|
Notice - This page uses Hebrew fonts. It is tested for use in Firefox and MS Internet Explorer
browsers on PC compatible computers.
You can download Firefox for free here. You may need to change the browser encoding to UTF-8 (Click View in the
browser menu and then select Encoding or Character Encoding and select UTF-8.). If you cannot see Hebrew on this page
please contact us
If you already know the rudiments of the the
Hebrew Alphabet,
here is a quick cheat sheet that will boost your vocabulary with a lot of useful words, and your reading skills, in
minutes.
Vocabulary
Remember - the Hebrew is read from RIGHT to LEFT.
| English |
Hebrew Pronunciation |
Hebrew |
| Alphabet |
Ahlehph Beht |
אלף בית |
| Radio |
Rah' dyo |
רדיו |
| Video |
Vee' dee oh |
וידיאו |
| Seminar |
Sehmi' nahr |
סמינר |
| University |
oo nee vehr' see tah |
אוניברסיטה |
| January |
Yah nu' ahr |
ינואר |
| February |
Fehb ru' ahr |
פברואר |
| March |
Mehrts |
מרץ |
| April |
Ah' preel |
אפריל |
| May |
Mahy (almost like "My") |
מאי |
| June |
You' ni (almost like "uni") |
יוני |
| July |
You' li |
יולי |
| August |
Ahou' (like "ouch") goost |
אוגוסט |
| September |
Sehp tehm' behr |
ספטמבר |
| October |
Ohk toe' behr |
אוקטובר |
| November |
No vehm' behr |
נובמבר |
| December |
Deh tzem' behr |
דצמבר |
| Ink |
Dyo |
דיו |
| To me |
li |
לי |
Of course, you already knew most of those words in English. And you should be aware that some of the rules of
pronunciation are broken for foreign words and often they make no sense. BUT you learned some things about how to
pronounce SOME syllables and words and where you have to be careful:
לי
This is usually, but not always pronounced "Lee." Do you know when it might be "Lai"?
ו- The Vav is the Hebrew joker. it makes life interesting. It can be "oo" "oh" "v" or even "w."
It all depends. וי can be pronounced "oi" as in נוי - "noy" - meaning
"beautification" (approximately). or it can be pronounced "vi" as in וידיאו.
יו can be pronounced "yo" as in דיו and רדיו, or it
can be "v" as in אבותיו (his ancestors -"Avotahv") or עובדיו
(his workers - "Ohvdahv"). The same letters can stand for very different sounds. That is why reading Hebrew is harder for people who learn to read syllable by
syllable and easier if you learn to read whole words. If you laboriously learn Hebrew by the syllabic method, using
"dots" and reciting "AH" "EE" "OH" "OO" "HE" "BA" "BI" "BOH" "BOOH" "BEH" etc. you will be able to read a very
limited number of words. When you get to the "real thing" - reading signs, menus, newspapers and books without vowel
signs you will repeatedly scream out in agony - "It is NOT FAIR!!"
See if you can figure out what these two words are (they are REAL words):
פיברגלס Google has
43,000 listings for this word -
פסבדונים - Google has over
5,000 listings for this word
Give up? Click here for the answer: Hebrew Mystery words
Hebrew Pronunciation and
Transliteration
Learning Hebrew
| 