Segol (modern he, סֶגּוֹל, ; formerly , ''səḡôl'') is a
Hebrew niqqud vowel sign that is represented by three dots forming an upside down
equilateral triangle "ֶ ". As such, it resembles an upside down
therefore sign (a
because sign) underneath a letter. In
modern Hebrew, it indicates the
phoneme which is similar to "
e" in the English word sound in ''sell'' and is
transliterated as an ''e''.
In
Modern Hebrew, segol makes the same sound as
tzere, as does the Hataf Segol ( he, חֲטַף סֶגּוֹל , "Reduced Segol"). The reduced (or ''ħataf'') niqqud exist for segol,
patah, and
kamatz
Kamatz or qamatz ( he, label=Modern Hebrew, קָמָץ, ; alternatively ) is a Hebrew niqqud (vowel) sign represented by two perpendicular lines (looking like an uppercase T) underneath a letter. In modern Hebrew, it usually indicates the pho ...
which contain a
shva
Shva or, in Biblical Hebrew, shĕwa ( he, שְׁוָא) is a Hebrew niqqud vowel sign written as two vertical dots () beneath a letter. It indicates either the phoneme (shva na', mobile shva) or the complete absence of a vowel (/ Ø/) (shva na ...
next to it.
Pronunciation
The following table contains the
pronunciation and
transliteration of the different segols in reconstructed historical forms and
dialects using the
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic transcription, phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standa ...
. The transcription in IPA is above and the transliteration is below.
The letters
Bet "ב" and
Het "ח" used in this table are only for demonstration. Any letter can be used.
In addition, a letter with a segol or tzere with a succeeding
yod often makes the "ei" (also spelled "ey") sound such as in they or tape.
Vowel length comparison
By adding two vertical dots (''shva''), the vowel can be made very short. However, the vowels lengths are not manifested in Modern Hebrew.
Unicode encoding
{{Hebrew language
Niqqud