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Aleph-Bet Lesson 8 — ס ק
Lessons on the
Hebrew Aleph-Bet
Introduction
1 א בּ ת • E
2 ב ה נן • E
3 מם שׁשׂ • E
4 ל ו • E
5 ד ר י • E
6 ג ז ח • E
7 ט ככּך • E
8 ס ק • E
9 ע פפּף • E
10 צץ • E
Review
Test • Answers
• talk

Welcome to the eighth lesson of the Hebrew alphabet! In this relatively short lesson you will learn two new Hebrew letters - ס and ק.

Letters

Samekh

ס The fifteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet is Samekh. Like Sin, it makes the "s" sound (IPA: /s/, "s" as in "safe").

Qof

ק The nineteenth letter in the Hebrew alphabet is Qof (many Israelis pronounce the letter's name as "Quf"). Like Kaf, it makes the "k" sound (IPA: /k/, "k" as in "kitten").

In order to make the distinction between Qof and Kaf (something which will assist you in spelling), Qof is transliterated as a Q. Traditionally, Qof is pronounced as IPA: /q/, same as Kaf only that you make the sound deeper in your throat. The International Phonetic Alphabet symbol for this sound, as well as the common transliteration of it in Semitic languages, is Q - which is why this letter was chosen for that purpose.

Full Writing - Ktiv Malei

As we have already learned, in most texts niqqud aren't written. But there are some letters - Aleph, Vav and Yod - that also produce the "a", "o", "u" and "i" sounds respectively. How can these be expressed when there are no vowels?

These letters are used to assist the reader in distinguishing between words. For instance:

Ktiv ħasser ("empty writing, with niqqud, without vowel letters):
מִטָּה mitah bed
Ktiv malei ("full writing", without niqqud, with vowel letters):
מיטה mitah bed

This form - without niqqud, but with vowel letters for support - is known as ktiv malei "full writing" - because it incorporates the "full" form of the word, with the most letters.

Note: There is no vowel letter for the "e" sound, though it's supposed to be Yod. Also, Aleph is rarely used in Hebrew as a vowel letter, mostly in foreign words (as in וָארְשָׁה varshah Warsaw).

Words

סְלִיחָה sliħah excuse me, pardon, sorry, forgiveness (feminine, singular)
דַּקָּה daqqah minute, thin (feminine, singular)
סֻכּוֹת sukkot Sukkot, Feast of Booths, Feast of Tabernacles (Jewish holiday) (feminine, plural) (full writing: סוכות)
סִימָן siman sign, symbol, mark[1]‏ (masculine, singular)
סָגֹל sagol purple (masculine, singular) (FW: סגול)
קוֹף qof monkey, ape (masculine, singular)
קֶמַח qemaħ flour (masculine, singular)
מַס mas tax (masculine, singular)

Summary

In this lesson, you've learned:

  • The letters Samekh ס and Qof ק.
  • The words סְלִיחָה, דֵּקָּה, סֻכּוֹת, סִימָן, סָגֹל, קוֹף, קֶמַח and מַס.
  • "Full writing" - writing with vowel letters replacing niqqud symbols.

Practice what you've learned in the exercises.

Next lesson: Aleph-Bet 9 >>>

Notes

  1. ↑ Ancient loanword from Greek (σημανσις semansis).
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