Help:IPA/Hebrew
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The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Modern Hebrew language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. Since Modern Hebrew has both non-Oriental and Oriental pronunciations in Israel, certain letters may be transcribed differently depending on the background of the speaker. See Hebrew phonology for a more thorough look at the sounds of Hebrew.
- Note: An image of the chart is also available.
| IPA Classical | IPA Modern | Letter(s) | Romanization | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| b | בּ (Beť dǝgušah) | b | bet | |
| d | דּ (Daleť dǝgušah) | d | dark | |
| ð | d | ד (Ďaleť rafah) | ď, dh, d | this |
| f | פ ף (Fei rafah) | f or p̄ | fool | |
| ɡ | גּ (Gimel dǝgušah) | g | go | |
| ɣ | ɡ | ג (Ǧimel rafah) | ǧ, gh, g | go |
| h | ה (Hei) | h | hen | |
| ħ[1] | χ | ח (Ḥeť) | ḥ or ch | no English equivalent; like hen but with the tongue against the pharynx |
| j | י (Yoď) | y | yes | |
| k | כּ (Kaf dǝgušah) |
k | skin | |
| l | ל (Lameď) | l | left | |
| m | מ ם (Mem) | m | man | |
| n | נ ן (Nun) | n | no | |
| p | פּ (Pei dǝgušah) | p | spin | |
| q[1] | k | ק (Qof) | q or k | k is equivalent to skin. q has no English equivalent; like cup but with the tongue further back |
| r[2] | ʁ | ר (Resh) | r | Somewhat like run/French rouge |
| s | ס (Samekh) שׂ (Sin smalit) |
s | see | |
| sˤ | ts[3] | צ ץ (Ṣadi) | ṣ, ts (or tz) | cats |
| ʃ | שׁ (Šin Yemanit) | š or sh | she | |
| t | תּ (Taw) | t | sting | |
| tˤ | t | ט (Ṭeť) | ṭ, t | sting |
| θ | t | ת (Ťaw) | ť, th, t | thing |
| v | ב (Veť rafah) |
v | voice | |
| w | v | ו (Vav) | v | vote |
| w[4] | וו (double Vav) | w | we | |
| x | χ | ח (Chet)[1] כ ך (Ǩaf rafah) |
ǩ or ch/kh | Similar to Scottish loch |
| z | ז (Zayin) | z | zoo | |
| ʕ[1] | ʔ | ע (Ayin) | ʿ or ' | no English equivalent |
| ʔ | א (Alef) |
ʾ or ' | uh-(ʔ)oh | |
| IPA | Letter(s) | Romanisation | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| dʒ[3] | ג׳ (Gimel with gereš) | ǧ or j | joy |
| ð | ד׳ (Dalet with geresh) | ď, dh | this |
| ŋ | נג (Nun-Gimel) | ng | ring |
| ʒ | ז׳ (Zayin with geresh) | ž | beige |
| tʃ[3] | צ׳ ץ׳ (Ṣadi with geresh) | č or ch | chair |
| θ | ת׳ (Tav with geresh) | th | thing |
| IPA Classical | IPA Modern | Letter(s) | Romanisation | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a | a | father | ||
| e | e | bed | ||
| ɛ | e | ɛ, e | bed | |
| ǝ | e, ∅ | ǝ, e | bed | |
| i | י |
i | see | |
| o | ֹ (Holam alone), וֹ (with any mater lectionis) | o | story | |
| ɔ | o | ָ (Kamatz katan) | ɔ, o | story |
| a | ָ (Kamatz) | ɔ, a | all | |
| u | וּ (Vav with shuruk), |
u | boot | |
| IPA | Letter(s) | Romanization | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ei | י |
ei | day |
| ai | י |
ai | why |
| oi | וֹי (Vav with holam male-Yud) | oi | boy |
| ui | וּי (Vav with shuruq-Yud) | ui | we |
| ao (rare) | או (Alef-Vav) | ao | cow |
| ju (rare) | יוּ (Yud-Vav with shuruk) | yu | cute |
| ij (rare) | יְ i.e. "נִיְלֵן" [nijˈlen] |
iy | like see |
| IPA | Explanation |
|---|---|
| ˈ | Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable): אֹכֶל ('food') /ˈʔoχel/, אוֹכֵל ('eating' [participle]) /ʔoˈχel/ |
| ˌ | Secondary stress, e.g. הַאֻמְנָם? ('oh, really?') /ˌhaʔumˈnam/ |
| ː | Long vowels (in Tiberian Hebrew) can be transcribed using the IPA gemination sign ː: the word for "hand" would be יָד /jaːd/ in absolute state and יַד־ /jad/ in construct state.[5] Indicating normative consonant gemination uses a double consonant: גַּנָּב ('a thief') /ɡanˈnav/ not /ɡaˈnːav/ |
Notes[edit]
- ^ a b c d In Modern Israeli Hebrew, /ħ, ʕ, q/ have merged with /χ, ʔ, k/ respectively, but /ħ, ʕ/ are still distinguished by Oriental Hebrew speakers.
- ^ is uvular for most speakers, but a few speakers, mostly Orientals, and some news broadcasters, retain an alveolar pronunciation: [r]~[ɾ].
- ^ a b c /dʒ, ts, tʃ/ are officially written with a tie-bar in the IPA /d͡ʒ, t͡s, t͡ʃ/ respectively, but the tie-bar is omitted for simplification.
- ^ In Modern Israeli Hebrew, /w/ appears in a few words, mostly loanwords: וואו (wow) /waw/. In some words that originally had /w/, it is approximated to [v].
- ^ Vowel length and quality in Tiberian Hebrew is a matter of debate, and that is just one possible example.