Vowels (Nikkud)

The diacritical marks below, inside, and above the consonants that indicate vowel sounds — present in the siddur and Chumash but not in the Torah scroll itself.

By The Editors

Hebrew · 2 minute read

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Summary. Hebrew’s vowels (nikkud) are diacritical marks added to the consonants, not letters in their own right. The five main vowel sounds are a, e, i, o, and u, each with two or three variant markings depending on length and stress. Nikkud are present in the siddur, in the printed Chumash, in children’s books, and in some poetry, but absent from the Torah scroll, the newspaper, ordinary signs, and most adult literature. A New Jew should master nikkud first; reading without nikkud comes later.

The Vowel Marks

Patach (a horizontal line under the letter) — short “a” as in “bat.”

Kamatz (a small T-shape under the letter) — longer “a” as in “father” (in Ashkenazi pronunciation often “o” as in “cot,” which is the historical kamatz katan).

Segol (three dots in a downward triangle) — short “e” as in “bet.”

Tzeireh (two horizontal dots side by side) — long “e” as in “they.”

Chirik (a single dot under the letter) — short “i” as in “bit.”

Chirik malei (chirik plus a yod) — long “i” as in “machine.”

Cholam (a single dot above-left of the letter, or vav with a dot) — “o” as in “go.”

Kubutz (three diagonal dots under the letter) — short “u” as in “put.”

Shuruk (a vav with a dot to its left) — long “u” as in “food.”

Sheva (two vertical dots under the letter) — either silent or a brief, schwa-like sound (the rules are technical; learn by ear).

Compound shevas — chataf-patach, chataf-segol, chataf-kamatz — brief versions of patach, segol, and kamatz, used under guttural letters.

Stress

Hebrew is typically stressed on the last syllable (milra) but often on the second-to-last (mil’eil). The stress pattern affects meaning in some cases (the famous Pesach example: ba-ATA, “you came,” vs. BA-ata, “you have come”). In the Tanakh, the trope marks (te’amim) include the stress information; in modern siddurim, the stress is sometimes marked with a small dot or stroke.

Reading Aloud

Practice reading aloud from the siddur every day. Start with familiar prayers — the Shema, the Amidah’s opening berachot. Cover the English translation; rely on the Hebrew. Slow is fine; speed comes with repetition. A vocalized Torah text (such as the Steinsaltz Chumash or Koren Shalem) is the next practice; the Torah reading in shul is the eventual test.

When Vowels Are Absent

Most Modern Hebrew (newspapers, novels, signs) and the Torah scroll itself omit nikkud. Reading without vowels requires familiarity with vocabulary and grammar — the reader supplies the vowels from knowledge of the word. This is the long-term goal, not the starting point. The siddur and the printed Chumash will keep the New Jew on solid ground for years.

Where Denominations Diverge

The vowel system is identical across all denominations and all printed Hebrew. The pronunciation of the vowels differs by community: Ashkenazi distinguishes kamatz (often “o”) from patach (“a”), and tzeireh (long “ay”) from segol (short “eh”) more sharply than Sephardi/Modern Israeli. Modern Hebrew has largely collapsed these distinctions in everyday speech.

Sources

The masoretic tradition of nikkud (developed in Tiberias and Babylonia, 6th–10th centuries CE).

Aaron ben Moses ben Asher, Sefer Dikdukei HaTe’amim.