Hebrew alphabet chart: 22 letters, names, and common sounds

Use this as a reference, not as a test you need to memorise in one sitting. The Hebrew alphabet is called the aleph-bet because its first two letters are aleph and bet.

The chart

Letter	Name	Common modern sound	Final form
א	aleph	silent/carrier	—
ב	bet / vet	b / v	—
ג	gimel	g	—
ד	dalet	d	—
ה	he	h	—
ו	vav	v	—
ז	zayin	z	—
ח	het	kh-like throat sound	—
ט	tet	t	—
י	yod	y	—
כ	kaf / khaf	k / kh	ך
ל	lamed	l	—
מ	mem	m	ם
נ	nun	n	ן
ס	samekh	s	—
ע	ayin	throat consonant, often light	—
פ	pe / fe	p / f	ף
צ	tsadi	ts	ץ
ק	qof	k	—
ר	resh	Israeli r	—
ש	shin / sin	sh / s	—
ת	tav	t	—

The “common sound” column is intentionally compact. Hebrew pronunciation changes with dots, vowels, word position, and speaking tradition. Use it to orient yourself, not to replace a pronunciation lesson.

The five final forms

Kaf, mem, nun, pe, and tsadi change shape at the end of a word:

כ → ך, מ → ם, נ → ן, פ → ף, צ → ץ.

The sound does not become a new consonant. Only the written shape changes. This guide to sofit letters shows why it is easier to learn each pair together.

How to use the chart

Start with five letters, cover the names, and try to identify the shapes. Then write one or two from memory. The beginner guide explains the larger path; the pronunciation guide explains the sound pairs in more detail.

Hebrew words are written from right to left, but the strokes inside each letter have their own order. When the chart begins to feel familiar, take it to the practice page and let your hand do some of the remembering.