(BA) He (letter)

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23 July 2022 - 28 July 2022

He, in the Hebrew alphabet, is a letter that, in general, is equivalent to the h in horse. It comes after dalet and before vav.

• As a first approximation, we might say it is like h.
  • At the end of a word, however, it is usually a mater lectionis, and represents the vowel a. However, it is not always a mater for a at the end of a word.
    • Sometimes it is a mater for o, as in the Hebrew name translated as 'Solomon'.
    • Sometimes it is a mater for e, as in the Hebrew name translated as 'Moses'.
    • Sometimes it is not a mater at all, but actually continues to represent an h sound at the end of a word. In this case, it takes a mappiq.
      • However, in modern speech the mappiq is frequently ignored and he with a mappiq is practically treated as silent.