The Hebrew letter Chof
Chof is the eleventh of the 22 letters of the alef beis. It is written כ in print, in ksiva it is written as a single unbroken stroke, and its gematria value is 20. It says k with a dagesh and a guttural ch without one. My Ksiva Workbook teaches it on page 30.
Chof is value 20, the second of the tens. With a dagesh it says k; without it, the guttural ch. At the end of a word it takes its final form, chof sofis, which straightens and drops below the line — one of four final forms that do.
- Position 11 of 22
- Gematria 20
- Sound k / ch
- Ksiva strokes One
- Final form ך — Chof sofis
- Taught on page 30 of 82
How is Chof 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 Chof 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?
Chof and beis are the pair beginners confuse most. Chof is one unbroken curve; beis has a foot that runs past the upright and stops square at the corner.
The final form
At the end of a word, Chof is written ך — Chof sofis. The workbook gives it its own page, on page 32.
How is it spelled in English?
The workbook banners this letter Kof-Chof, naming both of its forms on one page. You will also see it written kaf, chaf, khaf, kaph. They are all the same letter.
Where it is taught
Chof is taught on page 30 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.