# Chapter 1 — Hebrew Letter Recognition Exercise

BBH Chapter 1 · Hebrew Alphabet · 30 items

Instructions: For each Hebrew letter shown, identify: (1) Letter Name, (2) Transliteration, (3) Sound, (4) Special Category (guttural / begadkephat / sofit form / normal).
Parts A–B: standard letters and sofit forms. Part C: begadkephat letters shown with dagesh lene — describe the hard pronunciation.

## Part A — Standard Letters (1–22)

# | Letter | Name | Transliteration | Sound | Special Category |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
1 | א |  |  |  |  |
✓ | א | Aleph · ʾ · Silent / glottal stop · Guttural; quiescent
2 | ב |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ב | Beth · b / v · b (hard) or v (soft) · Begadkephat (soft form — no dagesh)
3 | ג |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ג | Gimel · g / gh · g (hard) or gh (soft) · Begadkephat (soft rarely distinguished today)
4 | ד |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ד | Dalet · d / dh · d (hard) or dh (soft) · Begadkephat (soft rarely distinguished today)
5 | ה |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ה | He · h · h · Guttural; often quiescent word-finally
6 | ו |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ו | Waw · w · w (consonantal) · Normal; also mater lectionis (vowel letter for ō, û)
7 | ז |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ז | Zayin · z · z · Normal
8 | ח |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ח | Cheth · ḥ · ch as in German Bach · Guttural; cannot take Dagesh Forte
9 | ט |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ט | Teth · ṭ · emphatic t (no English equivalent) · Normal (emphatic series)
10 | י |  |  |  |  |
✓ | י | Yod · y · y as in yes (consonantal) · Normal; also mater lectionis (vowel letter for ī, ê)
11 | כ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | כ | Kaph · k / kh · k (hard) or kh as in Bach (soft) · Begadkephat; has sofit form (ך)
12 | ל |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ל | Lamed · l · l · Normal
13 | מ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | מ | Mem · m · m · Normal; has sofit form (ם)
14 | נ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | נ | Nun · n · n · Normal; has sofit form (ן)
15 | ס |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ס | Samech · s · s · Normal
16 | ע |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ע | Ayin · ʿ · Silent / pharyngeal (distinct from Aleph) · Guttural; cannot take Dagesh Forte
17 | פ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | פ | Pe · p / f · p (hard) or f (soft) · Begadkephat; has sofit form (ף)
18 | צ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | צ | Tsade · ṣ · emphatic ts · Normal (emphatic series); has sofit form (ץ)
19 | ק |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ק | Qoph · q · q (uvular, deeper than k) · Normal
20 | ר |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ר | Resh · r · r (uvular) · Behaves like guttural in some contexts; resists Dagesh Forte
21 | שׁ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | שׁ | Shin · š · sh as in sheep · Normal (shin dot on right; sin dot on left = שׂ = s)
22 | ת |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ת | Taw · t / th · t (hard) or th as in the (soft) · Begadkephat

## Part B — Final (Sofit) Forms (23–27)

Each of these letters appears only at the end of a word. Identify the letter, give its name (include "sofit"), its transliteration, sound, and note it as a sofit form.

# | Letter | Name | Transliteration | Sound | Special Category |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
23 | ך |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ך | Kaph sofit · k / kh · k (hard) or kh (soft) · Sofit form of כ — word-final only
24 | ם |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ם | Mem sofit · m · m · Sofit form of מ — word-final only; closed square shape
25 | ן |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ן | Nun sofit · n · n · Sofit form of נ — word-final only; long descending stroke
26 | ף |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ף | Pe sofit · p / f · p (hard) or f (soft) · Sofit form of פ — word-final only; also begadkephat
27 | ץ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | ץ | Tsade sofit · ṣ · emphatic ts · Sofit form of צ — word-final only; long descending tail

## Part C — Begadkephat Letters with Dagesh Lene (28–30)

Each letter below carries a dagesh lene (dot inside). Identify the letter name, transliteration, sound (hard pronunciation), and note it as begadkephat with dagesh lene.

# | Letter | Name | Transliteration | Sound | Special Category |
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---
28 | בּ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | בּ | Beth (with dagesh lene) · b · b as in boy — hard stop · Begadkephat — dagesh lene = hard pronunciation
29 | כּ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | כּ | Kaph (with dagesh lene) · k · k as in king — hard stop · Begadkephat — dagesh lene = hard pronunciation
30 | פּ |  |  |  |  |
✓ | פּ | Pe (with dagesh lene) · p · p as in pan — hard stop · Begadkephat — dagesh lene = hard pronunciation

## Reflection Questions

1. Sofit recognition: You encounter a word ending in what looks like an unfamiliar letter — a long downward stroke. How do you determine whether this is a final nun (ן) or final kaph (ך), and what does your identification tell you about the letter's base form?
2. Guttural behavior preview: Your textbook states that א and ע "cannot take Dagesh Forte." Based on what you know about guttural letters, why do you think a guttural would resist the doubling that dagesh forte produces? How might this affect vowel patterns in surrounding syllables?
3. Consonant vs. vowel letter: The letter ו appears in the middle of a word carrying a shureq dot (וּ). Is ו functioning as a consonant or as a mater lectionis in that position? What clue does the placement of the dot give you?