Patach

Pataḥ is a special sign used in Hebrew writing to show a vowel sound. It looks like a small horizontal line under a letter, like this: ⟨ אַ‎ ⟩.

In modern Hebrew, this sign tells us to say the sound “a,” like the “a” in the English word far. We often write this sound as the letter a when we translate Hebrew words into English.

In modern Hebrew, the pataḥ makes the same sound as another vowel sign called a qamatz. There is also a special reduced version called “ḥaṭaf pataḥ,” which also makes the “a” sound but is used in certain shorter forms of words.

In Yiddish, a language used by some Jewish communities, the pataḥ is called pasekh. It can show the “a” sound when placed with the letter aleph, אַ, or it can help make the “ay” sound when used with two yod letters, ײַ. This helps Yiddish writers show the exact sounds they want in their words.

Etymology

The name pataḥ comes from a Hebrew word that means "to open." This is because when we make the "a" sound, like in the word "far," our mouth opens wide.

Pronunciation

This section shows how the pataḥ sounds in different old forms and dialects using special symbols.

The letters Bet ⟨ב‎⟩ and Het ⟨ח‎⟩ are used here as examples — any letter can be used.

When a pataḥ appears on the letters ח‎, ע‎, or הּ‎ (which is ה‎ with a dot) at the end of a word, the sound comes before the letter. For example, נֹחַ (Noah) is said as /no.aχ/ in today’s Hebrew. This special case only happens at the end of words, with a pataḥ, and with these three letters. It’s sometimes called a pataḥ gnuva, meaning a “stolen” pataḥ.

Vowel length comparison

In Hebrew, adding two vertical dots, called a shva, makes a vowel very short. But in today’s Hebrew, these different vowel lengths do not change how the words sound.

Unicode encoding

Unicode is a way to make computers understand and show many different kinds of writing from around the world. It helps people share text and ideas no matter where they live. With Unicode, everyone can see letters and symbols from many languages on their computers, phones, and other devices.

Unicode works like a big book that gives each symbol a special number. This number tells the computer which symbol to show. For example, the letter “A” has one number, and the letter “ß” used in German has another. This way, computers can display the right symbol no matter what language it is in.

Unicode makes it easier for people to talk to each other online. Whether you are reading an English website, a Chinese book, or a message in Arabic, Unicode helps make sure the words show up correctly. This helps everyone understand each other better and share information easily.