Vowel spelling
Pronunciation and reading techniques
Some Hebrew letters have special dot inside - 'dagesh' (דגש), this refers to the exact ways alphabet letters can sound. Other dots and symbols outside letters are desined to express vowels and syllables correctly. Both are part of the 'nikud' (ניקוד) system.
Sample: 'BEIT KNESET'
'House of meeting' = 'Synagogue'
Below you can see the list of 'nikud' which indicate vowel sounds.
Patach (פַּתָּח)
Classic [A] sound. Note: Patach on a letters ח, ע and ה at the end of any word is sounded before the letter, not after.
Hataf Patach (חֲטַף פַּתַח)
Shorter [a], in Modern Hebrew difference does not matter at all (and rarely occurs).
Kamatz Gadol (קָמָץ גָּדוֹל)
In Modern Hebrew also expresses [a], but in Yemenite and Ashkenazi pronunced as [o].
Kamatz Katan (קָמָץ קָטָן)
Sometimes is illustrated by the longer Kamatz symbol, but not always (not to be confused with Kamatz Gadol). Pronunced as [o], but the exact sound can be different in phonetic groups.
Hataf Kamatz (חֲטַף קָמַץ)
Shorter [o], in Modern Hebrew difference does not matter at all (and rarely occurs).
Holam (חוֹלָם)
Classic [o] sound.
Holam Male (חוֹלָם מָלֵא)
Pronunced as [o] sound, in fact ו becomes vowel.
Hiriq (חִירִיק)
Classic [i] sound.
Hiriq Male (חִירִיק מָלֵא)
Pronunced as [i] sound, in fact י becomes vowel.
Kubutz (קֻבּוּץ)
Classic [u] sound.
Shuruk (שׁוּרוּק)
Pronunced as [u] sound, in fact ו becomes vowel.
Tsere (צֵירֵי)
Classic [e] sound. In some phonetic groups there are differences between Tsere and Segol, but definitely not in Modern Hebrew.
Segol (סֶגּוֹל)
Classic [ɛ/e] sound. In some phonetic groups there are differences between Tsere and Segol, but definitely not in Modern Hebrew.
Hataf Segol (חֲטַף סֶגּוֹל)
Shorter [ɛ/e], in Modern Hebrew difference does not matter at all (and rarely occurs).
Shva (שְׁוָא)
The most complex 'nikud', it can express either lack of sound or sorts of [ɛ/e] sound. Lunguistic rules are rather complex here, but in Modern Hebrew it can be read intuitively.