The Letters of the Hebrew Alphabet

The Hebrew Letter KAF

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KAF is the eleventh letter of the Hebrew alphabet

Kaf has two pronunciations. Kaf, with a dagesh kal (small dot in the center) of the letter, and Khaf without a dagesh. Kaf also takes a final form when the letter occurs at the end of a word—the final form has the softer pronunciation of khaf.

Kaf

Khaf

Kaf sofit

Pronunciation.
Kaf is pronounced as "k" in kitten.
Khaf is pronounced as "ch" in bach. It has a breathy "hk" sound.
Kaf sofit is pronounced as "ch" in bach.

Transliteration.
Kaf is transliterated "k".
Khaf is usually as transliterated "kh" [although there is some variation in practices].
Khaf sofit is usually transliterated as "kh".

Examples
(yes) is transliterated ken. Syllabification. ken.
(I) is transliterated anoki or anokhi. Syllabification. a-no-ki.
(How are you fem.) is transliterated ma shlomekh . Syllabification. ma shlo-mekh .
(How are you mas.) is transliterated ma shlomkha . Syllabification. ma shlom-kha.

The letter kaf may be either a prefix and a suffix.
As a prefix
as a suffix means "like" or "as". Ki is an inseparable preposition—it is always attached to a word—and usually takes a sh'va. In some grammatical situations it can take other vowels. [The rules for attaching inseparable prepositions to a noun are available HERE.]

Example. (like a king), transliterated, kemelekh, Syllabication. keme-lekh.

As a suffix
The suffix form is always the kaf sofit and adds a 1st person possessive ending to a noun giving the meaning "you" or "your" to a word. Kaf as a suffix is usually accompanied by a kamats or a sh'va which indicate masculine or feminine gender.

Example.
(your love, mas. s.) is transliterated, ahavtekha. Syllabication. ʾa-hav-te-kha.
(your name, fem. s.) is transliterated, sh'mekh. Syllabication. sh'mekh.

Gematria. Kaf is equal to 20.

SPIRITUALITY in the letter KAF

Coming soon...

 

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