Transliteration Conventions
Introduction
This site uses a Modern Orthodox Hybrid transliteration system for Hebrew and Aramaic. No diacritics — readable, consistent, and precise. The key innovation: ח = ch and כ = kh are always distinguished.
Consonants
| Hebrew Letter | Transliteration | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| א Aleph | ' (or silent) | Silent when not functioning as a consonant; glottal stop represented by apostrophe where significant |
| בּ Bet | b | With dagesh |
| ב Vet | v | Without dagesh |
| ג Gimel | g | Always hard "g" as in "go" |
| ד Dalet | d | |
| ה Heh | h | Silent at end of word; rendered as "-ah" in terminal position |
| ו Vav | v | As consonant; also serves as vowel marker (cholam, shuruk) |
| ז Zayin | z | |
| ח Chet | ch | As in "Bach" — distinct from כ |
| ט Tet | t | |
| י Yod | y | |
| כּ Kaf | k | With dagesh |
| כ/ך Khaf | kh | Without dagesh — distinct from ח |
| ל Lamed | l | |
| מ/ם Mem | m | |
| נ/ן Nun | n | |
| ס Samekh | s | |
| ע Ayin | ' (or silent) | Glottal stop; often silent in Ashkenazi pronunciation |
| פּ Peh | p | With dagesh |
| פ/ף Feh | f | Without dagesh |
| צ/ץ Tzadi | tz | |
| ק Kuf | k | Same as כּ in transliteration; distinguished by context only |
| ר Resh | r | |
| שׁ Shin | sh | |
| שׂ Sin | s | |
| ת Tav | t | Always "t" — never "s" as in some Ashkenazi pronunciation |
Vowels
| Vowel | Transliteration | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Kamatz gadol | a | Shabbat, Torah |
| Kamatz katan | o | kol, chokhmah |
| Patach | a | barukh |
| Tzeirei | ei | Elokei |
| Segol | e | melekh |
| Chirik | i | din, Yisrael |
| Cholam | o | shalom |
| Shuruk | u | barukh |
| Kubutz | u | Malkhut |
| Shva na (mobile) | e | Shechinah, Bereshit |
| Shva nach (silent) | (silent) | Not transliterated |
Always distinguish kamatz gadol (a) from kamatz katan (o). The kamatz katan appears in closed, unaccented syllables — for example: kol, chokhmah, korban.
Spelling Conventions
| Pattern | Convention | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Terminal ה | -ah | Shechinah, Kedushah, berakhah, halakhah |
| Terminal ת | -t | Malkhut, Da'at |
| Masculine plural ים- | -im | serafim, cheruvim |
| Feminine plural ות- | -ot | sefirot, mitzvot, halakhot |
| Dagesh chazak | Double consonant where conventional | Hallel, Kiddush, hetter |
Key Term Reference
Essential terms used throughout this site, transliterated under the conventions above:
| Term | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| הלכה / הלכות | halakhah / halakhot | Jewish law / laws |
| ברכה / ברכות | berakhah / berakhot | Blessing / blessings |
| לכתחלה | lekhatchilah | Ideally; from the outset |
| בדיעבד | bedi'avad | After the fact |
| איסור / היתר | issur / hetter | Forbidden / permitted |
| סמיכה | semichah | Rabbinic ordination |
| שׁלחן ערוך | Shulchan Arukh | Code of Jewish Law |
| ברוך | barukh | Blessed |
| תשׁובה | teshuvah | Repentance; responsum |
| שׁאלה | she'eilah | Halakhic question |
| פסק / פוסק | psak / posek | Ruling / decisor |
| ספק | safek | Doubt |
| מחמיר / מיקל | machmir / meikil | Stringent / lenient |
| הלכות | Hilkhot | Laws of (construct form) |
Proper Names
Established English spellings take precedence for well-known figures and texts.
| Hebrew | Use This | NOT This |
|---|---|---|
| משׁה | Moshe | Mosheh |
| יעקב | Yaakov | Ya'aqov |
| יצחק | Yitzchak | Yitschaq |
| אברהם | Avraham | Avroham |
| שׁבת | Shabbat | Shabbos |
| תורה | Torah | Tora |
| תלמוד | Talmud | Talmud (no variation) |
| ישׂראל | Yisrael | Yisra'el |
"HaKadosh Baruch Hu" uses its established English form (not "Barukh" in this fixed phrase). Sefer names such as "Pnei Baruch" likewise use their established published form.
Divine Names
Out of reverence, Divine names are not written in their full form. The following substitutions are used throughout this site:
| Original | Substitution Used |
|---|---|
| The Tetragrammaton (יהוה) | Hashem |
| אלהים | Elokim |
| אל | Kel |
| אדני | Ado-nai (hyphenated) |
| שׁדי | Shaddai |
| The Holy One, Blessed is He | HaKadosh Baruch Hu |
Aramaic Notes
Aramaic terms (especially from Talmud and Zohar) follow these additional rules:
- Terminal aleph (א) = -a — e.g., Malka, Mesivta
- Terminal heh (in Hebrew loanwords) = -ah — this distinguishes the two languages in transliteration
- Construct chains use d' — e.g., Kudsha Brikh Hu, Mesivta d'Reki'a