Key to Modern Hebrew

יותֵר גדול bigger יום day

יחד together ימין (right (direction

אני יודעת (I know (f אני יודֵע ( I know (m

יֵש there is/are יופי slang) great)

yood/ in the Middle of a Word - 1.18.2

Because yood in the middle of a word could also be a vowel indicator, as in the word for "song" שיר , Modern Hebrew often doubles the letter yood to signal its consonantal value as /y/. For example:

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"tourist" /tah-yahr/ תייר

"soldier" (f) /xah-YEH-leht חיֶילֶת

Note: The rule of doubling the yood is not always observed. This is especially true in the spelling of personal names like

טלְיָה /TAL-ya/ בתְיָה /BAT-ya/ יִרְמיָהו /yer-mi-YAH-hu/

We will not double the yood in words with the following pattern:

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בַיִת /house /BAY-yit

ייִן / wine /yah-yin

קיִץ /summer /kah-yitz

מַיִם /water /MAH-yeem

עַיִן /the letter ayeen, eye /AH-yeen

A note to the teacher - על המורה להסביר שמאוחר יותר (לא עכשיו!) יוסבר שאין לכתוב יו"ד כפולה אחר אותיות השימוש, פרט ללמ"ד שבצוּרת המקור: לייצא, לייעל)

The location of the vowel mark when a double yood is written

Since the double writing of yood is a way to clarify the reading of the yood as a consonant, you normally will not see both a vowel symbol and the double yood. However should nikkud be provided, the vowel symbol is placed under the first yood. For example: חיָיל .

Chapter One - Part Six
The Letter Vahv וו as a Consonant /vahv/ = /v/ 1.14.3 100.00 % When the vahv occurs as a consonant in the middle of a word, it is written twice to show that it has the sound of /v/ and is not a vowel indicator for /oh/ or /oo/. Write: "bachelor" /rah-vahk/ רווק "hope" /tihk-vah / תיקְווה "Neck" /tsa-vahr/ צוואר (Notice that the א in the word צוואר is not pronounced.) The letter ג /GIH-mehl/ = /g/ Tamah3 as in "good" 1.14.4 100.00 % Use with Software Chapter 3:1 "Building Reading Proficiency", Exercise Set 4 Practice writing GIH-mehl __________________________________________________ ג "also" /gahm/_________________________________________גם "holiday" /xahg/______________________________________ חג "minute, just a minute!" /REH-gah/_______________________ רֶגע "big" (m) /gah-dohl/ _________________________ גדול "big (f.)" /ge-doh-lah/________________________________ גְדולה Practice Reading: בְבקשה לִקְרוא גדול גְדולה רֶגע אחרֵי לְהקְשיב תיקְווה בְּקול איי אוי אוּי Diphthongs: /ahy/, /ohy/, and /ooy/ 1.14.6 A diphthong is a combination of two vowel sounds. For example: /ah/ + /ee/ = /ahy/ as in "rye". Notice that we write /ahy/ in Hebrew with a double yood as a signal to the reader not to read /ih/. my songs" /shih-rahy/ שיריי 26
100.00 % איי אוי אוּי Diphthongs: /ahy/, /ohy/, and /ooy Listen, then Write my songs" /shih-rahy/ ________________________________ שיריי "enough" /dahy/_________________________________________ דיי "desirable" /rah-tsooy/___________________________________ רצוּי "oy" /ohy/______________________________________________ אוי "after me" /ah-xah-rahy/________________________________ אחריי BUT...Inconsistencies do exist: for example, the dipthong /ahy/ with one yood /oo-lahy/ "perhaps" אוּלי שיר - A SONG IS NOT JUST WORDS - A SONG IS A BEGINNING 1.15 100.00 % Here are the next two lines of the song you are learning: Practice reading them. A song is a beginning שיר שיר הוּא התְחלה Sing a song of great hope. שירוּ שיר תיקְווה גְדולה Now copy these two lines in Hebrew. Read them from your own writing. שיר שיר הוּא התְחלה שירוּ שיר תיקְווה גְדולה 1.16 הדגֵש - THE DOT INSIDE A LETTER: /dah-GEHSH Use with Software Chapter 1:14 "The Use of the Dagesh" The dot, called a dah-gehsh, inside the letter ב indicates that the letter has the sound /b/. However, in texts without nikkud the dah-gehsh דגֵש is omitted— even when the ב is to be pronounced /b/ and not /v/. (The דגֵש is included in poetry, prayer books and biblical texts since these texts include full nikkud.) In our course we will include the דגֵש at first, to help you during the initial period of learning Hebrew. Note that בּ and ב are simply alternate pronunciations of a single letter. They are not considered two separate letters— despite the difference in sound. 27
Although the several rules related to the use of the דגֵש are quite regular, it is not necessary to learn them all at this stage. For now, it is enough to note that the dot is present at the beginning of a word and not at the end of a word. בּ Review: beht = /b/ ב *veht = /v/* 1.16.1 Use with Software Chapter 3:1 "Building Reading Proficiency", Exercise Set 5 Listen to all the audio, then write in the words 100.00 % עברית____________ Hebrew מחְבֶּרֶת__________ notebook שבּת_____________ Sabbath במחְבֶּרֶת__________ in the notebook לְהקְשיב__________ to listen בקְבּוּק___________ bottle תֵל־אביב_______________________ Tel Aviv שבּת שלום_____________________ Sabbath greeting ּפּ *PEH = /p/* פ FEH = */f/* 1.16.2 Look for the dot inside the letter. As in the case of בּ and ב, the /dah-gehsh/ דגֵש in the ּ פּ indicates how this letter is to be pronounced. Like the בּ and ב, the פּ and פ are only one letter, not two. The דגֵש is a mark to guide the reader in pronunciation. It is not supplied in Hebrew where the nikkud is not included! The פ is always /p/ at the beginning of a word, and /f/ at the end of a word. You will learn to know when to read a פּ as פ or בּ as ב as we proceed. 28
1.16.2.1 לקרוא ולִכְתוב Read and write these words and phrases Look for the dot inside the letter: Write feh_____________ פ Write peh ______________ פּ 100.00 % עוד פּעם once again מפּה map יופי !slang) great) אֵיפֹה where מפְתֵח key 1.17 ביטוּיים CLASSROOM PHRASES 100.00 % Here are a few phrases that your teacher uses in class. You know most of the letters in these words. Listen and repeat in chorus as they are pronounced by your teacher. בְבקשה בְּיחד בְּבקשה לְהקשיב עוד פּעם! מהֵר מִדיי לחזור אחריי יותר גדול *י - THE LETTER YOOD* AS A CONSONANT - 1.18** יי DOUBLE YOOD and י YOOD /yood/ at the beginning of a word 1.18.1 Remember: When writing yood, you begin at the height of the regular letters, but use only half of the line.____________________________ י 29
*When the yood* appears at the beginning of a word, it sounds like /y/** 100.00 % יותֵר גדול bigger יום day יחד together ימין (right (direction אני יודעת (I know (f אני יודֵע ( I know (m יֵש there is/are יופי slang) great) yood/ in the Middle of a Word - 1.18.2 *Because yood* in the middle of a word could also be a vowel indicator, as in the word for "song" שיר , Modern Hebrew often doubles the letter yood to signal its consonantal value as /y/. For example: 100.00 %** "tourist" /tah-yahr/ תייר "soldier" (f) /xah-YEH-leht חיֶילֶת Note: The rule of doubling the yood is not always observed. This is especially true in the spelling of personal names like טלְיָה /TAL-ya/ בתְיָה /BAT-ya/ יִרְמיָהו /yer-mi-YAH-hu/ We will not double the yood in words with the following pattern: 100.00 % בַיִת /house /BAY-yit ייִן / wine /yah-yin קיִץ /summer /kah-yitz מַיִם /water /MAH-yeem עַיִן /the letter ayeen, eye /AH-yeen A note to the teacher - על המורה להסביר שמאוחר יותר (לא עכשיו!) יוסבר שאין לכתוב יו"ד כפולה אחר אותיות השימוש, פרט ללמ"ד שבצוּרת המקור: לייצא, לייעל) *The location of the vowel mark when a double yood* is written** Since the double writing of yood is a way to clarify the reading of the yood as a consonant, you normally will not see both a vowel symbol and the double yood. However should nikkud be provided, the vowel symbol is placed under the first yood. For example: חיָיל . 30