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Information About

Kaph




Kaph (also spelled '''Kap''' or '''Kaf''') is the eleventh letter of many Semitic Abjads , including Phoenician , Aramaic , Hebrew and Arabic Alphabet . Its value is IPA .

The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek Kappa (Κ), Latin K , and the equivalent in the Cyrillic Alphabet .


ORIGIN OF KAPH:

Kaph is thought to have been derived from a pictogram of a hand (in both Modern Hebrew and modern Arabic, ''kaph'' means palm).


HEBREW KAF


Hebrew Pronunciation:

This letter is pronounced like the English letter /); similar to ''ch'' in German "Bach".


Variations on written form/pronunciation:

See Also: Hebrew phonology


The letter Kaph is one of the six letters which can receive a Dagesh Kal. The six are Bet , Gimel , Daleth , Kaph, Pe , and Tav (see Hebrew Alphabet for more about these letters).

There are two orthographic variants of this letter which alter the pronunciation:

  • כּ   kaph   /k/

  • and

  • כ chaph   /x/



Kaph with the dagesh

When the Kaph has a "dot" in its center, known as a Dagesh , then it is pronounced as Kaph, making the same sound that the English K makes when pronounced. There are various rules in Hebrew Grammar that stipulate when and why a dagesh is used. The {Link without Title} is a velar plosive.


Kaph without the dagesh (Chaph)

When this letter appears as כ ''without'' the /).

In Modern Israeli Hebrew the pronunciation of Kaph is the same as the pronunciation of Heth , but many communities have differentiated between them.


Final form of Kaph

At the end of words the letter's written form changes to a ''Chaph Sophit'' (Final Chaph):
  • ך This does not alter the pronunciation; it is pronounced as Chaph (see above).

  • No longer commonly used in modern Hebrew, biblical Hebrew had a ''Kaph Sophit'' (Final Kaph):

  • ךּ This does not alter the pronunciation; it is pronounced as Kaph (see above).



Significance of Kaph in Hebrew:

In Gematria , Kaph represents the number 20. Its final form represents 500 but this is rarely used, Tav and Qoph (400+100) being used instead.

As a Prefix , Kaph is a Preposition :
  • It can mean "like" or "as". This is an abbreviation of כּמו, ''k'mo'' (like/as)

  • In colloquial Hebrew, Kaph and Shin together have the meaning of "when". This is a contraction of כּאשר, ''ka'asher'' (when).