Letters Group 4: Qof to Tav (ק–ת)

In this lesson, you will learn the final four letters of the Hebrew alphabet: Qof, Resh, Shin/Sin, and Tav. With these four letters, you will have learned all 22 letters of the Hebrew alef-bet!

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ק — Qof

Property	Detail
Name	Qof (קוֹף)
Sound	k as in "kite" (originally deeper, uvular)
Numerical Value	100
Block Form	ק

Qof makes a "k" sound that is identical to Kaf (כּ) in modern Israeli Hebrew. Historically, Qof was a deeper, uvular "k" sound — and this distinction is still preserved in some Mizrachi pronunciations.

קָטָן (katan) — small
קוֹל (kol) — voice
קָפֶה (kafe) — coffee

Qof vs Kaf — How to Tell Them Apart

Letter	Feature
ק (Qof)	Has a descending stroke on the left that goes below the baseline
כ (Kaf)	Sits entirely on the baseline

Tip: Qof goes down (queue descending); Kaf stays compact.

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ר — Resh

Property	Detail
Name	Resh (רֵישׁ)
Sound	r (varies: uvular in Israeli Hebrew, rolled in Mizrachi)
Numerical Value	200
Block Form	ר

Resh in modern Israeli Hebrew is typically pronounced as a uvular fricative (similar to the French "r"), not the rolled "r" of many other languages. Among Mizrachi and Yemenite speakers, a trilled/rolled "r" is used.

רֹאשׁ (rosh) — head
רוּחַ (ruach) — wind / spirit
רַב (rav) — rabbi / much

Resh vs Dalet — Revisited

Letter	Feature
ר (Resh)	Rounded top-right corner
ד (Dalet)	Defined sharp corner with a foot

Tip: This is one of the most important visual distinctions in Hebrew. Confusing ר and ד can change the meaning of a word entirely: דָּבָר (davar — word/thing) vs רָבַר (not a word).

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ש — Shin / Sin

Property	Detail
Name	Shin (שִׁין) or Sin (שִׂין)
Sound	sh as in "ship" (שׁ — dot on right); s as in "sun" (שׂ — dot on left)
Numerical Value	300
Block Form	ש

Shin is unique — it is the only Hebrew letter that represents two different sounds depending on the placement of a dot:

Variant	Dot Position	Sound	Example
שׁ (Shin)	Dot on the upper right	sh	שָׁלוֹם (shalom) — peace
שׂ (Sin)	Dot on the upper left	s	שְׂמֹאל (smol) — left

שֶׁמֶשׁ (shemesh) — sun
שָׁנָה (shana) — year
שִׂמְחָה (simcha) — joy       (Sin — "s" sound)

Cultural note: The letter Shin (ש) appears on the mezuzah — the small case placed on Jewish doorposts — representing one of the names of God (שַׁדַּי — Shaddai, meaning "Almighty").

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