{
  "url": "https://workbench-jerusalem-salt.thenewjew.org/articles/how-to-read-the-transliterations.json",
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  "format": "json",
  "type": "article",
  "title": "How to Read the Transliterations",
  "summary": "Four columns sit alongside the Hebrew. Three of them represent how real communities pronounce the prayers. One represents the letters themselves. Pick the one that matches the room you daven in, or the one that matches what you’re trying to learn.",
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      "title": "How to Read the Transliterations",
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    "article": {
      "slug": "how-to-read-the-transliterations",
      "title": "How to Read the Transliterations",
      "lede": "Four columns sit alongside the Hebrew. Three of them represent how real communities pronounce the prayers. One represents the letters themselves. Pick the one that matches the room you daven in, or the one that matches what you’re trying to learn.",
      "summary": "A guide to the Israeli, Sephardic, Chabad, and Orthographic transliteration columns in the digital siddur: how stress is marked, what the pronunciation marks mean, and which Hebrew letter distinctions each column keeps.",
      "ledeText": "Four columns sit alongside the Hebrew. Three of them represent how real communities pronounce the prayers. One represents the letters themselves. Pick the one that matches the room you daven in, or the one that matches what you’re trying to learn.",
      "summaryText": "A guide to the Israeli, Sephardic, Chabad, and Orthographic transliteration columns in the digital siddur: how stress is marked, what the pronunciation marks mean, and which Hebrew letter distinctions each column keeps.",
      "level": "orientation",
      "sectionSlug": "hebrew",
      "tags": [
        "siddur",
        "transliteration",
        "pronunciation",
        "hebrew",
        "reference"
      ],
      "publishedAt": "2026-10-26T07:16:33.713Z",
      "wordCount": 760,
      "readMinutes": 3
    },
    "section": {
      "slug": "hebrew",
      "title": "Hebrew"
    },
    "image": {
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      "title": "How to Read the Transliterations"
    },
    "blocks": [
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "In every column, **a syllable in small caps is the stressed syllable**—the one you lean on. Stress placement is the single most common thing newcomers get wrong, and it differs between these traditions, so it’s worth watching.",
        "text": "In every column, a syllable in small caps is the stressed syllable—the one you lean on. Stress placement is the single most common thing newcomers get wrong, and it differs between these traditions, so it’s worth watching."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Israeli",
        "text": "Israeli"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "**Use this if:** you daven in a Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist or Religious Zionist setting, anywhere in Israel, or if you’re learning Hebrew as a language.",
        "text": "Use this if: you daven in a Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist or Religious Zionist setting, anywhere in Israel, or if you’re learning Hebrew as a language."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "This is Modern Hebrew pronunciation—the Hebrew of Israeli streets, classrooms and ulpanim. It’s the most widely useful starting point, because every hour you spend on it also serves you outside the siddur.",
        "text": "This is Modern Hebrew pronunciation—the Hebrew of Israeli streets, classrooms and ulpanim. It’s the most widely useful starting point, because every hour you spend on it also serves you outside the siddur."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "It descends from Sephardi pronunciation, which is why it’s often labelled “Sephardi” in prayer books, but it has levelled away most of what actually distinguishes the Sephardi tradition. It’s its own thing, and we name it accordingly.",
        "text": "It descends from Sephardi pronunciation, which is why it’s often labelled “Sephardi” in prayer books, but it has levelled away most of what actually distinguishes the Sephardi tradition. It’s its own thing, and we name it accordingly."
      },
      {
        "type": "example-heading",
        "body": "Example",
        "text": "Example"
      },
      {
        "type": "code",
        "body": "le|fa|NE|cha b'ra|CHAH ba|RUCH a|TAH a|do|NAI e|lo|HEI|nu me|LECH ha-o|LAM",
        "text": "le|fa|NE|cha b'ra|CHAH ba|RUCH a|TAH a|do|NAI e|lo|HEI|nu me|LECH ha-o|LAM"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Note that `ch` covers two different Hebrew letters here, ḥet and khaf. In this tradition they genuinely sound the same, so this isn’t a shortcut—it’s accurate.",
        "text": "Note that ch covers two different Hebrew letters here, ḥet and khaf. In this tradition they genuinely sound the same, so this isn’t a shortcut—it’s accurate."
      },
      {
        "type": "table",
        "body": "| Mark | Meaning |\n| --- | --- |\n| ' | marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). |\n| - | separates syllables that would otherwise run together. |",
        "text": "Mark Meaning ' marks a reduced vowel that Israeli speech drops (b'rachah); when the vowel is pronounced it is written e (lefanecha). - separates syllables that would otherwise run together."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Sephardic",
        "text": "Sephardic"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "**Use this if:** you daven in a Sephardic or Mizrahi shul—Syrian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Turkish, Spanish-Portuguese, or a general Edot HaMizrach minyan.",
        "text": "Use this if: you daven in a Sephardic or Mizrahi shul—Syrian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Turkish, Spanish-Portuguese, or a general Edot HaMizrach minyan."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "This is Jerusalem-Sephardi pronunciation, the pan-Sephardi standard you’ll hear in Sephardi shuls in Israel and in most Sephardi communities abroad. Compared to the Israeli column it keeps several distinctions alive.",
        "text": "This is Jerusalem-Sephardi pronunciation, the pan-Sephardi standard you’ll hear in Sephardi shuls in Israel and in most Sephardi communities abroad. Compared to the Israeli column it keeps several distinctions alive."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "A doubled letter marks a dagesh: hold the consonant a beat longer, as in `at|TAH` and `rab|BAH`.",
        "text": "A doubled letter marks a dagesh: hold the consonant a beat longer, as in at|TAH and rab|BAH."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Where Israeli writes `ei`, this column writes `e`—`e|lo|HE|nu`, not Eloheinu. And short vowels are written out in full rather than clipped, so `be|ra|KHAH` rather than b’rachah. Both reflect how the tradition actually sounds.",
        "text": "Where Israeli writes ei, this column writes e—e|lo|HE|nu, not Eloheinu. And short vowels are written out in full rather than clipped, so be|ra|KHAH rather than b’rachah. Both reflect how the tradition actually sounds."
      },
      {
        "type": "example-heading",
        "body": "Example",
        "text": "Example"
      },
      {
        "type": "code",
        "body": "ba|RUKH at|TAH a|do|NAI e|lo|HE|nu me|LEKH ha|ʿo|LAM",
        "text": "ba|RUKH at|TAH a|do|NAI e|lo|HE|nu me|LEKH ha|ʿo|LAM"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The ayin takes practice. If you’re starting out, saying it as a small catch in the throat gets you most of the way there.",
        "text": "The ayin takes practice. If you’re starting out, saying it as a small catch in the throat gets you most of the way there."
      },
      {
        "type": "table",
        "body": "| Mark | Meaning |\n| --- | --- |\n| ʿ | ayin—a real consonant, made low in the throat. Not silent. |\n| ḥ | ḥet—also from the throat, but breathier. Different from kh. |\n| kh | khaf—the rasping sound in “Bach” |\n| doubled letter | a dagesh: hold the consonant a beat longer |",
        "text": "Mark Meaning ʿ ayin—a real consonant, made low in the throat. Not silent. ḥ ḥet—also from the throat, but breathier. Different from kh. kh khaf—the rasping sound in “Bach” doubled letter a dagesh: hold the consonant a beat longer"
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Chabad",
        "text": "Chabad"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "**Use this if:** you daven at a Chabad house, or in a Chabad-Lubavitch minyan.",
        "text": "Use this if: you daven at a Chabad house, or in a Chabad-Lubavitch minyan."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "This is the Chabad havara—the Ashkenazi pronunciation used in Nusach Ari communities. If you’ve heard “Shabbos” rather than “Shabbat,” or “Moideh Ani” rather than “Modeh Ani,” this is that.",
        "text": "This is the Chabad havara—the Ashkenazi pronunciation used in Nusach Ari communities. If you’ve heard “Shabbos” rather than “Shabbat,” or “Moideh Ani” rather than “Modeh Ani,” this is that."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "A caution worth stating: there is no single “Ashkenazi pronunciation.” Litvish, Hungarian, Galician and German communities each sound noticeably different, particularly in their vowels. This column represents Chabad specifically and shouldn’t be assumed to match another Ashkenazi shul.",
        "text": "A caution worth stating: there is no single “Ashkenazi pronunciation.” Litvish, Hungarian, Galician and German communities each sound noticeably different, particularly in their vowels. This column represents Chabad specifically and shouldn’t be assumed to match another Ashkenazi shul."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The main shifts from the Israeli column, if you’re translating between them in your head:",
        "text": "The main shifts from the Israeli column, if you’re translating between them in your head:"
      },
      {
        "type": "list",
        "body": "the *a*-vowel qamatz becomes **o**—*Shabbat* → *Shabbos*, *Baruch* → *Boruch*",
        "text": "the a-vowel qamatz becomes o—Shabbat → Shabbos, Baruch → Boruch"
      },
      {
        "type": "list",
        "body": "an unpointed tav becomes **s**—*tallit* → *tallis*, *brit* → *bris*",
        "text": "an unpointed tav becomes s—tallit → tallis, brit → bris"
      },
      {
        "type": "list",
        "body": "the *o*-vowel ḥolam becomes **oy**—*Shalom* → *Sholoym*",
        "text": "the o-vowel ḥolam becomes oy—Shalom → Sholoym"
      },
      {
        "type": "list",
        "body": "the stress often pulls back a syllable—*mitzVAH* → `MITZ|vah`",
        "text": "the stress often pulls back a syllable—mitzVAH → MITZ|vah"
      },
      {
        "type": "example-heading",
        "body": "Example",
        "text": "Example"
      },
      {
        "type": "code",
        "body": "bo|RUKH a|TOH a|do|NOY e|lo|HEI|nu me|LECH ho-o|LOM",
        "text": "bo|RUKH a|TOH a|do|NOY e|lo|HEI|nu me|LECH ho-o|LOM"
      },
      {
        "type": "table",
        "body": "| Mark | Meaning |\n| --- | --- |\n| ' | is a reduced vowel—every vocal shva, always pronounced. |\n| - | separates syllables that would otherwise run together. |",
        "text": "Mark Meaning ' is a reduced vowel—every vocal shva, always pronounced. - separates syllables that would otherwise run together."
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Orthographic",
        "text": "Orthographic"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "**Use this if:** you want to know what’s actually on the page.",
        "text": "Use this if: you want to know what’s actually on the page."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "This column doesn’t represent any community’s spoken Hebrew. It represents the *letters*. Where the Israeli, Sephardic and Chabad columns collapse distinctions the Hebrew still makes, this one keeps them: ḥet and khaf are written differently rather than both as “ch,” an unpointed tav is marked apart from a tav with a dagesh, and qof is marked apart from kaf.",
        "text": "This column doesn’t represent any community’s spoken Hebrew. It represents the letters. Where the Israeli, Sephardic and Chabad columns collapse distinctions the Hebrew still makes, this one keeps them: ḥet and khaf are written differently rather than both as “ch,” an unpointed tav is marked apart from a tav with a dagesh, and qof is marked apart from kaf."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "Read it when you want to know what is actually written, not how to say it aloud. It’s useful for checking a word against a dictionary or a concordance, for seeing why two words that sound identical are spelled differently, and for learning to read the pointing itself. If you’re davening along with a minyan, use the column that matches the room.",
        "text": "Read it when you want to know what is actually written, not how to say it aloud. It’s useful for checking a word against a dictionary or a concordance, for seeing why two words that sound identical are spelled differently, and for learning to read the pointing itself. If you’re davening along with a minyan, use the column that matches the room."
      },
      {
        "type": "example-heading",
        "body": "Example",
        "text": "Example"
      },
      {
        "type": "code",
        "body": "ba|RUKH ʾat|TAH ʾa|do|NAI ʾe|lo|HE|nu me|LEKH ha|ʿo|LAM",
        "text": "ba|RUKH ʾat|TAH ʾa|do|NAI ʾe|lo|HE|nu me|LEKH ha|ʿo|LAM"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "One thing this column does *not* do: it uses a plain five-vowel system and doesn’t distinguish between the different Hebrew signs that produce the same vowel sound. Consonants are fully recoverable from it; vowels are not. That was a deliberate trade to keep it readable.",
        "text": "One thing this column does not do: it uses a plain five-vowel system and doesn’t distinguish between the different Hebrew signs that produce the same vowel sound. Consonants are fully recoverable from it; vowels are not. That was a deliberate trade to keep it readable."
      },
      {
        "type": "table",
        "body": "| Mark | Meaning |\n| --- | --- |\n| ʾ | alef |\n| ʿ | ayin |\n| ḥ | ḥet |\n| ṭ | tet (as against t, which is tav) |\n| ś | sin (as against s, which is samekh) |\n| q | qof (as against k, which is kaf) |\n| th kh gh dh v f | the soft forms of tav, kaf, gimel, dalet, bet, pe |\n| doubled letter | a dagesh in the letter |",
        "text": "Mark Meaning ʾ alef ʿ ayin ḥ ḥet ṭ tet (as against t, which is tav) ś sin (as against s, which is samekh) q qof (as against k, which is kaf) th kh gh dh v f the soft forms of tav, kaf, gimel, dalet, bet, pe doubled letter a dagesh in the letter"
      },
      {
        "type": "heading",
        "body": "Which should I start with?",
        "text": "Which should I start with?"
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "**Israeli**, unless you daven somewhere that clearly uses something else. It doubles as the Hebrew language, nearly all learning materials use it, and it’s the default in most congregations you’re likely to walk into.",
        "text": "Israeli, unless you daven somewhere that clearly uses something else. It doubles as the Hebrew language, nearly all learning materials use it, and it’s the default in most congregations you’re likely to walk into."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "The mapping to the other traditions is short and regular, so learning one gives you most of the others for free. And whichever you pick—stay with it while your reading is still forming. Mixing systems is what makes this hard.",
        "text": "The mapping to the other traditions is short and regular, so learning one gives you most of the others for free. And whichever you pick—stay with it while your reading is still forming. Mixing systems is what makes this hard."
      },
      {
        "type": "paragraph",
        "body": "*Transliteration is scaffolding. The goal is to stop needing it.*",
        "text": "Transliteration is scaffolding. The goal is to stop needing it."
      }
    ],
    "related": [
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-why-learn-hebrew",
        "title": "Why Learn Hebrew?",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-why-learn-hebrew.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-the-aleph-bet",
        "title": "The Aleph-Bet",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-the-aleph-bet.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-vowels-nikkud",
        "title": "Vowels (Nikkud)",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-vowels-nikkud.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "hebrew-a-practical-learning-plan",
        "title": "A Practical Learning Plan",
        "href": "/articles/hebrew-a-practical-learning-plan.json"
      }
    ],
    "goDeeper": [
      {
        "slug": "essentials-essential-prayers-morning-blessings-birkot-hashachar",
        "title": "Morning Blessings (Birkot HaShachar)",
        "level": "essential",
        "href": "/articles/essentials-essential-prayers-morning-blessings-birkot-hashachar.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "essentials-essential-prayers-the-shema",
        "title": "The Shema",
        "level": "essential",
        "href": "/articles/essentials-essential-prayers-the-shema.json"
      },
      {
        "slug": "essentials-essential-prayers-the-amidah-shemoneh-esrei",
        "title": "The Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei)",
        "level": "essential",
        "href": "/articles/essentials-essential-prayers-the-amidah-shemoneh-esrei.json"
      }
    ],
    "glossary": {}
  },
  "links": [
    {
      "rel": "parent",
      "title": "Hebrew",
      "href": "/sections/hebrew.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Why Learn Hebrew?",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-why-learn-hebrew.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "The Aleph-Bet",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-the-aleph-bet.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Vowels (Nikkud)",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-vowels-nikkud.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "A Practical Learning Plan",
      "href": "/articles/hebrew-a-practical-learning-plan.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "Morning Blessings (Birkot HaShachar)",
      "href": "/articles/essentials-essential-prayers-morning-blessings-birkot-hashachar.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "The Shema",
      "href": "/articles/essentials-essential-prayers-the-shema.json"
    },
    {
      "rel": "related",
      "title": "The Amidah (Shemoneh Esrei)",
      "href": "/articles/essentials-essential-prayers-the-amidah-shemoneh-esrei.json"
    }
  ]
}