Use the speaker on each card to hear the example word. The guide gives a simple transliteration for sounding it out.
02
Cantillation marks divide the verse and guide the chant.
First learn whether a mark joins or separates words. Melody comes after the phrase structure is clear.
LESSON 1
Vowel points
Start with the sound, then attach it to the printed shape and a complete word. Pronunciation details may vary by reading tradition.
בִ
SELECTED VOWEL
Hiriq חִירִיק
i
like ee in ‘see’. A single dot below the letter. It may be written without yod or followed by yod.
אִמָּאima
בִ
Hiriq
חִירִיק
i
like ee in ‘see’
אִמָּאima
A single dot below the letter. It may be written without yod or followed by yod.
בֵ
Tsere
צֵירֵי
e
usually a long or closed e, according to tradition
בֵּןben
Two horizontal dots below the letter. It may be written with or without yod.
בֶ
Segol
סֶגּוֹל
e
like e in ‘bed’
מֶלֶךְmelekh
Three dots in a small triangle.
בַ
Pataḥ
פַּתָּח
a
like a in ‘father’
בַּתbat
A short horizontal line below the letter.
בָ
Kamatz gadol
קָמָץ גָּדוֹל
a
usually a; pronunciation varies by tradition
בָּאba
Its shape is identical to kamatz katan, so grammar and syllable structure matter.
כָּ
Kamatz katan
קָמָץ קָטָן
o
like o in ‘more’
כָּלkol
It looks like a regular kamatz. The word and grammatical pattern determine the sound.
בֹ · וֹ
Holam
חוֹלָם
o
like o in ‘more’
אוֹרor
Holam haser is a dot above a consonant; holam male is carried by vav.
בֻ
Kubutz
קֻבּוּץ
u
like oo in ‘food’
סֻכָּהsukkah
Three diagonal dots below the letter.
וּ
Shuruk
שׁוּרוּק
u
like oo in ‘food’
שׁוּקshuk
A vav with a dot in its center.
בְ
Sheva
שְׁוָא
ə / —
very short or silent, depending on the word
בְּרָכָהberakhah
Two vertical dots. Learn whether it is sheva na or sheva naḥ from the word and syllable pattern.
אֱ
Hataf segol
חֲטַף סֶגּוֹל
ĕ
a very short e sound
אֱמֶתemet
A sheva beside a segol. It occurs especially under guttural letters.
אֲ
Hataf pataḥ
חֲטַף פַּתָּח
ă
a very short a sound
אֲנִיani
A sheva beside a pataḥ. It occurs especially under guttural letters.
אֳ
Hataf kamatz
חֲטַף קָמָץ
ŏ
a very short o sound
אֳנִיָּהoniyah
A sheva beside a kamatz. In the standard reading it carries a short o sound.
LESSON 2
Read complete words, not isolated dots.
A vowel sign belongs to the letter around it. Practice the whole word, then notice the point that gave you the sound.
בְּרֵאשִׁיתBereshitbə-rei-SHIT
תּוֹרָהTorahto-RAH
שָׁלוֹםShalomsha-LOM
LESSON 3
Ta’amim · Cantillation marks
First identify the phrase function. Then learn the common pair or family. Only after that attach the melody preserved by your reading tradition.
One written system; several received melodies.
The marks organize grammar, stress, and chant, but Torah, Haftarah, the five megillot, and the three poetic books are not all sung alike. Communities also preserve different motifs. The lessons therefore teach stable visual and syntactic functions first; the speaker gives the mark’s name, not an invented universal tune.
TRADITIONAL RECORDINGS
Listen to the cantillations.
Choose a book, a received reading tradition, and an exact recorded passage. Follow the printed ta’amim while listening for joins, pauses, and the closing cadence.
131 licensed recordings · 15 books · every recording remains labeled by its received tradition.
בֽ׃
Major pause · End of verse
Silluq and Sof pasuk
סִלּוּק וְסוֹף פָּסוּק
Silluq accents the final word; sof pasuk closes the verse. Together they make the strongest stop.
How to learn it
Everything since the previous major divider resolves here.
READ THE PHRASE
See where the verse pauses.
The etnaḥta makes the main internal pause. Sof pasuk closes the verse. Read the two parts as related phrases, not as a flat row of words.
GENESIS 1:1
SELECTED ACCENTEtnaḥta
The verse’s principal internal pause.
Read the marked verse aloud
TRADITIONAL CANTILLATIONHear Genesis 1:1 in a received melody
The passage cue is verified at the beginning of the recording. More accent-level timestamps will appear only after each precise moment has been heard and checked.
CHECK YOURSELF
Which point usually makes the i sound?
SOURCES FOR THIS LESSON
Names, text, and reading traditions will be documented.