hebrew-vowels-nikkud The diacritical marks below, inside, and above the consonants that indicate vowel sounds — present in the siddur and Chumash but not in the Torah scroll itself.

Summary. Hebrew’s vowels (nikkud) are diacritical marks added to the consonants, not letters in their own right. The five main vowel sounds are a, e, i, o, and u, each with two or three variant markings depending on length and stress. Nikkud are present in the siddur, in the printed Chumash, in children’s books, and in some poetry, but absent from the Torah scroll, the newspaper, ordinary signs, and most adult literature. A New Jew should master nikkud first; reading without nikkud comes later.

essential hebrew nikkud vowels reading 2026-07-06T02:19:03.001Z 569 3