Hebrew punctuation: Difference between revisions

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Hebrew punctuation is similar to that of English and other Western languages.

Biblical Hebrew, by contrast, has fewer grammatical punctuation marks, which can sometimes make Biblical Hebrew more ambiguous. As a result, it was clear that a larger amount of punctuation was needed, and Modern Hebrew adopted the same system of punctuation used in other Western languages such as English.

Punctuation

Quotations

Example
Standard	Alternate
ישראל“”	ישראל“„

With most printed Hebrew texts from the early 1970s and before, opening quotes are low (as in German), and closing quotes ones are high, often going above the letters themselves (as opposed to the gershayim, which is level with the top of letters). An example of this system is “ישראל„.

However, this distinction in Hebrew between opening and closing quotation marks has completely disappeared, and today, quotations are done like they are in English (ex. "ישראל"), with two high quotes. This is due to the advent of the Hebrew keyboard layout, which lacks the opening quotation mark („), in addition to the lack of "smart quotes" in Hebrew such as found in Microsoft Word for many other languages.

In addition, the quotation mark is often used for the similar looking but different gershayim mark (״), as it is also absent on the Hebrew keyboard.

Standard	Alternative	Names
“…”	“…„	merkha'ot — Template:Ivrit (plural of merkha — Template:Ivrit); a similar punctuation mark unique to Hebrew is called gershayim — Template:Ivrit

Period, question mark, exclamation marks, commas

Periods, question marks, exclamation marks, and commas are used in the exact same way as they are in English.

A Hebrew period in a traditional "Serif" face usually looks like a tiny tilted square (a diamond). This is also true for the dot part of the question mark, and exclamation mark.

In Arabic, which is also written from right to left, the question mark "؟" is mirrored right-to-left from the English question mark. (Some browsers may display the character in the previous sentence as a forward question mark due to font or text directionality issues.) Hebrew is also written right-to-left, but uses a question mark that appears on the page in the same orientation as the English "?".^[1]

Colon and Sof Pasuq

Stemming from Bibical Hebrew, a sof pasuq (׃) is the equivalent of a period, and is used in some writings such as prayer books. Since a sof pasuq is absent from the Hebrew keyboard layout, and looks very similar to the colon (:), a colon is often substituted for a sof pasuq.

Glyph	Unicode	Name
׃	U+05C3	HEBREW PUNCTUATION SOF PASUQ
:	U+003A	COLON

Vertical bar and paseq

Also coming from Bibical Hebrew, a paseq (׀) is used a word separator. Also not on a standard Hebrew keyboard, a vertical bar (|) is often used instead. The vertical bar, a standard key on any keyboard, is used in English for such applications as mathematics and computing.

Glyph	Unicode	Name
׀	U+05C0	HEBREW PUNCTUATION PASEQ
\|	U+007C	VERTICAL LINE

Hyphen and maqaf

Example
Hebrew Maqaf	Standard English Hyphen
עַל־יְדֵי	עַל-יְדֵי
Notice how the maqaf aligns with the top horizontal strokes whereas the standard English hyphen is in the middle of the letters.

The maqaf (־) is the Hebrew hyphen (-), and has virtually the same purpose for connecting two words together as in English. It is different from the Hyphen in the way its drawn (a hyphen is in the middle in terms of height, the maqaf is at the top) and has a biblical origin which is unlike many other Modern Hebrew punctuation symbols, which are simply migrated from European languages. The maqaf is well-used in Hebrew typography, most books and newspapers will use it and have the hyphens higher than one would find in English. However, in online writing, it is seldom used because like other Hebrew characters, it is absent on a Hebrew keyboard. As a result, a standard English hyphen (-), is most often used in online writings.

This situation can be compared to users preferring hyphen (-) over Minus (−), en dash (–) and em dash (—).

Glyph	Unicode	Name
־	U+05be	HEBREW PUNCTUATION MAQAF
-	U+002d	HYPHEN-MINUS

Brackets/Parentheses

Brackets or Parentheses, "(", and ")" are the same in Hebrew as in English. Since Hebrew is written from right to left, ) becomes an opening bracket, and ( a closing bracket, the opposite from English (which is written left to right).

Israeli currency sign

Examples
With Sheqel Sign	With Abbreviation
₪ 12,000	12,000 ש״ח

The sheqel sign (₪) is the currency sign for the Israeli currency (the New Israeli Sheqel), in the way $, £, and €, exist for other currencies. The sheqel sign, like the dollar sign ("$"), is usually placed to the left of the number (i.e. "₪ 12,000" and not "12,000 ₪"), but since Hebrew is written from right to left, the symbol is actually written after the number.

Unlike the dollar sign, the new sheqel sign is not used that often when handwriting monetary amounts, and is generally replaced by the abbreviation ש״ח (standing for Sheqel Hadash, lit. New Sheqel).

Apostrophe and quotation marks

For more details on this topic, see Geresh and Gershayim.

Examples
Geresh
צ׳ארלס	צ'ארלס
Gershayim
צה״ל	צה"ל
Notice how the geresh and gershayim align with the top horizontal strokes whereas the standard English characters are above the letters.

The geresh (׳), is the Hebrew equivalent of a period in abbreviations (e.g. abbrev.), in addition to being attached to Hebrew letters to indicate the soft g ([dʒ]) and ch ([tʃ]) sounds in foreign names (ex. Charles, Jake). The gershayim (״), is a Hebrew symbol symbolizing that a sequence of characters is an acronym, and is placed before the last character of the word. Due to a Hebrew keyboard having neither a geresh nor gershayim, they are usually replaced online with a apostrophe (') and quotation mark ("), due to their visual similarity. The quotation mark and apostrophe are higher than the gershayim and geresh, where gershayim and the geresh are at level with the top of Hebrew letters and the quotation mark and apostrophe are above them.

Glyph	Unicode	Name
׳	U+05f3	HEBREW PUNCTUATION GERESH
״	U+05f4	HEBREW PUNCTUATION GERSHAYIM
'	U+0027	APOSTROPHE
"	U+0022	QUOTATION MARK

Math

Math in Israel uses all the same symbols as in English, including Western numerals, which are written left to right. The only variant that exists is an alternative plus sign, which is a plus sign which looks like an inverted capital T. Unicode has this symbol at position U+FB29 "Hebrew letter alternative plus sign" (﬩).^[2] However, most books for adults use the international symbol "+".

Examples of Math Written in Hebrew
General Example	With Alternative Plus Sign
6 + ((1 × 2) ÷ 2) = 7	6 ﬩ ((1 × 2) ÷ 2) = 7
Math in Hebrew looks the same as it does in English.

Reversed Nun

Examples

Ordinary letter nun	Reversed nun - vertical flip

Reversed nun - horizontal flip	Reversed nun - Z-shape

Reversed Nun (also called "inverted nun", "nun hafukha" or "nun menuzerret") is a rare character found in two Biblical Hebrew texts.^[3] Although in Judaic literature it is known as nun hafukha (“reversed nun”), it does not function as any sort of letter in the text.^[3] It is not part of a word, and it is not read aloud in any way. It is simply a mark that is written, and therefore it is punctuation and not a letter. Also, it is surrounded by space.^[3]

While it depends on the particular manuscript or printed edition, it is found in nine places: twice in the Book of Numbers (prior to and after Numbers 10:34-36), and seven times in Psalm 107.^[3] It is uncertain today what it was intended to signify.^[3]

In many manuscripts, it does not even resemble a transformed nun at all, and when it does, sometimes it appears reversed (as mentioned above), sometimes inverted, sometimes turned 180°.^[3] Other times it appears to look like the letter Z.^[3]

Glyph	Unicode	Name
׆	U+05C6	HEBREW PUNCTUATION NUN HAFUKHA

Hebrew points (vowels)

Examples
With Vowel Points and Cantillation Marks
אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֶת־הָרָקִיעַ֒ וַֽיִּתְמַהְמָ֓הּ׀ וָבֹ֔הוּ לְהַבְדִּ֕יל הַבָּאִ֖ים וְהָאָ֗רֶץ אָמַ֘ר מְאֹרֹת֙ עֵ֚שֶׂב אֱלֹהִ֛ים הַמַּ֜יִם פְּרִ֞י בָּֽאַמָּ֟ה דֶּ֠שֶׁא הָֽרֹמֶ֡שֶׂת עַל־פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִ֤ימ׀ אֵ֥ת ל֦וֹ וַיַּ֧רְא נָתַ֨תִּי אֲשֶׁר֩ אַלְפַּ֪יִם רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ימ יִתֵּ֬ן אֱלֹהִים֮ אֱלֹהִ֪ים וַֽיְהִי־ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח אֱלֹהִ֤ימ׀ וּבֵינֶֽיׄךָ
Just Cantillation Marks
אלה֑ים את־הרקיע֒ ויתמהמ֓ה׀ ובֹ֔הו להבד֕יל הבא֖ים והא֗רץ אמ֘ר מארת֙ ע֚שב אלה֛ים המ֜ים פר֞י בֽאמ֟ה ד֠שא הֽרמ֡שת על־פנ֣י אלה֤ימ׀ א֥ת ל֦ו וי֧רא נת֨תי אשר֩ אלפ֪ים רש֫ע֥ימ ית֬ן אלהים֮ אלה֪ים וֽיהי־ על־פנ֣י תֿרצֽ֖ח אלה֤ימ׀ ובינֽיׄך
Just the Letters
אלהים את־הרקיע ויתמהמה׀ ובהו להבדיל הבאים והארץ אמר מארת עשב אלהים המים פרי באמה דשא הרמשת על־פני אלהימ׀ את לו וירא נתתי אשר אלפים רשעימ יתן אלהים אלהים ויהי־ על־פני תרצח אלהימ׀ וביניך

While in Modern Hebrew these points (or 'niqqud') are generally not used outside poetry and children's books, occasionally one might put in a vowel point ("diacritic") to resolve ambiguity.

One of these niqqudot, the rafe is no longer used in Hebrew, however it is routinely used in Yiddish spelling (as defined by YIVO).

Glyph	Unicode	Name
ְ	U+05B0	SHEVA
ֱ	U+05B1	HATEF SEGOL
ֲ	U+05B2	HATEF PATAH
ֳ	U+05B3	HATEF QAMATS
ִ	U+05B4	HIRIQ
ֵ	U+05B5	TSERE
ֶ	U+05B6	SEGOL
ַ	U+05B7	PATAH
ָ	U+05B8	QAMATS
ֹ	U+05B9	HOLAM (HASER)
ֻ	U+05BB	QUBUTS
ּ	U+05BC	DAGESH, MAPIQ, OR SHURUQ
ֽ	U+05BD	MATEG
ֿ	U+05BF	RAFE
ׁ	U+05C1	SHIN DOT
ׂ	U+05C2	SIN DOT
ׄ	U+05C4	MARK UPPER DOT

Hebrew cantillation marks

The cantillation marks (Hebrew:טעמים Teamim) have a very specialized use. They are only found in printed Hebrew texts of Tanakh to be used as a guide for chanting the text, either from the printed text or, in the case of the public reading of the Torah, to be memorized along with vowel marks as the Sefer Torah includes only the letters of the text without cantillation or vowel marks. The cantillation marks are not used in Modern speaking Hebrew at all. The cantillation marks provide a structure to sentences of Tanakh similar to that provided by punctuation marks.

The "Image" column is there for people unable to see the leftern most column

Glyph	Image	Unicode	Name
֑	File:Cantillation.png	U+0591	ETHNAHTA
֒		U+0592	SEGOL
֓		U+0593	SHALSHELET
֔		U+0594	ZAQEF QATAN
֕		U+0595	ZAQEF GADOL
֖		U+0596	TIPEHA
֗		U+0597	REVIA
֘		U+0598	ZARQA
֙		U+0599	PASHTA
֚		U+059A	YETIV
֛		U+059B	TEVIR
֜		U+059C	GERESH
֝		U+059D	GERESH MUQDAM
֞		U+059E	GERSHAYIM
֟		U+059F	QARNEY PARA
֠		U+05A0	TELISHA GEDOLA
֡		U+05A1	PASER
֢		U+05A2	RESERVED
֣		U+05A3	MUNAH
֤		U+05A4	MAKAPAKH
֥		U+05A5	MERKHA
֦		U+05A6	MERKHA KEFULA
֧		U+05A7	DARGA
֨		U+05A8	QADMA
֩		U+05A9	TELISHA QUTANA
֪		U+05AA	YERAH BEN YOMO
֫		U+05AB	OLE
֬		U+05AC	ILUU
֭		U+05AD	DEHI
֮		U+05AE	ZINOR
֯		U+05AF	MASORA CIRCLE

Notes

^ Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, 2003. p. 143. ISBN 1-592-40087-6.
^ Unicode U+FB29 reference page
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set: International Organization for Standardization

[1] Truss, Lynne. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, 2003. p. 143. ISBN 1-592-40087-6.

[2] Unicode U+FB29 reference page

[IOS-3] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Universal Multiple-Octet Coded Character Set: International Organization for Standardization

[1]

[2]

[3]

@@ Line 216: / Line 216: @@
  | colspan="2" | <center>'''Examples</center>
  |-
- | ''<center>With Vowel Points</center>''
+ | ''<center>With Vowel Points and Cantillation Marks</center>''
+|-
- | ''<center>Without Vowel Points</center>''
+ | align="center" style="background:white;height:50px;width:300px"|<span style='font-size:225%; font-family:"Times New Roman"' dir="rtl">אֱלֹהִ֑ים אֶת־הָרָקִיעַ֒ וַֽיִּתְמַהְמָ֓הּ׀ וָבֹ֔הוּ לְהַבְדִּ֕יל הַבָּאִ֖ים וְהָאָ֗רֶץ אָמַ֘ר מְאֹרֹת֙ עֵ֚שֶׂב אֱלֹהִ֛ים הַמַּ֜יִם פְּרִ֞י בָּֽאַמָּ֟ה דֶּ֠שֶׁא הָֽרֹמֶ֡שֶׂת עַל־פְּנֵ֣י אֱלֹהִ֤ימ׀ אֵ֥ת ל֦וֹ וַיַּ֧רְא נָתַ֨תִּי אֲשֶׁר֩ אַלְפַּ֪יִם רְשָׁ֫עִ֥ימ יִתֵּ֬ן אֱלֹהִים֮ אֱלֹהִ֪ים וַֽיְהִי־ עַל־פְּנֵ֣י תִּֿרְצָֽ֖ח אֱלֹהִ֤ימ׀ וּבֵינֶֽיׄךָ</span><noinclude>
+|-
+ | ''<center>Just Cantillation Marks</center>''
+|-
+ | align="center" style="background:white;height:50px;width:300px"|<span style='font-size:225%; font-family:"Times New Roman"' dir="rtl">אלה֑ים את־הרקיע֒ ויתמהמ֓ה׀ ובֹ֔הו להבד֕יל הבא֖ים והא֗רץ אמ֘ר מארת֙ ע֚שב אלה֛ים המ֜ים פר֞י בֽאמ֟ה ד֠שא הֽרמ֡שת על־פנ֣י אלה֤ימ׀ א֥ת ל֦ו וי֧רא נת֨תי אשר֩ אלפ֪ים רש֫ע֥ימ ית֬ן אלהים֮ אלה֪ים וֽיהי־ על־פנ֣י תֿרצֽ֖ח אלה֤ימ׀ ובינֽיׄך</span><noinclude>
+|-
+| ''<center>Just the Letters</center>''
  |-
- | align="center" style="background:white;height:50px"|<span style='font-size:325%; font-family:"Times New Roman"' dir="rtl">עַל־יְדֵי</span><noinclude>
+ | align="center" style="background:white;height:50px;width:300px"|<span style='font-size:225%; font-family:"Times New Roman"' dir="rtl">אלהים את־הרקיע ויתמהמה׀ ובהו להבדיל הבאים והארץ אמר מארת עשב אלהים המים פרי באמה דשא הרמשת על־פני אלהימ׀ את לו וירא נתתי אשר אלפים רשעימ יתן אלהים אלהים ויהי־ על־פני תרצח אלהימ׀ וביניך</span><noinclude>
- | align="center" style="background:white;height:50px"|<span style='font-size:325%; font-family:"Times New Roman"' dir="rtl">על־ידי</span><noinclude>
- |-
- | align="center" style="background:white;height:50px"|<span style='font-size:325%; font-family:"Times New Roman"' dir="rtl">יִשְרָאֵל‎</span><noinclude>
- | align="center" style="background:white;height:50px"|<span style='font-size:325%; font-family:"Times New Roman"' dir="rtl">ישראל‎</span><noinclude>
  |}
 While in Modern Hebrew these points (or '[[niqqud]]') are generally not used outside poetry and children's books, occasionally one might put in a vowel point ("diacritic") to resolve ambiguity.