah".

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Are vowels part of the alphabet or they are separated?

Community Answer

They are separated. Vowels are complicated. They don't really count as letters, as they do in English. Some people write without vowels, which is hard if you're not a native speaker.

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Question

Are Hebrew letters more like characters?

Community Answer

No, they are part of an alphabet - much more like English letters.

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Question

Should I read from right to left?

Community Answer

Yes, Hebrew is written and should be read from right to left.

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Question

How can I tell when a Hebrew word ends?

Community Answer

A Hebrew word will normally be followed by a space, like an English word. Certain letters (מ, נ, צ, כ,פ) have different forms that are used when they are at the end of a word too.

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How do you know when letters are connected?

Community Answer

Hebrew is not like Arabic, in which the letters are connected to form words. Hebrew letters are all separated, like English letters.

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Question

What does "hei tav cheit yod hei" mean?

Community Answer

They are five Hebrew letters, and don't mean anything. First one is a hei, then tav, chet, yud and a hei.

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Question

Where is it a good place to learn Hebrew?

Community Answer

A religious school at a synagogue or a Jewish Community Center are both good places to learn.

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Question

Since vowels are not always used in Hebrew, how can I read words without vowels?

Community Answer

In many cases, a basic knowledge of Hebrew along with context clues will allow you to read Hebrew without vowels, however, as that is very hard to get the hang of, when you are learning you should begin by practicing reading Hebrew words with vowels.

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Question

What does "Yahweh" look like in Hebrew?

Community Answer

יהוה‎ -- I read this as "Adonai." The letters would translate in English to YHVH.

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Question

How do I pronounce the letters all together to make a word?

Community Answer

You pronounce all the letters together as mentioned above and you make a word. Try it here: אני נאצי

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Question

What does "El Shaddai" mean?

Community Answer

It means "the almighty" in the Kabalistic Torah.

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Question

If there's a sh'va under the first letter of a word, is it still an UH sound?

Community Answer

It depends upon the word. Like Yehoshua has a sh'va with the UH. Mostly it has the UH sound.

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