Yodh (also spelled Yod or Yud; Hebrew: י) is the tenth letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In modern Hebrew it most commonly represents the consonant sound /j/ (as English y in "yes") and has the numeric value 10 in gematria. Visually, yodh is the smallest of the Hebrew letters and appears as a short stroke or dot-like mark in many typefaces.

Characteristics and orthography

Yodh has no distinct final form and retains the same shape at the end of words. It serves several orthographic roles beyond indicating the consonant /j/:

  • As a mater lectionis, yodh is used in unpointed spelling to mark the vowel /i/ or /e/ in many words.
  • It combines with vowel signs to form diphthongs and to modify adjacent consonants.
  • In some languages and dialects that use the Hebrew script (for example Yiddish and Ladino), yodh participates in digraphs and doubled forms (e.g., a double yod) to represent vowel sounds.

The letter yodh descends from an earlier Semitic glyph and the Phoenician yodh. Its shape and name are related to other alphabets: Greek iota and Latin I ultimately derive from the same Semitic ancestor. Across Semitic writing systems, the cognate letter (for example Arabic yāʼ) performs a similar phonetic and orthographic role.

Uses, symbolism and examples

Because of its numeric value, yodh appears in contexts where letters double as numbers. In everyday Hebrew it begins many common words (for example "yom" for "day" and names such as "Yisrael"). In Jewish mystical traditions the small size and shape of yodh have been interpreted symbolically; for instance, some streams of Kabbalistic commentary describe it as representing a point of divine presence or the seed of letters, though such interpretations are theological rather than linguistic.

Notable facts and further reading

Yodh is notable for its compact form and multifunctional role in spelling and numeration. Its counterparts in related scripts and its long history make it a useful example of how alphabetic letters evolve while preserving phonetic and numeric values. For a general introduction to the Hebrew alphabet and the place of yodh within it, see Hebrew alphabet resources.