Meet Tav

The twenty-second and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Tav, also spelled Taw, makes a plain [t] sound, as in “top,” with or without the dot inside it: תּ and ת are read the same in Modern Hebrew. Tet (ט) has the same [t] sound, but the two are different letters. Tav has no final form.

Tav Hebrew Letter (ת): Sound, Words & Practice

What you’ll learn

Recognize Tav, the last letter of the alphabet: ת.
Read Tav as [t], with or without a dagesh: תּ and ת.
Read Tav in real words like בַּיִת (house) and אוֹת (letter).

One sound: [t]

Tav (ת) is the twenty-second and final letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The alphabet has 22 letters: Shin and Sin share one place, and the five final forms are forms of existing letters, not extra letters. Tav has no separate final form. In modern standard Hebrew, both ת and תּ are pronounced [t], like t in "top" or "table." The dot inside תּ is a dagesh; it does not require a stronger or doubled t in this pronunciation.

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Tav in real words

Read four words with Tav, at the start, in the middle and at the end of a word. Then look back at the whole alphabet.

Words to Practice:

אַתָּה

ata

you (masculine singular)

The Hebrew word אַתָּה [ata] means "you" when addressing one male person. It has three letters: Alef (א), Tav (ת), and Hey (ה). The Patah under Alef and the Kamatz under Tav both mark an a sound here. The dagesh in Tav does not change its modern [t] sound or require you to double it. The Hey at the end of the word is silent. Read a-ta, with two syllables and the stress on ta. These are learning transcriptions, not IPA: a is like the vowel in "father," i is like the vowel in "machine," and a hyphen marks a syllable break.

תִּיק

tik

bag

The Hebrew word תִּיק [tik] means "bag." It has three letters: Tav (ת), Yud (י), and Kuf (ק). Hiriq under Tav together with the following Yud is Hiriq Male, marking the i sound. Tav gives t and Kuf gives k.

Read תִּיק as tik, one syllable. The word can refer to different kinds of bags, such as backpacks, handbags, or school bags.

אוֹת

letter (of the alphabet)

The Hebrew word אוֹת [ot] means "letter of the alphabet." It has three letters: Alef (א), Vav (ו), and Tav (ת). Vav with Holam (וֹ) marks the o sound, and Tav at the end of the word gives t. Tav keeps the same shape at the end of a word.

Read אוֹת as ot, one syllable, with a pure o vowel rather than the glide often heard in English "go." In this common modern reading, Alef does not add a separate consonant sound. In other contexts, אוֹת can also mean "sign" or "signal."

בַּיִת

bayit

house, home

The Hebrew word בַּיִת [bayit] means "house" or "home." It has three letters: Bet (בּ), Yud (י), and Tav (ת). Bet with Patah gives ba; Yud with Hiriq begins yit, with y as in "yes" and i as in "machine." Tav at the end of the word is t.

Read בַּיִת as ba-yit, with two syllables and the stress on ba. Keep the final t in the second syllable; it is not a separate syllable. Practise reading all four words aloud: a-ta (stress on ta), tik (one syllable), ot (one syllable), and ba-yit (stress on ba).

Congratulations! You've reached Tav, the final letter of the Aleph-Bet!

You've now been introduced to all 22 letters, the five final forms, and the basics of reading with vowel signs. Keep practising to recognise letters and read familiar words more confidently. Reading texts without vowel signs will also take vocabulary and context. Complete the exercises below to review what you've learned.

Basic Hebrew lessons, which build on this reading foundation, continue in the HebrewEdu app. Keep going, one step at a time!

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