Letters Group 3: Mem to Tsadi (מ–צ)

In this lesson, you will learn letters 13 through 18 of the Hebrew alphabet: Mem, Nun, Samekh, Ayin, Pe, and Tsadi. This group is notable because four of the six letters (Mem, Nun, Pe, Tsadi) have final forms (sofit) — special shapes used at the end of a word.

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מ — Mem

Property	Detail
Name	Mem (מֵם)
Sound	m as in "mother"
Numerical Value	40
Block Form	מ
Final Form	ם

Mem has two forms:

Position	Form	Shape
Initial / medial	מ	Open on the bottom left
Final (sofit)	ם	Fully closed square

מַיִם (mayim) — water    (open Mem at start, closed Mem at end)
מֶלֶךְ (melekh) — king
מוֹרָה (mora) — teacher (female)

Memory aid: Final Mem (ם) is a closed box — like water sealed in a container. The word Mem itself comes from mayim (water).

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נ — Nun

Property	Detail
Name	Nun (נוּן)
Sound	n as in "no"
Numerical Value	50
Block Form	נ
Final Form	ן

Nun has two forms:

Position	Form	Shape
Initial / medial	נ	Short, sits on the baseline
Final (sofit)	ן	Long, descends below the baseline

נֵר (ner) — candle
נָהָר (nahar) — river
בֵּן (ben) — son        (final Nun ן at the end)

Tip: Final Nun (ן) looks like a long vertical line descending below the writing line — do not confuse it with Vav (ו), which sits on the line.

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ס — Samekh

Property	Detail
Name	Samekh (סָמֶךְ)
Sound	s as in "sun"
Numerical Value	60
Block Form	ס

Samekh is a round, closed letter — one of the few fully enclosed shapes in Hebrew. It makes the same "s" sound as Sin (שׂ) in modern Hebrew.

סֵפֶר (sefer) — book
סוּס (sus) — horse
סוֹף (sof) — end

Samekh vs Final Mem — Key Distinction

Letter	Feature
ס (Samekh)	Round / oval shape
ם (Final Mem)	Square / rectangular shape

Tip: Samekh is smooth and round; final Mem is more angular.

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ע — Ayin

Property	Detail
Name	Ayin (עַיִן)
Sound	Silent in modern Hebrew (originally a pharyngeal consonant)
Numerical Value	70
Block Form	ע

In modern Israeli Hebrew, Ayin is silent — it acts as a vowel carrier, similar to Alef. However, among Mizrachi (Middle Eastern) and Yemenite Jews, the original pharyngeal pronunciation is still preserved.

עִיר (ir) — city
עוֹלָם (olam) — world
עַיִן (ayin) — eye

Ayin vs Tsadi — Key Distinction

Letter	Feature
ע (Ayin)	The two strokes meet at the bottom left
צ (Tsadi)	The two strokes meet at the bottom, with the right stroke curving up

Cultural note: The word Ayin means "eye" — and in the ancient Phoenician script, this letter was drawn as an eye.