Hebrew alphabet
A 22-letter abjad used for Hebrew and Jewish languages.
The Hebrew alphabet, also known as the aleph-bet, Ktav Ashuri, Jewish script, square script, and block script, is a unicameral abjad script used for writing the Hebrew language. It is an offshoot of the Imperial Aramaic alphabet, which flourished during the Achaemenid Empire and derives from the Phoenician alphabet. The script is used informally in Israel to write Levantine Arabic, especially among Druze, and alphabets based on it are used for other Jewish languages such as Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, and Judeo-Persian.
Quick Facts
- Languages
- Hebrew; derivations used for Yiddish, Ladino, Mozarabic, Levantine Arabic, Aramaic, Knaanic, other Jewish languages
- Time
- 2nd–1st century BCE to present
- Direction
- Right-to-left
- Sisters
- Nabataean / Syriac / Palmyrene / Edessan / Hatran / Elymaic / Mandaic / Pahlavi / Kharosthi
- Children
- Yiddish alphabet / Square Maalouli alphabet
- Unicode
- [https: · www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/U0590.pdf U+0590 to U+05FF] / Hebrew, / [https: · www.unicode.org/charts/PDF/UFB00.pdf U+FB1D to U+FB4F] / Alphabetic Presentation Forms
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters and does not have case. Five letters have different forms when used at the end of a word. Hebrew is written from right to left. Originally an abjad consisting only of consonants, it is now considered an impure abjad. Scribes devised vowel points called niqqud to indicate vowel sounds. The letters י ו ה א can function as matres lectionis, consonants used to indicate vowels. In Modern Hebrew, there is a trend toward full spelling using matres lectionis for vowels that traditionally went unwritten.
Reader's Guide
The Hebrew alphabet's significance lies in its role as the script for Hebrew, the language of Jewish scripture and liturgy, and its adaptation for other Jewish languages like Yiddish, Ladino, Judeo-Arabic, and Judeo-Persian. Historically, a different script called Paleo-Hebrew was used, but the square script derived from Imperial Aramaic became standard after the Babylonian exile. The alphabet's legacy includes its use in modern Israel for everyday writing, with niqqud typically absent except in specialized contexts. The Yiddish alphabet, a modified version, is a true alphabet with all vowels rendered. The Hebrew alphabet's influence extends to its informal use for writing Levantine Arabic in Israel. Its development from the Proto-Canaanite alphabet through Aramaic connects it to other Semitic scripts like Arabic.
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