The Hebrew letter Ches
Ches is the eighth of the 22 letters of the alef beis. It is written ח in print, in ksiva it takes two strokes, and its gematria value is 8. It is a guttural ch, made in the throat rather than with the tongue. My Ksiva Workbook teaches it on page 21.
Ches is the eighth letter, and one of the sounds an English speaker has to be shown rather than told — it is made in the throat, not with the tongue. It is written in two strokes, the right leg and roof first, then the left leg, and the roof runs right across with no break in it.
- Position 8 of 22
- Gematria 8
- Sound ch, guttural
- Ksiva strokes 2
- Taught on page 21 of 82
How is Ches 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 Ches 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?
Ches and hai are the same shape apart from one gap. Ches is closed along the top; hai’s left leg hangs free below a clear break. Tov adds a foot at the bottom left.
How is it spelled in English?
This site uses the Ashkenazi transliteration the workbook prints, Ches. You will also see it written chet, het, khet. They are all the same letter.
Where it is taught
Ches is taught on page 21 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.