The Hebrew alphabet in order: every letter, its number, name and sound

The 22 letters in order

Position — letter — name — sound — numeric value.

• 1 א alef — silent vowel carrier — 1
• 2 ב bet — b / v — 2
• 3 ג gimel — g — 3
• 4 ד dalet — d — 4
• 5 ה he — h — 5
• 6 ו vav — v, or o / u — 6
• 7 ז zayin — z — 7
• 8 ח chet — throaty kh — 8
• 9 ט tet — t — 9
• 10 י yod — y, or i — 10
• 11 כ kaf — k / kh, final ך — 20
• 12 ל lamed — l — 30
• 13 מ mem — m, final ם — 40
• 14 נ nun — n, final ן — 50
• 15 ס samech — s — 60
• 16 ע ayin — silent in modern Israeli Hebrew — 70
• 17 פ pe — p / f, final ף — 80
• 18 צ tzadi — ts, final ץ — 90
• 19 ק kuf — k — 100
• 20 ר resh — soft r — 200
• 21 ש shin — sh, or s as שׂ — 300
• 22 ת tav — t — 400

The five final forms

Five letters change shape when they end a word — כ→ך, מ→ם, נ→ן, פ→ף, צ→ץ. The sound does not change; only the shape drops below the line. Israelis call them אוֹתִיּוֹת סוֹפִיּוֹת (otiyot sofiyot).

Why the numbers matter

Hebrew letters double as numerals, which is why the number 18 is written י"ח and read chai (חַי, 'alive') — the reason 18 is the traditional gift amount at Jewish celebrations. Chapter numbers, Hebrew dates and holiday names (ט"ו בשבט) all use the same system.

The fastest way to learn the order

Learn it in the chunks Israeli children sing: alef-bet-gimel-dalet / he-vav-zayin-chet-tet / yod-kaf-lamed-mem-nun / samech-ayin-pe-tzadi / kuf-resh-shin-tav. Then read a vocalised song line on Shir-ly and name each letter as you go — recognition inside real words is the only test that counts.

Frequently asked questions