The Hebrew letters look completely different from English, and books open from the opposite side.

But here’s a secret: the Hebrew alphabet is actually very easy to learn. There are only 22 letters, and once you understand a few basic rules, you’ll be reading words in no time.

In this guide, I’ll break down everything you need to know about the Hebrew alphabet (often called the Aleph-Bet) so you can start reading immediately.

What makes the Hebrew alphabet unique?

Before we look at the letters themselves, there are four simple rules you need to know about how Hebrew works.

1. Hebrew is read from right to left Unlike English, you read Hebrew starting from the right side of the page and moving to the left. It takes a little practice for your brain to get used to it, but it becomes natural very quickly.

2. There are no capital letters This makes learning Hebrew much easier! You don’t have to learn a separate set of upper-case and lower-case letters. A letter looks the same whether it’s at the beginning of a sentence or a person’s name.

3. It’s an “abjad” (mostly consonants) An abjad is a writing system where the letters only represent consonants, not vowels. This means a word like “dog” would just be written as “dg”. We’ll talk about how to know which vowels to say in a minute!

4. Some letters change shape Five of the Hebrew letters look different if they’re the very last letter of a word. We call these “final letters” or sofit letters.

The complete Hebrew alphabet chart

Here are the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet. Some letters have a dot in the middle (called a dagesh), which changes their sound slightly (like a hard B versus a soft V).

Review this table to see the letter, its name, and how it’s pronounced.

How vowels work in Hebrew (niqqud)

If the alphabet is mostly consonants, how do you know how to pronounce a word?

Hebrew uses a system of dots and dashes placed above, below, or inside the letters. These marks are called Niqqud.

When you read a letter, you read the consonant first, and then the vowel underneath it.

Here’s a quick example using the word for “Dad” in Hebrew:

In this word, the little dash under the Aleph (א) makes an “ah” sound. The little “T” shape under the Bet (בּ) also makes an “ah” sound.

Here’s the catch: adults in Israel don’t use these vowel marks.

Books, newspapers, and text messages are written entirely without vowels. You just memorize how words look, exactly like how in English you know that “knight” is pronounced “nite” just by looking at the shape of the whole word.

Vowels are only used in children’s books, poetry, and materials for people learning the language.

Final letters (sofit)

As I mentioned earlier, 5 of the 22 letters change their shape if they fall at the very end of a word. They sound exactly the same, but they look different.

You can think of it like drawing a line downward to show the reader that the word is finished.

Let’s look at the word for “peace” or “hello”, which ends in an M sound:

Notice how the final letter is the box-shaped Mem Sofit (ם), rather than the regular Mem (מ)? That’s because it’s the last letter in the word.

Regional and historical variations

When you learn Hebrew, you’re learning Modern Israeli Hebrew, which is mostly based on the Sephardic (Spanish/Middle Eastern) historical tradition.

However, if you ever attend an Orthodox synagogue or talk to Jewish people with Eastern European roots, you might hear Ashkenazi Hebrew.

The letters are the same, but some are pronounced differently!

The biggest difference is the letter Tav (ת). In Modern Israeli Hebrew, it makes a “T” sound. In Ashkenazi Hebrew, if it doesn’t have a dot in it, it makes an “S” sound.

Also, the “ah” vowel in Modern Hebrew is often pronounced as an “oh” in Ashkenazi Hebrew.

Let’s look at the word for the day of rest to see how this changes the pronunciation:

For language learning, always stick to the Modern Israeli pronunciation, but it’s great to know why you might hear someone say Shabbos instead of Shabbat!

Tips to learn the letters quickly

Learning a new alphabet takes a bit of adjustment, but you can memorize it in just a few days if you use the right approach.

• Learn the letters in groups of 5. Don’t try to memorize all 22 at once.
• Write them out by hand! Your brain remembers physical writing much better than just staring at a screen.
• Don’t stress too much over the vowels. Learn the basics, but focus more on recognizing the consonants, as that’s how real Hebrew is read.
• Find words you already know, like names. Try writing your own name in Hebrew letters!

With a little practice, your brain will adapt, and reading from right to left will feel completely natural.