Help:IPA for 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 | Letter(s) | Romanization | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| b | בּ (Bet Dgusha) | b | bet |
| d | ד (Dalet) | d | dark |
| dʒ[1] | ג׳ (Gimel with geresh) | ǧ or j | joy |
| f | פ ף (Fei Rafa) | f or p̄ | fool |
| ɡ | ג (Gimel) | g | go |
| h | ה (Hei) | h | hen |
| ħ[2] | ח (Chet) | ḥ or ch | no English equivalent; like hen but with the tongue against the pharynx |
| j | י (Yud) | y | yes |
| k | כּ (Kaph Dgusha) ק (Qoph) |
k | skin |
| l | ל (Lamed) | l | left |
| m | מ ם (Mem) | m | man |
| n | נ ן (Nun) | n | no |
| p | פּ (Pei dgusha) | p | spin |
| q[2] | ק (Qoph) | q or k | no English equivalent; like cup but with the tongue further back |
| r[3] | ר (Resh) | r | Somewhat like run |
| ʁ[3] | French rouge | ||
| s | ס (Samech) שׂ (Sin Smalit) |
s | see |
| ʃ | שׁ (Shin Yemanit) | š or sh | she |
| t | ט (Tet) ת (Tav) |
t | sting |
| ts[1] | צ ץ (Tsadi) | ts (or tz) | cats |
| tʃ[1] | צ׳ ץ׳ (Tsadi with geresh) | č or ch | chair |
| v | ב (Vet Rapha) ו (Vav) וו (double Vav) |
v or ḇ/w | voice |
| w[4] | וו (double Vav) ו (Vav) |
w | we |
| χ | ח (Chet)[2] כ ך (Chaph Rafa) |
ḥ/ḵ or ch/kh | Similar to Scottish loch |
| z | ז (Zayin) | z | zoo |
| ʒ | ז׳ (Zayin with geresh) | ž | beige |
| ʔ | א (Aleph) ע (Ayin)[2] |
ʾ or ' | uh-(ʔ)oh |
| ʕ[2] | ע (Ayin) | ʿ or ' | no English equivalent |
| IPA | Letter(s) | Romanisation | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ð | ד׳ (Dalet with geresh) | th | this |
| ŋ | נג (Nun-Gimel) | ng | ring |
| θ | ת׳ (Tav with geresh) | th | thing |
| IPA | Letter(s) | Romanisation | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| a | ָ (Kamatz),  (Patach) |
a | father |
| e |  (Zeire),  (Segol),  (Shva) |
e | bed |
| i | י (Hiriq-Yud), (Hiriq) |
i | see |
| o | ֹ (Holam alone), וֹ (with any mater lectionis), ָ (Kamatz katan) | o | story |
| u | וּ (Vav with shuruk),  (Kubutz) |
u | boot |
| IPA | Letter(s) | Romanization | English approximation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ei | י (Segol-Yud), (Zeire) |
ei | day |
| ai | י (Patach-Yud), ָי (Kamatz-Yud) |
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(Hiriq-Yud with Shva Nach) 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. הֲאֻמְנָם? ('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 /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.
- ^ a b c d e In Modern Israeli Hebrew, /ħ, ʕ, q/ have merged with /χ, ʔ, k/ respectively, but /ħ, ʕ/ are still distinguished by Oriental Hebrew speakers.
- ^ a b /ʁ/ is uvular for most speakers, but a few speakers, mostly Orientals, retain an alveolar pronunciation: [r]~[ɾ].
- ^ 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.
