Alef

Classification: formative, guttural, mater lectionis

Sequence: 1 / Value: 1

Pictograph: The Ox / Bull / Living Animal

Also seen as: Aleph, Alif.

Learned: Lesson 2

Name: אָלֶף‎

Alef normally represents a glottal stop, like the gap in the English word “ut-oh”, and is essentially a silent letter. Like all Hebrew consonants, it can carry a vowel with it. For this reason, it is often used as a placeholder consonant at the beginning of words that otherwise start with a vowel sound.

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aspirated, voiceless, mother letters, quiescent