Wikipedia:IPA for Hebrew

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"Hebrew" may refer either to Modern Israeli Hebrew, reconstructed languages such as Biblical or Mishnaic Hebrew, or to various pronunciation traditions used in liturgical settings.

[edit] Modern Hebrew

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Modern/Israeli Hebrew language pronunciations in Wikipedia articles. Since Modern Hebrew has both non-Oriental and Oriental pronunciation, 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.

[edit] IPA: Hebrew Consonants
IPA Letter(s) English Examples Romanization
b בּ (Bet) but, web b
d ד (Dalet) do, odd d
dʒ ג׳ (Gimel with geresh) gin, joy, edge j
f פ ף (Fei) fool, enough, leaf f
ɡ ג (Gimel) go, get, beg g
h ה (Hei) hen h
ħ[1] ח (Chet) Arabic Hussein ḥ/ch
j י (Yud) yes y
k כּ (Kaph) cat, kill, skin, queen, thick k
l ל (Lamed) left, bell l
m מ ם (Mem) man, tam m
n נ ן (Nun) no, tin n
p פּ (Pei) pen, spin, tip p
q ק (Qoph) Arabic qāḍī, but in modern Hebrew usually pronounced as cat q or k
ʁ[2] ר (Resh) (guttural R) (Rhotic
consonant) ex. run		 r
s ס (Samech)
שׂ (Sin)		 see, city, pass s
ʃ שׁ (Shin) she, sure, emotion, leash sh
t ט (Tet)
ת (Tav)		 two, sting, bet t
ts[3] צ ץ (Tsadi)
תס (Tav-Samech)
תשׂ (Tav-Sin)		 tsunami, pizza ts (or tz)
tʃ צ׳ (Tsadi with geresh) chair, nature, teach ch
v ב (Vet)
ו (Vav)		 voice, have v
w וו (double Vav)
ו (Vav)		 we w
χ ח (Chet)[1]
כ ך (Chaph)		 Similar to Scottish loch ch (or kh)
z ז (Zayin) zoo, rose z
ʒ ז׳ (Zayin with geresh) pleasure, beige varies
ʔ א (Aleph)
ע (Ayin)[1]		 uh-(ʔ)oh unwritten
ʕ[1] ע (Ayin) Arabic Abdullah[4]

[edit] IPA: Hebrew Vowels
IPA Letter(s) English Examples Romanization
a Hebrew Qamaz.svg (Kamatz), Hebrew Patah.svg (Patach) run, enough a
e Hebrew Zeire.svg (Zeire), Hebrew Segol.svg (Segol) bed, head, said e
ə Tilde Schwa.png (Shva na) about, bet (Shva na); silent in normative pronunciation of Shva nakh e or nothing[5]
i יHebrew Hiriq.svg(Hiriq-Yud), Hebrew Hiriq.svg(Hiriq) city, see, ski, leaf i
o וֹ‎ ֹ (Holam, alone or with any mater lectionis) story o
u וּ (Vav with shuruk), Hebrew Backslash Qubuz.svg (Kubutz) soon, through u

[edit] IPA: Hebrew Diphthongs
IPA Letter(s) English Examples Romanization
ei יHebrew Segol.svg (Segol-Yud), Hebrew Zeire.svg (Zeire) day, pain, table ei
ai יHebrew Patah.svg (Patach-Yud), יHebrew Qamaz.svg (Kamatz-Yud) fine, why ai
oi וֹי (Vav with holam male-Yud) loin, boy oi
ui וּי (Vav with shuruq-Yud) chop suey, phooey ui
ao (rare) או (Alef-Vav) town, mouse ao
ju (rare) יוּ (Yud-Vav with shuruk) cute, beauty , circular yu
ij (rare) יְHebrew Hiriq.svg(Hiriq-Yud with Shva Nach)
i.e. "נִיְלֵן" nijˈlɛn		 — iy

[edit] IPA: Marginal Sounds
IPA Letter(s) English Examples Romanization
ð ד׳ (Dalet with geresh) this, breathe, father th
ŋ נג (Nun-Gimel), ringer, sing, drink ng
θ ת׳ (Tav with geresh) thing, teeth th

[edit] IPA: Other symbols used in transcription of Hebrew pronunciation
IPA Explanation
ˈ Primary stress (placed before the stressed syllable), e.g. אֹכֶל‎‏ food /ˈʔoχel/, אוֹכֵל‎‏ eating (participle) /ʔoˈχel/
ˌ Secondary stress, e.g. הֲאֻמְנָם? oh really? /ˌhaʔumˈnam/
ː Long vowels (in Tiberian Hebrew) can be transcribed using the IPA gemination sign ː, e.g. the word hand would be יָד‎‏ /jaːd/ in absolute state and יַד־‎‏ /jad/ in construct state.[6] Indicating normative consonant gemination is done with a double consonant, e.g. גַּנָּב‎‏ a thief /ganˈnav/ not /gaˈnːav/

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c d Most speakers have merged pharyngeal /ħ, ʕ, q/ with /χ, ʔ, k/ (respectively).
  2. ^ /ʁ/ is uvular for most speakers, though Oriental dialects retain an alveolar pronunciation: [r].
  3. ^ /ts/ is also written with a tie-bar when the Hebrew script has צ ץ: /t​͡s/. The tie-bar is omitted in the above chart as it does not display correctly in all browsers.
  4. ^ Strictly speaking the A in Abdullah is pronounced [ʕa].
  5. ^ The rules for when Shva represents a pronounced vowel are different in Oriental and non-Oriental Hebrew. There are also differences between colloquial pronunciation and the prescribed norm.
  6. ^ Vowel length and quality in Tiberian Hebrew is a matter of debate; this is just one possible example

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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Hebrew · עִבְרִית
Overviews First four letters (aleph, beit, gimmel, dalet) of the Hebrew alphabet
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Alphabet

Alef · Bet · Gimel · Dalet · Hei · Vav · Zayin · Het · Tet · Yud · Kaf · Lamed · Mem · Nun · Samech · Ayin · Pei · Tsadi · Kuf · Reish · Shin · Tav
Niqqud

Shva · Hiriq · Zeire · Segol · Patach · Kamatz · Holam · Shuruk · Kubutz · Dagesh · Mappiq · Rafe · Sin/Shin Dot
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