Pronunciation of Hebrew Transliteration
Symbol | Hebrew letter it represents | How it is pronounced | Additional information |
---|---|---|---|
’ | Alef | mute, expressed as a very brief interval between the sounds preceding and following it | in the transliteration of the Eternal Book, it appears in meβat’im (in the 5th Verse), and in še’im (in the 8th Verse) |
β | Bet (when pronounced Vet) | “v” |
|
h | Hey | as an expired “h” |
|
w | Waw | “w” |
|
v | Waw | “v” |
|
ĥ | Ĥet | between the Spanish “j” or german “ch” and a strong "h" | can be pronounced like the Spanish “j” or german “ch” |
k | Kaf | “k” |
|
ķ | Kaf ( when pronounced Ķaf) | like the Spanish “j” or german “ch” |
|
‘ | ‘Ayin | indicates a guttural sound, which needs not be pronounced | |
ş | Şade | as an emphatic “s” |
|
q | Quf | “k” | Quf is a bit more guttural than Kaf, but in practice there is no need to make a difference |
š | Šin | “sh” |
|
s | Sameķ or Sin | "s" as in “soul” |
|
t and h (th) | represents the two sounds “t” and then “h” | not to be confused with the English “th” |
Vowel | How it is pronounced | Additional info |
---|---|---|
a | sometimes pronounced deep, as in “Jar”, sometimes light, as in “Advent” | pronounce within that range, and not as the other possible vocalizations of the letter A |
e | as in the first “e” of “presence” | two e are literally pronounced “e-e”, twice the same sound “e” (as the first “e” of presence), not as the sound usually rendered by “ee” in English, and which is always exclusively transliterated by i or y. |
i | as "ee” in English | stands for a long, full sound “ee” |
y | as "ee” in English | stands for a short “ee”, either before or at the end of another vowel |
ey | as a single syllable, as the “ei” in “reign” | |
ei | equal duration of the two sounds transliterated by the letters “e” and “i”, as the “ei” in “deity”. |
NOTE |
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The Holy Name YHWH is not to be literally read, as a “Y” followed by an “H”, then by a “W” and then by an “H”, but is purposely transliterated in a way which does not fully express Its actual pronunciation. |