ܐܠܦ ܒܝܬ · olaph beth
The Syriac Alphabet
Syriac is the mother tongue of the Antiochene rite. Knowing even a little of it draws you closer to the prayers and liturgical tradition. It is written in a flowing script called Serto and read right to left. This chart helps you recognize and learn the common words of our liturgy.
The twenty-two letters
| Letter | Name | This site writes | Scholarly | Heard as |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ܐ | Olaph | ( ' ) or silent | ʾ | a soft catch in the throat; usually silent, carrying a vowel |
| ܒ | Beth | b / v | b / ḇ | b; softened to v after a vowel |
| ܓ | Gomal | g | g / ḡ | hard g; softened to a guttural gh after a vowel |
| ܕ | Dolath | d / dh | d / ḏ | d; softened to th as in “this” after a vowel |
| ܗ | He | h | h | h as in “house” |
| ܘ | Waw | w / u / o | w | w; as a vowel letter, u or o |
| ܙ | Zayn | z | z | z as in “zeal” |
| ܚ | Heth | h | ḥ | a deep h from the throat (Husoyo) |
| ܛ | Teth | t | ṭ | an emphatic t, pressed at the palate (Tuyobo) |
| ܝ | Yudh | y / i | y | y; as a vowel letter, i |
| ܟ | Koph | k / kh | k / ḵ | k; softened to kh as in “Bach” after a vowel |
| ܠ | Lomadh | l | l | l as in “lamp” |
| ܡ | Mim | m | m | m as in “mercy” |
| ܢ | Nun | n | n | n as in “night” |
| ܣ | Semkath | s | s | s as in “song” |
| ܥ | E | ( ' ) or e | ʿ | a pressed catch deep in the throat (Ethro) |
| ܦ | Pe | p / ph / f | p / p̄ | p; softened to f after a vowel (Malphono) |
| ܨ | Sodhe | s | ṣ | an emphatic s, pressed at the palate |
| ܩ | Qoph | q | q | a deep k at the back of the throat (Qurbono) |
| ܪ | Rish | r | r | a rolled r |
| ܫ | Shin | sh | š | sh as in “shepherd” (Shushepho) |
| ܬ | Taw | t / th | t / ṯ | t; softened to th as in “thin” after a vowel |
The five vowels
West Syrian usage marks its vowels with small signs above or below the consonant, shown here carried on Beth. The second of them, Zqopho, is why this tradition says Qurbono where the East Syrian tradition says Qurbana.
| Sign | Name | This site writes | Heard as |
|---|---|---|---|
| ܒܰ | Pthoho | a | a as in “father”, short |
| ܒܳ | Zqopho | o | o as in “lord”, the vowel that makes Qurbono, not Qurbana |
| ܒܶ | Rboso | e | e as in “let” |
| ܒܺ | Hboso | i | ee as in “seen” |
| ܒܽ | Esoso | u | oo as in “moon” |
How this site romanizes
- West Syrian vocalisation throughout. Zqopho is written o: Qurbono, Sedro, Husoyo, Malphono.
- Plain letters in running copy. The scholarly dots and macrons (ḥ, ṭ, ṣ, š) live in this chart, not in the text: Husoyo, not Ḥusōyō.
- Qoph keeps its q. Qurbono, Quqilion, Qolo: the deep q is part of the sound of the language.
- Greek loanwords keep their standard English form. Anaphora, Trisagion, Proemion, Epiclesis, and not Anaphoro or Prumion.
- Consonants follow their letter values. A hard teth or taw is t, not th: Tuyobo, Tubden, Tarvodo. Only a soft letter after a vowel takes the digraph, the way taw does in Tablitho.
- Quotations are never rewritten. The library’s books keep their own spellings, and cited passages appear exactly as printed. The index below reconciles what you will meet.
Terms as this site writes them
| This site writes | Syriac | Also seen as | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| Qurbono | ܩܘܪܒܢܐ | Qurbana, Qurrabha | offering; the Holy Eucharist |
| Tuyobo | ܛܘܝܒܐ | Thuyobo | the Service of Preparation, first of the Qurbono’s four parts |
| Tulmodo | ܬܘܠܡܕܐ | Thulmodo | instruction, catechesis — the teaching that makes a disciple; the Service of the Word, and this site’s name |
| Anaphoragreek | ܩܘܪܒܐ | Anaphoro, Qurobo | the Service of Sacrifice, the great eucharistic prayer; its Syriac name is Qurobo |
| Mestuso | ܡܫܬܘܬܐ | Mesthouso | the Service of Thanksgiving that closes the Qurbono |
| Husoyo | ܚܘܣܝܐ | Hoosoyo | the prayer of forgiveness: proemion and sedro together |
| Proemiongreek | ܦܪܘܡܝܘܢ | Prumion, Prumyun | the opening doxology before a sedro |
| Sedro | ܣܕܪܐ | Sedra | the long prose prayer at the heart of a husoyo |
| Quqilion | ܩܘܩܠܝܘܢ | · | a cycle of psalm verses sung before the readings |
| Trisagiongreek | ܩܕܝܫܬ ܐܠܗܐ | Qadishat Aloho | the thrice-holy hymn |
| Epiclesisgreek | · | Epiklesis | the invocation of the Holy Spirit over the gifts |
| Shushepho | ܫܘܫܦܐ | Shushafo, Shoshappa, Shushepo | the veil spread over the offered gifts |
| Tubden | ܬܘܒܕܝܢ | Thubden | the diptychs, the six commemorations of the living and departed |
| Madbaho | ܡܕܒܚܐ | Madbaha, Madb'ho | the altar and the sanctuary that holds it |
| Haiklo | ܗܝܟܠܐ | Haykla, Haik'lo | the nave, where the faithful stand |
| Shhimo | ܫܚܝܡܐ | Shehimo | the book of the weekday hours, the common prayer of the Church |
| Malphono | ܡܠܦܢܐ | Malpan | teacher; the name of this site’s guide |
| Barekmor | ܒܪܟܡܪܝ | · | “bless, my lord”, asked before reading or serving |