ע — ayin
«ayin» is a consonant of the Hebrew script. Once a distinct throaty sound; in modern speech it is simply silent. For example, in the word “עבודה” — work. The Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters in total. It vanishes in the transcription just like alef: עיר — ir, עבודה — avoda. Do not voice it: modern Israelis do not hear it. It appears, for example, in the word “ערב טוב” — good evening.
In short
| Character | ע |
| Name | ayin |
| Sound | silent in modern Hebrew |
| What it is | a consonant |
In our course the character comes 16th of 22, its neighbours in the course are ס and פ, appears in 738 words of this site.
How to type ע
- On a phone: add the Hebrew keyboard in the keyboard settings (Gboard on Android; Keyboards in the iPhone settings).
- In Word on Windows: type U+05E2 and press Alt+X right after it — the code turns into the character.
- On a Mac: switch to the Unicode Hex Input source, hold Option and type 05E2.
- Unicode code point: U+05E2. With it, the character can be found in the character map of any system.
How it sounds
Once a distinct throaty sound; in modern speech it is simply silent
The character in a word
A lone character is hard to remember: memory holds on to meaning, and a letter has none. The word it stands in provides that anchor.
- עבודהаводаwork
The character in the “throat letters and silent holders” group
Two throat letters: ה is a light breathy h, as in English, and ח a squeezed throaty kh that English lacks. And א and ע have no sound of their own. Alef holds the vowel slot, and ayin is silent in modern speech. Both vanish from the transcription.
Words with this character
How to remember this character
A single letter is the hardest thing to remember: memory has nothing to hold on to — a character has no meaning. A three-step loop works: see the character, try to recall the sound (for «ayin» it is “silent in modern Hebrew”, as in the word “עבודה”), see the right answer.
And come back to it the next day, not in an hour: a check a day or two later beats a check the same day. Nobody holds the whole alphabet — 22 letters — at once.
- It is better to test yourself the next day than at the end of the same session. That is why a word comes back to you tomorrow.checked many timesAdesope, Trevisan & Sundararajan, 2017, Review of Educational Research 87(3) · g = 0.82 when tested a day or two later, against 0.56 on the same day.
- Studying a little every day gets more into your head than spending the same total time in one sitting.checked many timesDonovan & Radosevich, 1999, Journal of Applied Psychology 84(5) · 63 studies compared, difference d = 0.46 — a sizeable figure for a learning effect.
Frequently asked
How does the Hebrew character ע read?
Silent in modern Hebrew. It is a consonant of the Hebrew script. Once a distinct throaty sound; in modern speech it is simply silent. For example, in the word “עבודה” — work.
What is the letter ע called?
Ayin is what this character is called when the alphabet is recited aloud.