Hiriq Explained

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IPAHebrew: pronounced as /link/
Yiddish: pronounced as /link/
Transliterationi
English approximationHebrew: ski
Yiddish: skip
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Other Niqqud
Hiriq, also called Chirik (Hebrew: חִירִיק   pronounced as /he/) is a Hebrew niqqud vowel sign represented by a single dot underneath the letter. In Modern Hebrew, it indicates the phoneme pronounced as /link/ which is similar to the "ee" sound in the English word deep and is transliterated with "i". In Yiddish, it indicates the phoneme pronounced as /link/ which is the same as the "i" sound in the English word skip and is transliterated with "i".

Spelling

When writing with niqqud, the letter yud is often written after the letter that carries the Hiriq sign. This is called (Hebrew: חִירִיק מָלֵא pronounced as /he/), meaning "full" (or "plene") hiriq. In writing without niqqud, the letter yud is added more often as a mater lectionis, than in writing with niqqud, The main exception is the "i" vowel in a syllable that ends with shva naḥ. For example the words Hebrew: rtl=yes|סִדְרָה (series) and Hebrew: rtl=yes|סִדְּרָה (she organized) are pronounced identically in modern Hebrew, but in spelling without niqqud Hebrew: rtl=yes|סִדְרָה is written Hebrew: rtl=yes|סדרה because there is a shva naḥ on the letter, and Hebrew: rtl=yes|סִדְּרָה is written Hebrew: rtl=yes|סידרה.

In Yiddish orthography the is placed under the yud .

Pronunciation

The following table contains the pronunciation and transliteration of the different Hiriqs in reconstructed historical forms and dialects using the International Phonetic Alphabet.

The letter Bet used in this table is only for demonstration, any letter can be used.

Symbol NamePronunciation
IsraeliAshkenaziSephardiYemeniteTiberianReconstructed
Biblical
Hiriqpronounced as /link/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /[i, iː]/ pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /[i, iː]/ ?

(Also called, )
pronounced as /link/ pronounced as /[iː]/ pronounced as /[iː]/ pronounced as /[iː]/ pronounced as /[iː]/ ?

Vowel length comparison

These vowels lengths are not manifested in Modern Hebrew. In addition, the short i is usually promoted to a long i in Israeli writing for the sake of disambiguation.

Note: In Yiddish orthography only, the glyph, , pronounced pronounced as //i//, can be optionally used, rather than typing then . In Hebrew spelling this would be pronounced pronounced as //ji//.  pronounced as //i// is written then .

See also