The Hebrew letter Hai
Hai is the fifth of the 22 letters of the alef beis. It is written ה in print, in ksiva it takes two strokes, and its gematria value is 5. It sounds like h. My Ksiva Workbook teaches it on page 12.
Hai is the fifth letter, value 5, and after alef the second the workbook marks with two strokes — the roof and right leg in one movement, the detached left leg in another. The gap above that left leg is not something to be tidied up. It is what makes the letter a hai.
- Position 5 of 22
- Gematria 5
- Sound h
- Ksiva strokes 2
- Taught on page 12 of 82
How is Hai 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 Hai 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?
Hai, ches and tov are built from one roof and two legs. Hai’s left leg hangs free below a clear gap; ches is joined right across the top; tov’s left leg turns into a foot at the bottom.
How is it spelled in English?
This site uses the Ashkenazi transliteration the workbook prints, Hai. You will also see it written hei, heh, hay, he. They are all the same letter.
Where it is taught
Hai is taught on page 12 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.