Hebrew alphabet · Lesson 14 of 22

Nun נ

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Meet Nun

The fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Nun makes a plain [n] sound, as in “never.” It is one of the five letters with a final form: at the end of a word, Nun is written as Nun Sofit (ן), a long straight stroke that drops below the line, with the same [n] sound.

Nun Hebrew Letter (נ): Sound, Final Nun & Practice

What you’ll learn

Recognize Nun: נ, and its final form, ן.
Hear its [n] sound, as in “never.”
Read Nun in real words like גַּן (garden) and נָא (please).

How Nun sounds

Nun (נ) is the fourteenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It is pronounced [n], like the 'n' in the English word 'never.' To make this sound, touch the tip of your tongue to the ridge just behind your upper front teeth and let air flow through your nose. Nun is one of five Hebrew letters that have a final form, known as Nun Sofit (ן).

Nun’s final form

Nun Sofit

Nun Sofit (ן) is the final form of the Hebrew letter Nun (נ). In ordinary modern Hebrew writing, use ן at the end of a word and נ at the beginning or in the middle.

ן · Final Nun: Nun stretched into a long straight stroke that drops below the line, used at the end of a word.

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Nun in real words

Review the key takeaway about Nun Sofit, then read three new words with Nun and five reading-practice words aloud. Hyphens in the transcriptions separate syllables.

Key Takeaway

Even though Nun Sofit (ן) looks different from regular Nun (נ), both forms represent the same [n] sound. Only five Hebrew letters have a special final form. The Latin spellings in this lesson are reading aids, not IPA. In these spellings, a is like the vowel in 'father,' e is like the vowel in 'bed,' and i is like the vowel in 'see.' Patah and Kamatz Gadol both represent [a] in the modern pronunciation taught here; you do not need to make one longer than the other.

Words to Practice:

גַּן

gan

garden

The Hebrew word 'גַּן' [gan] means 'garden' or 'park.' It consists of two letters: Gimel (גּ) and Nun Sofit (ן). Gimel with Patah is pronounced [ga], and Nun Sofit adds the final [n]. The whole word [gan] has one syllable; do not add a vowel after the final [n].

נָא

please

The Hebrew word 'נָא' [na] means 'please.' It is often used in formal requests and on signs. נָא consists of two letters: Nun (נ) and Alef (א). Nun with Kamatz Gadol is pronounced [na]. Alef has no separate sound in this word, so 'נָא' is pronounced [na] in one syllable.

נָאֶה

na'e

handsome

The Hebrew word 'נָאֶה' [na-e] means 'handsome' or 'good-looking.' This is the masculine singular form. It consists of three letters: Nun (נ), Alef (א), and Hey (ה). Nun with Kamatz Gadol gives [na]. The Segol under Alef gives [e] as a separate second syllable; Hey at the end of the word has no separate [h] sound here. Say [na-e] with the stress on the second syllable, e. In the spelling na'e, the apostrophe separates the two vowels.

Reading Practice

Read each word aloud. אָמֵן is [a-men], with stress on men; מַיִם is [ma-yim], with stress on ma; נַחַל is [na-khal], with stress on na; דָּג is [dag], one syllable; and לַיְלָה is [lay-la], with stress on lay. Here y is like the 'y' in 'yes.' In the common modern pronunciation taught here, kh represents one sound, like the 'ch' in Scottish 'loch' or German 'Bach,' not the English 'ch' in 'chair.'

אָמֵן

amen

מַיִם

mayim

water

נַחַל

nakhal

stream

דָּג

dag

fish

לַיְלָה

layla

night

Conclusions

You have learned Nun (נ), its final form ן, and some new Hebrew words. Review the explanations, read the words aloud, and practice distinguishing נ from ן before moving on to the exercises.

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