Hebrew Alphabet Chart: Learn Each of the Hebrew Letters - B'nai Mitzvah Academy (2023)

Use the Hebrew alphabet chart below to help facilitate with your learning of the Hebrew letters as well as learning to read Hebrew. There are also more in-depth explanations of each Hebrew letter below. Hebrew letters sound like their English counterpart unless otherwise specified. Ex. Hebrew letter BET has a “b” sound like boy in English.There are five Hebrew letters that change their shape if they are the last letter in a word. These final letters have the same sound as their counterparts but look different.

If you would like to learn how to handwrite the Hebrew Aleph Bet in print or in Hebrew cursive, check out this post. And, if you are looking for a Hebrew vowels chart, use this page.

Click here for aprintable version of the Hebrew Alphabet Chart

Learn the Letters in the Hebrew Alphabet

א

Alef: The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet, Alef is silent. Look to the vowel below, next to, or over and verbalize the vowel sound instead. We remember it as “X Marks the Spot” because the letter looks like an X when printed.

בּ

Bet: The second letter, Bet, makes a “b” sound like boy. We remember it as Bellybutton Bet because there is a dot or bellybutton in the center of this letter.

ב

Vet: The letter Vet is the letter Bet’s twin, but it doesn’t have a dot in the middle of it. The bellybutton vanished and the letter is now vacant. Vet makes a “v” sound like violin.

ג

Gimel: If you spin a dreidel on Hanukkah, you hope it lands on the letter Gimel. That’s because youGet All the Geltin the pile if it does.Gimelmakes a “g” sound like girl. The letter looks like it is casually standing with its leg out so we can also remember it by the phrase Gimme a Leg Gimel.

ד

Dalet: The letterDaletmakes a “d” sound like dog. The top is long and straight and protrudes out slightly at the angle.Daletlooks exactly like a diving board which is why we refer to this letter asDiving Board Dalet.

ה

Hey: The letter Heymakes an “h” sound like happy. But, there is an exception. If there is aHeyat the end of the word and theHeyhas no vowel under it, then it is silent. We remember it because the letterHey Has a Holeon the left hand side between the bottom vertical line and the top horizontal line.

ו

Vav: The Hebrew letter Vav has very straightlines which is why we named this letterVery Straight Vav. Vavmakes a “v” sound like violin.

ז

Zayin: We refer to the letterZayinasZig ZagZayin because even though the top line is technically on a diagonal and not a zig zag, it’s not easy to come up with good alliteration for a letter starting with “z”. The letterZayinmakes a “z” sound like zebra.

ח

Chet: The letter Chet looks like a square, but without the bottom line. Chet has a sound that combines two English letters to make a “ch” sound like Chanukah or challah. The “ch” is a sound you would make if you are clearing your throat and hocking a loogie.

ט

Tet: The letterTet makes a “t” sound like television. We remember the letter as Tugboat Tet. It’s a bit of a stretch to say that this letter looks like a tugboat, but we keep it as is because for some reason, Tugboat Tet is catchy and seems to stick with people.

י

Yud: The letter Yud is a baby-sized letter – it’s half the size of the others. That is why we call itYoungYud.The letteralso looks identical to an apostrophe.Yudmakes a “y” sound like yo-yo.

כּ

Kaf: The letterKaflooks like a backwards uppercase “C.”Kafhas a dot in the middle of the letter, so we rememberKaf’s dot as a cough drop caught inKaf’s throat.Kafmakes a “k” sound like kangaroo.

כ

Chaf: The letter Chaf looks like the same backwards uppercase “C” shape asKafbut without the dot. Like Kaf, Chaf isn’t feeling well but it doesn’t have a cough drop so itis coughing up a lot of phlegm and mucus. In order forChafto clear the phlegm from its throat, it makes a “ch” sound to do so. This “ch” sound is the same exact sound as the letter ChanukkahChet.

ל

Lamed: The letter Lamed looks like a lightning bolt, like the one on Harry Potter’s forehead. Lamed makes an “l” sound like lion.

מ

Mem: The letter Memhas a small hump that is probably more a hill than a mountain, but we can still remember it as MountainMem. The letterMemmakes a “m” sound like mom.

נ

Nun: If you spin the dreidel and it lands onthe Hebrew letter Nun, then you get nothing from the pile. That is why we call this letter,Nothing Nun.Nunmakes a “n” sound like nail.

ס

Samech: The letter Samech makes a “s” sound like snow. It is shaped like an uppercase “U” with a horizontal line across the top. We like to have fun with the way to remember Samech…imagine thatSamechlooks like a salad bowl with saran wrap on it. If you’re putting saran wrap on salad in a salad bowl and eating it the next day, the salad will probably be soggy, so we remember the letter as soggy salad saran-wrapped in a salad bowlSamech.

ע

Ayin: The letterAyinis shaped like a lowercase “y” and it also has the letter “y” as the second letter in its name. Ayin is the second of the two silent letters in the Hebrew alphabet.

פּ

Pay: The letter Pay look like a backwards, upside down, uppercase “G” with a dot – or as we like to call it – a pimple in the middle of the letter. Therefore, we remember Pay as Pimple Pay. Pay makes a “p” sound like parachute.

פ

Fay: The letter Fay also looks like a backwards, upside down, uppercase “G” but without a dot. That’s because Fay went to the spa for a facial and now has super clear skin. So, we remember Fay as Facial Fay. Fay makes a “f” sound like flower.

צ

Tsadi: The letterTsadiis shaped like a backwards “y” but with much sharper lines compared toAyin’s more rounded ones. Tsadimakes a “ts” or “tz” sound like the double z in pizza or the sizzling sound of water being dumped onto a flame.

ק

Koof: The letterKoofmakes a “k” sound like kitten. Kooflooks like a lowercase “p” which is why we remember it as poofKoof.

ר

Resh: The letterReshis rounded at the top, so we remember it by the nameRounded Resh.Reshmakes a “r” sound like rainbow.

שׁ

Shin: The letter Shin has 3 arms. The number 3 in Hebrew is Shalosh, so we remember this letter as Shalosh Shin. There is a dot right above the arm furthest to the right.Shinmakes a “sh” sound like shake or what you would say if you were telling someone to be quiet.

שׂ

Sin: The letter Sin looks exactly like the letter Shin except that its dot is on the far-left arm. We call it sunsetSinbecause after sunset, the sun has left the sky and the dot is on the left.Sinmakes a “s” sound like snake.

ת

Tav: The letter Tav has 3 sides of a square but the bottom of the square is not completed. Instead, the letterTavhas aToe that sticks out on the bottom left of the letter. Tav makes a “t” sounds like toy.

For an in-depth look at the Final Letters in Hebrew, check out B’nai Mitzvah’s Academy’s Lesson 9.

Was this Hebrew alphabet chart helpful? Do you want to continue your Hebrew training? If so, you can do so for free with B’nai Mitzvah Academy’s ten lessons to learn to read Hebrew. You can also purchase helpful training tools like this Hebrew workbook to maximize your progress! Don’t forget to read more content on the BMA blog.

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