STEP 2: Learn the Niqquods

Vowels, together with the consonants, form words. Each word is made up of one or several syllables.

Ancient Hebrew only made use of the consonants, with no vowels. It was only in the 9th century CE that the vowel system or niqquods were formulated by the Masoretic scholars to help preserve the pronunciation of the Hebrew words.

Each niqquod is different. However, for beginners, it suffices to just learn the five categories of the niqquods. Here is my mnemonics to help you learn the Niqquods fast.


1) Vowel ‘a’ is the one with the dashes. Even the hataph patach or the hataph qamatz represent the ‘a’ vowel because they have a dash. All other vowels are represented by the dots. So, as long as you see a dash, you know it is the a-vowel. Get it?

2) Vowel ‘e’ is the ones with two or more dots (2 - 3 dots). So, if you see any niqquod that has two or more dots, it is almost certainly an ‘e’ vowel.

3) Vowel ‘i’, ‘o’ and ‘u’ has only one dot each. Remember the acronym which we are so used to, I-O-U which means ‘I owe you’.
Now, look at the position of the dot.

• The vowel ‘i’ a dot at ground level. Isn’t this the mirror image of the ‘i’ in the English alphabet which has its dot on top? We call this one dot the hireq. If I emphasise the ‘i’ like this, ‘h*I*req’, you will remember the hireq is the i-vowel.
• Now, imagine you are picking up a small tennis ball from the ground represented by the dot in the hIreq. Say, ‘I’ as you throw the tennis ball up as high as you can. Once it reaches the top, say ‘o’ (the ‘o’ vowel or the ‘h*O*lem’) until the ball lands on someone’s hand.
• Once it lands on his hand, end with an abrupt ‘u’.

In summary, you have one dot for the i-o-u vowels. As you toss the ball up, say ‘I’, then switch to saying, ‘O’ until the ball lands on someone’s hand and you end with ‘U’. So, you have I-O-U. Do I owe you anything?

4) Vowel ‘u’ has the other exception which has three dots. This is the q*U*bbutz (qubbutz or qibbutz) which looks like a ball bouncing down the staircase.

With the consonants and the niqquods, you can form syllables. From here, you should be able to read the Hebrew Bible text. Practice makes perfect. Therefore, after you have begun reading the Hebrew Bible, continue to read it. One day, you and I will be able to read the Hebrew Bible fluently!

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