Almost every student who sits down with me for the first time says some version of the same thing: “The letters just look like scribbles to me.” That reaction is completely normal — Hebrew doesn’t share an alphabet family with English, so nothing looks like a shortcut you can lean on. But here’s what I’ve learned after teaching this to literally thousands of adult beginners: the Hebrew alphabet is actually one of the more consistent, rule-based writing systems you’ll ever learn. Once the shapes click, they click for good.
This chart is the same reference I hand to students in their very first session, along with the specific traps I watch people fall into every single time.
The Full Hebrew Alphabet Chart
Hebrew has 22 letters, all consonants (vowels are added separately as small marks called nikkud — more on that below). It’s also read right to left. Here’s the complete chart, including the five letters that change shape when they appear at the end of a word (called “sofit” forms).
| Letter | Name | Sound | Transliteration | Numeric Value |
| א | Aleph | silent / glottal stop | ‘ | 1 |
| ב | Bet | b (or v with no dot) | b/v | 2 |
| ג | Gimel | g (as in “go”) | g | 3 |
| ד | Dalet | d | d | 4 |
| ה | He | h | h | 5 |
| ו | Vav | v (also used as “oo”/”oh”) | v | 6 |
| ז | Zayin | z | z | 7 |
| ח | Het | guttural “kh” (back of throat) | ch/ḥ | 8 |
| ט | Tet | t | t | 9 |
| י | Yod | y | y | 10 |
| כ / ך | Kaf | k (or “kh” with no dot); ך is the end-of-word form | k/kh | 20 |
| ל | Lamed | l | l | 30 |
| מ / ם | Mem | m; ם is the end-of-word form | m | 40 |
| נ / ן | Nun | n; ן is the end-of-word form | n | 50 |
| ס | Samekh | s | s | 60 |
| ע | Ayin | silent / guttural (throat sound) | ‘ | 70 |
| פ / ף | Pe | p (or f with no dot); ף is the end-of-word form | p/f | 80 |
| צ / ץ | Tsadi | “ts” (as in “cats”) | tz | 90 |
| ק | Qof | k | q/k | 100 |
| ר | Resh | r | r | 200 |
| ש | Shin/Sin | “sh” (dot on right) or “s” (dot on left) | sh/s | 300 |
| ת | Tav | t | t | 400 |
That numeric value column isn’t decoration — Hebrew letters have traditionally doubled as numbers (this system is called gematria), which is why you’ll sometimes see Hebrew dates or chapter numbers written as letters rather than digits.
The Letters That Trip Up Almost Every Beginner
If you only remember one section from this whole guide, make it this one. In nearly forty years of teaching, the same handful of letter pairs cause 90% of beginner mistakes:
- Bet (ב) vs. Kaf (כ) — Both are boxy letters with a small foot at the bottom-left. Bet has a sharper corner; Kaf’s top curves more.
- Dalet (ד) vs. Resh (ר) — These are genuinely one of the trickiest pairs in the alphabet. Dalet has a small corner “flag” at the top right; Resh is a smooth curve with no corner at all.
- Vav (ו) vs. Yod (י) vs. final Nun (ן) vs. Zayin (ז) — These are the smallest letters, and to a new reader they can all look like “a little stick.” The differences are in exact height and whether there’s a small hook.
- He (ה) vs. Het (ח) vs. Tav (ת) — All have a similar “two-legged” shape. The gaps between the strokes, and whether the left leg touches the top bar, are what distinguish them.
I point this out not to discourage you, but because knowing in advance which letters will feel confusing means you won’t assume you’re doing something wrong when you mix them up. Everyone does, at first. It’s part of the process, not a sign you’re bad at this.
Vowels: The Piece Most Charts Leave Out
A chart of the 22 letters only gets you halfway to reading. Hebrew vowels (nikkud) are small dots and dashes placed above, below, or inside a letter, and they’re what turn a string of consonants into a pronounceable word. For example, the letters ב and ר together could be read multiple ways depending on which vowel marks are added. Beginner Hebrew texts — including most prayer books and children’s books — include these vowel marks. Advanced texts, including a plain Torah scroll, do not, which is exactly why building strong letter-and-vowel recognition early matters so much.
How to Actually Memorize the Alphabet (Not Just Look at a Chart)
Staring at a chart rarely works on its own — I’ve watched students try it and get frustrated. What works instead:
- Learn letters in small visual clusters, not alphabetical order. Group look-alikes together (like the ones above) and drill the differences between them, rather than learning all 22 in a straight line.
- Say the sound out loud every time you see the letter. Silent recognition doesn’t transfer to reading. You need the sound-to-symbol connection to become automatic.
- Write the letter by hand a few times, even if you’ll mostly be reading rather than writing. The motor memory reinforces the visual memory.
- Read real short words as soon as possible — even before you’ve “finished” learning the alphabet. Recognizing letters in isolation and recognizing them inside a word are different skills, and the second one is the one you actually need.
This is essentially the structure behind our full how to read Hebrew guide, and it’s the same sequence used in the video lessons in our Hebrew for Beginners program — letters grouped by visual similarity, drilled with sound, then applied to real words within the same session rather than saved for “later.”
Who Actually Needs to Memorize This Chart?
The honest answer is: almost anyone with a specific reason to read Hebrew, but the “why” shapes how deep you need to go.
- Preparing for a Bar or Bat Mitzvah — you’ll need solid, confident letter recognition well before tackling your Torah portion. Our Bar/Bat Mitzvah Hebrew prep page covers the full path from alphabet to reading trope.
- Studying the Bible in its original language — if that’s your goal, letter recognition is step one of a path we cover in detail in why Christians learn Biblical Hebrew.
- Teaching a child their first Hebrew letters — kids benefit hugely from the visual-clustering method above, since it turns “22 random shapes” into a handful of small, learnable groups. See our Hebrew for Kids page for an age-appropriate approach.
- General adult learners — if you just want to finally be able to read a menu, a prayer book, or street signs in Israel, the same core chart and method applies; see Hebrew for Beginners.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many letters are in the Hebrew alphabet? 22 base letters, plus 5 of them have a different “final form” used only at the end of a word — so you’ll sometimes see it referred to as 27 letter-forms in total.
Is the Hebrew alphabet the same for Modern and Biblical Hebrew? Yes — the letters themselves are identical. What differs between Biblical and Modern Hebrew is mostly vocabulary and some grammar, not the alphabet.
How long does it take to memorize the Hebrew alphabet? With focused, grouped practice rather than passive chart-reading, most adult students can recognize and sound out all 22 letters within a single dedicated learning session — though comfortable, fast reading takes ongoing practice afterward.
Do I need to learn to write Hebrew, or just read it? For most goals — prayer, Bar/Bat Mitzvah prep, Bible study — reading is the priority skill. Writing by hand is a useful memory aid but isn’t required for reading fluency.
Ready to Move Past the Chart?
A chart is a reference, not a lesson — the real skill is being able to look at a full word and read it smoothly, without mentally translating letter-by-letter every time. If you’re ready to build that skill with guided video instruction rather than static charts, take a look at our full Hebrew for Beginners program.