# The letter "vav"



## El Dwarf

Is this letter always pronounced like a "V"?

I'm asking because I'm *very* new to Hebrew and I have a "Learn Hebrew" workbook and I'm trying to write words and phrases without looking at the Hebrew text.

According to my book the word for "hotel" in Hebrew should be pronounced "mah-lohn"... but the letter "Vav" is the third letter in the word, but it doesn't have a "V" sound in it.  Why is that?  Same with "Shalom", I noticed it is also the third letter, yet it isn't pronounced like the letter "V" like my book says the letter "Vav" should be.

With the correct vowel mark, can it also have a "oh" sound?

I'm currently learning Hebrew and Arabic.  My native language is English, and I learned Spanish as well... but I had a tutor to help me with my Spanish.  There is no one in my general area that can tutor me in Hebrew or Arabic, if I have any questions... I can't ask my book. Haha.

_Muchas gracias,_
* El Dwarf*


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## Mjolnir

Hi Dwarf 

Hebrew has אותיות אהו"י, vowel letters, which can be used as vowels. We also have ניקוד (_nikud_), the little symbols below/above the letters that affect the pronunciation (and the meaning).

מָלוֹן is pronounced _malon_ (and means hotel).
מֶלוֹן is pronounced _melon_ (and means melon).

Virus is וִירוּס. Here ו has two different pronunciations, _vi_ and the vowel _u_, that make the word _virus_ (not the English _vayrus_).

Any letter can have different pronunciations based on the ניקוד.

I don't know how you'll cope with Hebrew without any help (well, besides this forum ), but I wish you the best of luck


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## El Dwarf

I knew that vowel sounds can effect the pronunciation, but I thought you still kept the consonant sound and THEN pronounce the vowels according to whatever vowel marks the letter has?

For example: according to my knowledge, *שָׁלוֹם *should be pronounced "shah-lvohm"... which I know is incorrect because I'm familiar with the word but why does the Vav not get pronounced with the "V" consonant sound AND the "oh" vowel sound?  That's what I am confused about.​


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## cfu507

The letters: א ה ו י are called: ehevi and sometimes they are served as vowel letters.

The letter ו can be for u:
דוח d*u*'ach (report)

or for o:
עולם olam (world)

In the word ורד (vered = a rose) the ו is pronounced as v. It has to be because it is at the begining of the word.

In the word עכשיו (achshav = now) the ו is pronounced as v too.

Why does the Vav not get pronounced with the "V" consonant sound AND the "oh" vowel sound?
Do you pronounce the letter o in the word "do"? The same is in Hebrew. (Is that what you meant?)


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## El Dwarf

cfu507 said:


> Why does the Vav not get pronounced with the "V" consonant sound AND the "oh" vowel sound?
> Do you pronounce the letter o in the word "do"? The same is in Hebrew. (Is that what you meant?)


Eh, more or less.

The reason I was asking is because I was trying to write the words down in Hebrew without looking at the Hebrew text.

Well, when I went to write the word "malon" going only by pronunciation they provided me (which was "mah-lohn")... I didn't write the letter vav.

I thought I was correct, then I looked at the word and saw that the vav was in there, but I didn't know why because I didn't hear a "v" sound anywhere in the word "malon".  I understood where the "oh" sound came from because of the vowel mark, but I didn't understand why they chose the vav to even be in the word if the consonant "v" sound wasn't pronounced.

Does this make more sense?

Basically what I'm trying to do is get better at my Hebrew grammar.  I want to know why and how everything works.

That's what I did when I was learning Spanish.  You can throw any Spanish word at me and I will know how to spell it and where the accent mark goes based solely on pronunciation, whether or not I'm positive on the meaning of the word.


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## cfu507

I've learnt in this forum that we can't get the answers for "why" always.
Also, most of us are not a Hebrew teachers, but you can always try to ask why. For some questions you might get your answer.

Before trying to write by yourself, read about our Nikud. I'm sure you have some better explanations in your book. 

When we don't use the nikud we put vav (ו) for o or u, we put yod (י) for i (ee)...

Hope it helps. Good luck  !


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## El Dwarf

cfu507 said:


> I've learnt in this forum that we can't get the answers for "why" always.


Haha, yeah I know, but that's just part of my personality... I have to know why and how everything works or it drives me insane. 

Also, for people here in the US, with strictly English characters on our keyboards... how can I type Hebrew text?


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## אדם

Typing in Hebrew on a QWERTY keyboard is somewhat strange, but you can do it.. There is an option under the Control Panel for language on Windows, or under Preferences on Mac. If you want more help I can give you step-by-step, but be aware, most Hebrew characters are not reflected as they should be on the keyboard... Like ל is not written with the letter l, but actually with k. So you'd actually have to memorize that as well.


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## בעל-חלומות

You can think of ו like of English y. In some words (year) it's a consonant and in others (sympathy) it's a vowel. The same with others אהו"י letters.

There is a reason for it. When Hebrew was young, vav was pronounced like Arabic waw, but with time the "w" sound turned into "v", which is very similar. The same with פ, כ and ב, only they changed only in some instances and not everywhere.

So a valid Hebrew word is וווו (pronounced "uva_vo_", with nikud:וּוָווֹ). Looks like four straight lines, but it means "and his hook". This word has all of vav's forms, so it can help you remember them.


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## cfu507

בעל-חלומות said:


> You can think of ו like of English y. In some words (year) it's a consonant and in others (sympathy) it's a vowel. The same with others אהו"י letters.
> 
> There is a reason for it. When Hebrew was young, vav was pronounced like Arabic waw, but with time the "w" sound turned into "v", which is very similar. The same with פ, כ and ב, only they changed only in some instances and not everywhere.
> 
> So a valid Hebrew word is וווו (pronounced "uva_vo_", with nikud:וּוָווֹ). Looks like four straight lines, but it means "and his hook". This word has all of vav's forms, so it can help you remember them.


 

אתה מדהים אותי כל פעם מחדש. יש לי שאלה, יש לך מושג אולי מדוע ו' החיבור בשורוק ולא בשווא למשל?​


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## Gadyc

> יש לך מושג אולי מדוע ו' החיבור בשורוק ולא בשווא למשל?


 
he ?!!

בומ"פ


http://he.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D7%91%D7%95%D7%9E%22%D7%A4


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## Clara_

Hi ! Could anybody tell me if the word "Hatikva" (the translation of "hope" and the Israeli anthem) contains one or two times the letter "vav" ?
I found both התקווה and התקוה on the internet .

It would make more sense to me if it had only one "vav" but I am confused ...

Are they both correct? 

Toda


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## JaiHare

Clara_ said:


> Hi ! Could anybody tell me if the word "Hatikva" (the translation of "hope" and the Israeli anthem) contains one or two times the letter "vav" ?
> I found both תקווה and תקוה on the internet .
> 
> It would make more sense to me if it had only one "vav" but I am confused ...
> 
> Are they both correct?
> 
> Toda



They are _both_ correct. The older spelling has only one. Modern Hebrew orthography dictates that when vav stands for the consonant sound, it is written doubled.

*מִצְוָה* _mitzvah_
OR
*מצווה* _mitzvah_

In writings that have vowels added, it is often written with only one, since it is clear that it is a consonant by the presence of a vowel on it (or the fact that the previous syllable has been closed with a _shva na_).

Blessings,
Jai


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## tFighterPilot

Hauser said:


> Typing in Hebrew on a QWERTY keyboard is somewhat strange, but you can do it.. There is an option under the Control Panel for language on Windows, or under Preferences on Mac. If you want more help I can give you step-by-step, but be aware, most Hebrew characters are not reflected as they should be on the keyboard... Like ל is not written with the letter l, but actually with k. So you'd actually have to memorize that as well.


Or write the letters on your keyboard. Though that'd be kinda strange.


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## BezierCurve

Hi, El Dwarf!
You can also use a virtual keyboard... actually using your own. There is a number of websites where you can do it easily, like: ... ooops... I didn't post 30 posts yet... Still want to help you. Try googling "mikledet" or go to www mikledet com/email.html (to type the second letter shown on a key press that key twice, just like when you're texting someone with your mobile.

Good luck.


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