Five
Hebrew letters are formed differently when they appear as the last
letter of a word. These forms are sometimes called "sofit" (pronounced
"so-feet") forms. Fortunately, the five letters sound the same as their
non-sofit cousins, so you do not have to learn any new sounds (or
transliterations); however, you will need to be able to recognize these
letters at the end of a word.
The five sofit letters are as follows (click for review):
Notes:
If you have already studied Section 1.1, you already know how to write these letters. The letter Khaf Sofit, for example, is simply the letter Khaf with an altered shape. The shape of the letter does not affect the way the letter is pronounced.
These letters
originally served a punctuation purpose, indicating, for instance, the
end of a sentence or a pause in the reading.
An acronym for remembering these letters is “KHeMNiFaTS.”
Remember:
Sofit letters appear at the end of a Hebrew word. The changing of the
letter's form does not change its pronunciation, only the way the letter
appears.
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