Chirik or Hireq [אִ]

 

It is a dot under the consonant. We pronounce it in two different ways:

1-Short as [i]; e.g. שִ – Shi – וִ – Vi – רִ – Ri

2-Long as [ee].

Shva  or shewa [אְ]  

   [é] as in telephone / OR / silent

It is the semi-column [:] under the consonant.  We pronounce it in two different ways:

1-A vocal Shewa pronounced as  [é] as in telephone.  

This is usually found at the beginning of words; e.g. שְ – She – מְ – Me – רְ – Re –

2- A Shewa is silent when it is preceded such as ketah, segol and Qubutts.

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Tsira and Segol

1- Tsira – [אֵ]

[ey] or [ay]

It is two dots underneath the letter and it’s pronounced as [ey] or [ay] like in (bay)

To hear the vowel pronounced, go to youtube, and type three times the letter W followed by a DOT then type the word YOUTUBE and COM, then insert the extension:  /watch?v=bMXi6Kr9wjE

Segol – אֶ 

It is pronounced like the French letter “è” or “ê”

 

 

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Kamatz Hatuf

 

 

 

 

    This is a long [ah] sound like in (army)  or (father)

This sound may be found in slightly different variations, and depending on the type of words, may also sound differently.

 

 

Kamatz Patach – אַ

 This is a shorter [ah] sound like in (mother)

Chataf Patach – אֲ   

[ə] amuse

2- Chataf Segol

short [é] metallic

 

 

3- Chataf Kamats – אֳ

The Chataf Kamatz is pronounced as “o” commit