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Hebrew 101: Lesson 4
Gutturals and Hatafs
Guttural Letters
Hebrew has five guttural letters that have special pronunciation and grammatical rules:
א ה ח ע ר
Alef (א), He (ה), Chet (ח), Ayin (ע), Resh (ר)
What makes them special? Guttural letters:
- Cannot take a dagesh chazak (strong dagesh)
- Often require compensatory lengthening of preceding vowels
- Prefer certain vowels (especially "a" sounds)
Hataf Vowels (חֲטָפִים)
Hataf vowels are ultra-short vowels that typically appear with guttural letters:
| Hataf | Name | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| חֲ | Hataf Patach | short "a" |
| חֱ | Hataf Segol | short "e" |
| חֳ | Hataf Kamatz | short "o" |
These hatafs sound shorter than regular vowels, though in modern Hebrew the difference is subtle.