Vowel Letters - אהו״י (Imot HaKri'a)

All 22 Hebrew letters are consonants. So how do you know which vowels to use? In formal texts, small dots and dashes called niqqud (נִקּוּד) are placed under or above the letters. But in everyday Hebrew - books, signs, websites, texts - niqqud is left out.

That is where these four letters come in. Although they are consonants, they also serve as vowel placeholders inside words. Hebrew speakers call them Imot HaKri'a (אִמּוֹת הַקְּרִיאָה) - "Mothers of Reading" - because without them, most words would be unreadable.

Letter	Name	Vowel sound it carries	Example
א	Alef	Carries an A or E at the beginning of a word - it is silent itself, but "holds" the vowel	אִמָּא - i-MA (mother)
ה	He	Marks a final A or E - when you see ה at the end, the word usually ends with an "a" sound	יָפָה - ya-FA (beautiful)
ו	Vav	Marks O (as וֹ) or U (as וּ) - the most common vowel letter in Hebrew	שָׁלוֹם - sha-LOM (peace) סוּס - SUS (horse)
י	Yod	Marks an I (as יִ) or E (as יֵ) sound inside a word	שִׁיר - SHIR (song) בֵּית - BA-yit (house)

Tip: When you see a word without niqqud and can't figure out a vowel, look for א ה ו י - they are your clues.