UNITED NATIONS GROUP OF EXPERTS ON GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES (UNGEGN)

Working Group on Romanization Systems

Resolutions page

Resolution III/13 (1977)

Romanization of the Hebrew alphabet

The Conference,

Recognizing the need for elaboration of resolution 9 of the Second United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names,

Recognizing further that in Israel romanization is carried out in all official gazetteers and maps in accordance with the system mentioned in the report of the Second Conference,

Recommends that the system given in the annex to this resolution be adopted as the international system for the romanization of geographical names in the Hebrew alphabet.

ANNEX to III/13

Romanization of the Hebrew alphabet
Transliteration and pronunciation guide

Hebrew names in romanized editions of maps published by the Survey of Israel are transliterated according to the official rules adopted by the Knesset (Parliament) and published in the Official Gazette No. 519 of 23 January 1957. A list of these rules follows below, together with a simplified pronunciation guide for the English-speaking reader. The Sephardic pronunciation prevailing in Israel is given. The phonetic value of letters is approximately the same as in English except where stated otherwise; stress is mostly on the last syllable. For a more complete treatise see "Transliteration of Geographical Names in the Topographic Maps of Israel" by N. Kadmon and M. Talmi, Survey of Israel, Cartographic Papers, No. 4, 1969 (Hebrew, with English abstract). Hebrew is written from right to left.

C O N S O N A N T S 1
Hebrew letter	Final form	Name of letter	Romanized form	Pronunciation	Example
א		Alef	’	mute 2	Arbel, Be’eri	אַרְבֵּל, בְּאֵרִי
בּ		Bet	b		Benaya	בְּנָיָה
ב 3		Vet	v		Yavor	יָבוֹר
גּ, ג 4		Gimel	g	hard, as in 'good'	Gedera	גְּדֵרָה
דּ, ד 4		Dalet	d		Dorot	דּוֹרוֹת
ה		He	h		Hadassim	הֲדַסִּים
ו		Waw	w	w, v 5	Wardon	וַרְדּוֹן
ז		Zayin	z		Zohar	זוֹהַר
ח		H̱et	ẖ	as ch in Scottish 'loch', but guttural	H̱efa	חֵיפָה
ט		Tet	t		Tira	טִירָה
י		Yod	y		Yerushalayim	יְרוּשָׁלַיִם
כּ	ךּ	Kaf	k		Karkur	כַּרְכּוּר
כ 3	ךְ	Khul	kh	as ch in Scottish 'loch'	Nofekh	נֹפֶךְ
ל		Lamed	l		Lod	לֹד
מ	ם	Mem	m		Magen	מָגֵן
נ	ן	Nun	n		Naftali	נַפְתָלִי
ס		Samekh	s		Savyon	סַבְיוֹן
ע		‘Ayin	‘	mute; gutturalises following vowel 6	‘Evron, Ma‘on	עֶבְרוֹן, מָעוֹן
פּ		Pe	p		Pattish	פַּטִּישׁ
פ 3	ף	Fe	f		Nof	נוֹף
צ	ץ	Ẕadi	ẕ	as ts in 'tse-tse'	Ẕefat	צְפַת
ק		Qof	q	guttural k	Qedma	קֵדְמָה
ר		Resh	r	guttural	Reshef	רֶשֶׁף
שׁ		Shin	sh	as in 'sheet'	Shoval	שׁוֹבָל
שׂ		Sin	s		Sadot	שָׂדוֹת
תּ, ת 4		Taw	t		Tel Aviv	תֵּל-אָבִיב
V O W E L S
	אַ	Pattaẖ	a	as a in 'bar'
	אֲ	H̱ataf Pattaẖ	a	as a in 'bar'
	אָ	Qamaẕ	a	as a in 'bar'
	אְ	Sheva 7	e	as e in 'yet'
	אֶ	Segol	e	as e in 'yet'
	אֱ	H̱ataf Segol	e	as e in 'yet'
	אֵ	Ẕere	e, é 8	as e in 'yet' or ay in 'bay'
	אִ	H̱iriq	i	as i in 'hit'
	אִי	H̱iriq Male	i	as i in 'hit'
	אֹ	H̱olam	o	as o in 'short'
	אוֹ	H̱olam Male	o	as o in 'short'
	אָ	Qamaẕ Qatan	o	as o in 'short'
	אֳ	Hataf Qamaẕ	o	as o in 'short'
	אוּ	Shuruq	u	as oo in 'good'
	אֻ	Qubbuẕ	u	as oo in 'good'

Notes

1. The addition of a dot (dagesh ẖazaq) within a consonant, except as shown in the list, doubles its value and is represented by doubling the respective letter (with the exception of the digraph sh).
2. The sign ’ (Alef) slightly separates between two consecutive vowels or between a consonant and a vowel; at the beginning of a word it is omitted in transliteration.
3. Does not occur at the beginning of a name.
4. At the beginning of a name these letters carry a dot (dagesh qal).
5. Pronounced w in Eastern and v in Western pronunciation.
6. The sign ‘ (‘Ayin) slightly separates between two consecutive vowels or between a consonant and a vowel, and gutturalizes the following vowel.
7. The sheva is of two kinds: sheva naẖ, which is omitted in transliteration, and sheva na‘, represented by e, which occurs at the beginning of a word or syllable.
8. In some maps and in the following glossary the ẕere, if accentuated, is transliterated é.

Glossary of geographical terms in name combinations

Most geographical names in the romanized editions of maps of the Survey of Israel are transliterated from Hebrew. Many of these names contain geographical terms, the transliterations of which are listed below. The suffix -t in feminine nouns ending in -a denotes the 'construct' case (semikhut) i.e. 'of', found in most name combinations. E.g. H̱orba = Ruin; H̱orbat Be’ér = Ruin of the Well. Plural forms frequently found in maps are also listed. The article is denoted by the prefix ha- or, in special cases, by he-.

Agam	lake
Aggan	basin
‘Arava (‘Arvat)	plain
Bet	house
Be’ér	well
Berekha(t)	pool
Biq‘a(t)	valley
‘Émeq	valley
‘En, pl. ‘Enot	spring
Gan	garden
Gay (Gé)	valley
Gesher	bridge
Giv‘a(t), pl. Giv‘ot	hill
Har, pl. Haré	mountain
H̱olot	sands, dunes
H̱orba(t), pl. H̱orvot (abbr. H̱.)	ruin
H̱oresha(t)	wood
Kefar	village
Ma’agar	reservoir
Ma‘ale	ascent
Ma‘avar	pass, ford
Makhtésh	erosion cirque
Mappal	waterfall
Ma‘yan	spring
Maẕoq, pl. Meẕoqé	cliff
Me‘ara(t), pl. Me‘arot	cave
Meẖlaf	interchange
Meleẖa(t)	saltpan, mudflat
Meẕad	fort
Meẕuda(t)	fortress
Midbar	desert
Mifraẕ	bay, gulf
Mishor	plain
Miẕpe	observation point
Naẖal (abbr. N.)	stream, watercourse, valley
Qeren, pl. Qarné	peak
Qever	tomb
Qirya(t)	town
Rama(t), pl. Ramot	plateau
Rekhes	mountain crest, range
Rogem	cairn
Rosh	mountain top
Sade (Sedé), pl. Sedot	field
Sheluẖa(t)	spur
Tel	hill, ancient mound
Ya‘ar, pl. Ya‘arot	forest
Yam	sea, lake
Ẕomet	junction
Ẕuq, pl. Ẕuqé	cliff

Note. This resolution is updated by res. IX/9.