Meet Lamed

The twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Lamed makes a plain [l] sound, as in “leaf,” and it is the tallest Hebrew letter: its top stroke rises above the line. At the start of a word, Lamed can also be a prefix meaning “to” or “for,” as in לְדָוִד [le-da-vid], “to David.”

Lamed Hebrew Letter (ל): Sound, Words & Practice

What you’ll learn

Recognize Lamed: ל, the tallest Hebrew letter.
Hear its [l] sound, as in “leaf.”
Read Lamed in real words like לֵב (heart) and יֶלֶד (boy).

How Lamed sounds

Lamed (ל) is the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In modern Hebrew, it is pronounced [l], like the l in 'leaf'. You've now learned more than half of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet!

Step 2 of 4

Lamed in real words

See Lamed in two new words, then five reading-practice words. Read each one aloud; the Latin transcriptions are reading aids, not IPA.

Words to Practice:

לֵב

lev

heart

The Hebrew word לֵב [lev] means 'heart'. It consists of two letters: Lamed (ל) and Bet (ב). Lamed gives [l]. In this word, Bet has no dagesh and gives [v], not [b]. Tzere, the two dots beneath Lamed, represents [e]. Read the sounds together as one syllable: [lev]. In text with pronunciation marks, בּ with a dagesh gives [b], while ב without a dagesh gives [v]. In ordinary writing without these marks, you need to know the word to choose the right sound.

יֶלֶד

yeled

boy

The Hebrew word יֶלֶד [yeled] means 'boy' or 'male child'. It consists of three letters: Yud (י), Lamed (ל), and Dalet (ד). Each Segol, the three-dot vowel sign beneath Yud and Lamed, represents [e]. Read the word in two syllables, [ye-led], with the stress on the first syllable. The final [d] ends the second syllable; it is not a syllable on its own. Also review לֶחֶם [lekhem], 'bread': [le-khem], with the stress on the first syllable. Here, kh represents one consonant sound, like the ch in German 'Bach'.

Reading Practice

לוּלָאָה

lula'a

loop

אָבַד

avad

he/it was lost

דּוֹב

dov

bear

לַיְלָה

layla

night

אַגַּב

agav

by the way

Conclusions

Great job! You've learned the twelfth letter of the Hebrew alphabet and are making great progress. Take your time to review what you've covered—steady progress is more important than rushing. Keep up the great work!

Step 4 of 4

Your practice results

Use your results to decide what to revisit.