Vowels and Nikkud (נִקּוּד)

Hebrew letters represent only consonants. To indicate vowels, a system of dots and dashes called nikkud (נִקּוּד — "dotting" or "pointing") is placed above, below, or inside the letters. In this lesson, you will learn all the essential vowel marks and how to read them.

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When Is Nikkud Used?

Context	Nikkud Used?
Torah and sacred texts	Always
Children's books and textbooks	Always
Poetry	Usually
Dictionaries	Usually
Newspapers and websites	Rarely
Street signs and labels	Rarely
Everyday writing	Almost never

Most modern Hebrew text is written without nikkud. Experienced readers infer vowels from context. However, learning nikkud is essential for beginners, accurate pronunciation, and reading religious texts.

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The Five Vowel Sounds

Hebrew has five basic vowel sounds, each with short and long variants:

Vowel	Short	Long
a	patach	kamatz
e	segol	tsere
i	chirik (short)	chirik male (with Yod)
o	kamatz katan	cholam
u	kubutz	shuruk

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The Nikkud Marks

A-Vowels

Mark	Name	Sound	Placement	Example
בַ	Patach	Short "a" (as in "cat")	Horizontal line below	בַּת (bat) — daughter
בָ	Kamatz	Long "a" (as in "father")	T-shape below	בָּא (ba) — came

Tip: Patach is a simple flat line; Kamatz has the same line plus a small dot below it (forming a T-shape).

E-Vowels

Mark	Name	Sound	Placement	Example
בֶ	Segol	Short "e" (as in "bed")	Three dots in triangle below	סֶפֶר (sefer) — book
בֵ	Tsere	Long "e" (as in "hey")	Two dots below	בֵּן (ben) — son

I-Vowels

Mark	Name	Sound	Placement	Example
בִ	Chirik	Short "i" (as in "bit")	Single dot below	בִּת (bit) — daughter (construct)
בִי	Chirik Male	Long "i" (as in "machine")	Dot below + Yod	שִׁיר (shir) — song

O-Vowels

Mark	Name	Sound	Placement	Example
בֹ	Cholam	"o" (as in "go")	Dot above left	כֹּל (kol) — all
בוֹ	Cholam Male	"o" (as in "go")	Dot above Vav	שָׁלוֹם (shalom) — peace
בָ	Kamatz Katan	Short "o" (as in "cost")	Same shape as Kamatz	חָכְמָה (chokhma) — wisdom