The Hebrew letter Ayin
Ayin is the sixteenth of the 22 letters of the alef beis. It is written ע in print, in ksiva it is written as a single unbroken stroke, and its gematria value is 70. It is silent, and like alef it carries its vowel. My Ksiva Workbook teaches it on page 50.
Ayin is value 70 and, like alef, it makes no sound of its own — it carries whatever vowel is written beneath it. Print ayin sets a wide V on a stem. In ksiva it becomes a loop that crosses over itself, one of the few letters in the book where the pen passes back over its own line.
- Position 16 of 22
- Gematria 70
- Sound Silent
- Ksiva strokes One
- Taught on page 50 of 82
How is Ayin written?
The workbook teaches every letter the same four ways, so a child always knows what is being asked of them.
See both forms. The workbook opens the letter with Ayin in print and in ksiva side by side, and marks the ksiva form with a numbered arrow showing where the stroke begins.
Trace it. A row of dotted outlines gives the whole shape. The child writes over the top of it, so the hand learns the movement before it has to remember the shape.
Finish it. Each box after that gives a little less of the letter than the one before, until the last box is empty and the child writes it unaided.
Use it in a word. The letter then appears in whole words to copy in script, built only from letters already taught, so the child is never asked to write a letter they have not met.
What is it confused with?
Ayin and tsadik are built alike, a V meeting a base. Tsadik’s arms close to a point and its base runs out to the left; ayin’s V stays open above a straight stem.
How is it spelled in English?
The workbook banners this letter Ahyin, naming both of its forms on one page. You will also see it written ain. They are all the same letter.
Where it is taught
Ayin is taught on page 50 of My Ksiva Workbook, an 82-page Hebrew handwriting workbook covering all 22 letters in both scripts. Every letterform on this page is taken from the book itself.