Shewa and dagesh

Two small signs that decide the sound

After the vowels, two little marks remain. Look at the first and fifth words of Genesis 1:1.

Under the first letter of בְּרֵאשִׁית, "bereshit", sit two vertical dots called a shewa (ְ), and inside the same letter is a dot. In הַשָּׁמַיִם, "hashamayim", there is a dot inside the ש. A dot inside a letter is a dagesh. These two signs often decide how a word is pronounced.

Shewa: sounded or silent

A shewa means that the consonant has no vowel of its own. Whether it is heard depends on where it stands.

First, a shewa at the beginning of a word is sounded as a short "e". In בְּרִית the first syllable is "be", not "b", and בְּרֵאשִׁית is read "be-re-shit". Remember that a vowel is read after its consonant, so בְּ is b plus e.

Second, a shewa at the end of a word, or at the end of a syllable, is silent. In דֶּרֶךְ, "derekh", the last letter ךְ carries a shewa, but the word simply ends on "kh". In the middle of a word, a shewa after a short vowel is usually silent too, closing the syllable before it. In וּמַלְכִּי, "umalki" (the start of Melchizedek's name), the shewa under ל just closes the syllable "mal". After a long vowel a shewa is usually sounded. This is a rule of thumb, not a law, so when in doubt look at the panel's transliteration; a sounded shewa appears as an e.

Dagesh: two jobs

The dagesh does one of two things.

First, in the six letters ב ג ד כ פ ת it marks the hard sound. With the dot the sound is hard, and without it three of the letters soften.

In the academic pronunciation used here, ג, ד and ת sound the same with or without the dot, so only ב, כ and פ really change. As a rule of thumb, these letters have the dot when they begin a word and lose it directly after a vowel. Teachers often call these six letters "begadkefat", after their sounds.

Second, in any other letter a dagesh doubles the consonant. The ש of הַשָּׁמַיִם is doubled in careful classical reading, "hashshamayim", but modern Hebrew usually does not double, and the panel's transliteration "hashamayim" does not show it. So treat the dot as "this letter is doubled" and do not worry about it; this course's sound guides do not show the doubling either. One more caution: the dot in the middle of וּ is not a dagesh; it is the vowel "u" from the last lesson.

Reading words

Check each dot as you read.

בְּרִית, "berit", means "covenant", about 280 times. The first letter has a dagesh and is b; its shewa is at the start of a word, so it is sounded: "be". In Genesis 15:18 this is the covenant the LORD makes with Abram. בְּרִית

On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land — from the river of Egypt to the great River Euphrates —

Genesis 15:18

הַכָּבוֹד contains כָּבוֹד, "kavod", "glory", about 200 times. The first כּ has a dagesh and is k; the ב has none and is v. It is a good word for seeing both kinds side by side. In Psalm 24:7 it is the "King of Glory". כָּבוֹד

דֶּרֶךְ, "derekh", is "way", about 330 times. The first ד has a dagesh, but it is d either way; the final ךְ has no dagesh and is kh, with a silent shewa. In Proverbs 14:12, "There is a way that seems right to a man", it is the "way". דֶּרֶךְ

תּוֹרַת, "torat", is the shape that תּוֹרָה, "torah", "instruction" or "law", takes when it is joined to the next word, as in "the law of the LORD". The panel calls this shape construct, and it has its own lesson later. תּוֹרָה occurs about 220 times. The ת has a dagesh, but it sounds t with or without. Psalm 19:7 opens with it.

The Law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the LORD is trustworthy, making wise the simple.

Psalm 19:7

One last case where the sound order differs from the written order. In וְרוּחַ, "veruach", the final ח has a patach under it, but it is heard before the ח: "ru-ach", not "ruch-a". A patach under a final ח (or ע) is read this way. רוּחַ

Summary

A shewa (ְ) is a short "e" at the start of a word and silent at the end of a word or syllable. A dagesh in ב כ פ makes b, k, p, whereas without it they are v, kh, f; ג, ד and ת sound the same either way here. In other letters a dagesh doubles the consonant. A patach under a final ח is read before it. You now have every rule needed for sounding out Hebrew.

Words in this lesson

• תּוֹרָהtorahinstruction219 times in the OT
• בְּרִיתberitcovenant284 times in the OT
• דֶּ֫רֶךְderekhway: conduct328 times in the OT
• כָּבוֹדkavodglory200 times in the OT

Practice