Resh (IPA: /ɹɛʃ/) is the twentieth letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician rēš 𐤓, Hebrew rēš ר, Aramaic rēš 𐡓, Syriac rēš ܪ, and Arabic rāʾ ر. Its sound value is one of a number of rhotic consonants: usually [r] or [ɾ], but also [ʁ] or [ʀ] in Hebrew and North Mesopotamian Arabic.
← Qoph Resh Shin → | |
|---|---|
| Phoenician | 𐤓 |
| Hebrew | ר |
| Aramaic | 𐡓 |
| Syriac | ܪ |
| Arabic | ر |
| Phonemic representation | r (ɾ, ʁ, ʀ) |
| Position in alphabet | 20 |
| Numerical value | 200 |
| Alphabetic derivatives of the Phoenician | |
| Greek | Ρ |
| Latin | R |
| Cyrillic | Р |
In most Semitic alphabets, the letter resh (and its equivalents) is quite similar to the letter dalet (and its equivalents). In the Syriac alphabet, the letters became so similar that now they are only distinguished by a dot: resh has a dot above the letter, and the otherwise identical dalet has a dot below the letter. In the Arabic alphabet, rāʼ has a longer tail than dāl. In the Aramaic and Hebrew square alphabet, resh is a rounded single stroke while dalet is a right-angle of two strokes.
The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek rho (Ρ/ρ), Etruscan 
, Latin R, Glagolitic Ⱃ, and Cyrillic Р.
Origins
Resh is usually assumed to mean head, as in Proto-Semitic *raʾ(i)š- and descendants.
|
Arabic rāʾ
| Rāʾ راء | |
|---|---|
| ر | |
| Usage | |
| Writing system | Arabic script |
| Type | Abjad |
| Language of origin | Arabic language |
| Sound values | r (ɾ) |
| Alphabetical position | 10 |
| History | |
| Development |
|
| Other | |
| Writing direction | Right-to-left |
| This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters. | |
The letter is named rāʾ راء in Arabic. It is written in several ways depending on its position in the word:
| Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyph form: (Help) | ر | ـر | ـر | ر |
It ranges between an alveolar trill [r], an alveolar flap [ɾ], and a uvular trill [ʀ] (the last of which is only found in a few modern varieties). It is pronounced as a postalveolar approximant [ɹ̠] in the traditional dialect of Fes.
Derived letter in other languages
| Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyph form: (Help) | ݛ | ـݛ | ـݛ | ݛ |
The Unicode standard for Arabic scripts also lists a variant with a full stroke (Unicode character U+075b: ݛ), suggesting that this form is used in certain Northern and Western African languages and some dialects in Pakistan.
In the Pashto alphabet, a variant of the letter rāʾ uses a ring below for the retroflex consonant [ɭ̆~ɽ] and another uses dots above and below the tail for the voiced fricative [ʐ] or [ʝ]:
| Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyph form: (Help) | ړ | ـړ | ـړ | ړ |
| Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyph form: (Help) | ږ | ـږ | ـږ | ږ |
Hebrew resh
| Orthographic variants | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Various print fonts | Cursive Hebrew | Rashi script | ||
| Serif | Sans-serif | Monospaced | ||
| ר | ר | ר |   |   |
Hebrew spelling: רֵישׁ
In Hebrew, Resh (רֵישׁ) represents a rhotic consonant that has different realizations for different dialects:
- In Modern Hebrew, the most common pronunciation is the voiced uvular fricative [ʁ].
- Ashkenazi use sometimes a uvular trill [ʀ] or an alveolar trill [r]. Native English-speakers replace it sometimes with an alveolar approximant [ɹ], as in English.
- Sephardic and Mizrahi use an alveolar trill [r], an alveolar flap [ɾ] or uvular trill [ʀ].
As a general rule, Resh, along with Ayin, Aleph, He, and Het, do not receive a dagesh. There are a handful of exceptions to this rule. In the Yemenite tradition, Resh is treated as most other consonants in that it can receive a dagesh hazak under certain circumstances. In the most widely accepted version of the Hebrew Bible, there are 17 instances of Resh being marked with a dagesh. The list is: 1 Samuel 1:6, 1 Samuel 10:24, 1 Samuel 17:25, 2 Kings 6:32, Jeremiah 39:12, Ezekiel 16:4 [×2], Habakkuk 3:13, Psalms 52:5, Proverbs 3:8, Proverbs 11:21, Proverbs 14:10, Proverbs 15:1, Job 39:9 (?), Song of Songs 5:2, Ezra 9:6, 2 Chronicles 26:10 (?)
In gematria, Resh represents the number 200.
As abbreviation
Resh as an abbreviation can stand for Rabbi (or Rav, Rebbe, Rabban, Rabbenu, and other similar constructions).
Resh may be found after a person's name on a gravestone to indicate that the person had been a Rabbi or to indicate the other use of Rav, as a generic term for a teacher or a personal spiritual guide.
Syriac resh
| Position in word | Isolated | Final | Medial | Initial |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glyph form: (Help) | ܪ | ـܪ | ـܪـ | ܪـ |
Character encodings
| Preview | ר | ر | ܪ | ࠓ | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode name | HEBREW LETTER RESH | ARABIC LETTER RA | SYRIAC LETTER RISH | SAMARITAN LETTER RISH | ||||
| Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
| Unicode | 1512 | U+05E8 | 1585 | U+0631 | 1834 | U+072A | 2067 | U+0813 |
| UTF-8 | 215 168 | D7 A8 | 216 177 | D8 B1 | 220 170 | DC AA | 224 160 147 | E0 A0 93 |
| Numeric character reference | ר | ר | ر | ر | ܪ | ܪ | ࠓ | ࠓ |
| Preview | 𐎗 | 𐡓 | 𐤓 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unicode name | UGARITIC LETTER RASHA | IMPERIAL ARAMAIC LETTER RESH | PHOENICIAN LETTER ROSH | |||
| Encodings | decimal | hex | dec | hex | dec | hex |
| Unicode | 66455 | U+10397 | 67667 | U+10853 | 67859 | U+10913 |
| UTF-8 | 240 144 142 151 | F0 90 8E 97 | 240 144 161 147 | F0 90 A1 93 | 240 144 164 147 | F0 90 A4 93 |
| UTF-16 | 55296 57239 | D800 DF97 | 55298 56403 | D802 DC53 | 55298 56595 | D802 DD13 |
| Numeric character reference | 𐎗 | 𐎗 | 𐡓 | 𐡓 | 𐤓 | 𐤓 |
References
- Schenker, Alexander M. (1995), The Dawn of Slavic: An Introduction to Slavic Philology, New Haven: Yale University Press, p. 179, ISBN 0-300-05846-2
- Hachimi, Atiqa (2012-05-23). "The urban and the urbane: Identities, language ideologies, and Arabic dialects in Morocco". Language in Society. 41 (3): 321–341. doi:10.1017/s0047404512000279. ISSN 0047-4045. S2CID 144607607.
- Allen, Julie D.; Anderson, Deborah; et al. (eds.). The Unicode Standard, Version 6.2 (PDF). Unicode Consortium. p. 265.
- Book Em laMikra haShalem written by Nisan Sharoni In Chapter 14:7 page 62 of the Ashdod. ספר אם למקרא השׁלם על ידי ניסן שׁרוני ׀ אשׁדוֹד ׀ תשׁס״א ׀ עמוד 62 In the 7 article of the chapter, the Rav says that the letters ״אהחער״ generally do not take a dagesh. ₪ בּאוֹתיוֹת ״אהחער״ ־לֹא יָבֹא דָגֵשׁ, בְּדֶרֶךְ כְּלָל. ₪ מכלול נז In the footnote 6 — Not to write it in Hebrew — ; it says: Except in a few cases where there is an exception to the rule… dagesh can be seen in Alef and Reish. See Mesorah haGedolah 43:26 and מכלול נז Minchas Shai 43:26.
- "Unexpected Dagesh in Reish". Mi Yodeya. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
- "Tanach Simanim (Hebrew Only)". www.feldheim.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
- "Tanach Simanim (Hebrew Only)". www.feldheim.com. Retrieved 2024-01-02.
External links
Resh IPA ɹɛʃ is the twentieth letter of the Semitic abjads including Phoenician res 𐤓 Hebrew res ר Aramaic res 𐡓 Syriac res ܪ and Arabic raʾ ر Its sound value is one of a number of rhotic consonants usually r or ɾ but also ʁ or ʀ in Hebrew and North Mesopotamian Arabic Qoph Resh Shin Phoenician𐤓 Hebrewר Aramaic𐡓 Syriacܪ Arabicر Phonemic representationr ɾ ʁ ʀ Position in alphabet20Numerical value200Alphabetic derivatives of the PhoenicianGreekRLatinRCyrillicR In most Semitic alphabets the letter resh and its equivalents is quite similar to the letter dalet and its equivalents In the Syriac alphabet the letters became so similar that now they are only distinguished by a dot resh has a dot above the letter and the otherwise identical dalet has a dot below the letter In the Arabic alphabet raʼ has a longer tail than dal In the Aramaic and Hebrew square alphabet resh is a rounded single stroke while dalet is a right angle of two strokes The Phoenician letter gave rise to the Greek rho R r Etruscan Latin R Glagolitic Ⱃ and Cyrillic R OriginsResh is usually assumed to mean head as in Proto Semitic raʾ i s and descendants Arabic raʾRaʾ راءرUsageWriting systemArabic scriptTypeAbjadLanguage of originArabic languageSound valuesr ɾ Alphabetical position10HistoryDevelopment𐤓𐡓 𐢛 OtherWriting directionRight to leftThis article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet IPA For an introductory guide on IPA symbols see Help IPA For the distinction between and see IPA Brackets and transcription delimiters The letter is named raʾ راء in Arabic It is written in several ways depending on its position in the word Position in word Isolated Final Medial InitialGlyph form Help ر ـر ـر ر It ranges between an alveolar trill r an alveolar flap ɾ and a uvular trill ʀ the last of which is only found in a few modern varieties It is pronounced as a postalveolar approximant ɹ in the traditional dialect of Fes Derived letter in other languages Position in word Isolated Final Medial InitialGlyph form Help ݛ ـݛ ـݛ ݛ The Unicode standard for Arabic scripts also lists a variant with a full stroke Unicode character U 075b ݛ suggesting that this form is used in certain Northern and Western African languages and some dialects in Pakistan In the Pashto alphabet a variant of the letter raʾ uses a ring below for the retroflex consonant ɭ ɽ and another uses dots above and below the tail for the voiced fricative ʐ or ʝ Position in word Isolated Final Medial InitialGlyph form Help ړ ـړ ـړ ړ Position in word Isolated Final Medial InitialGlyph form Help ږ ـږ ـږ ږ Hebrew reshOrthographic variantsVarious print fonts Cursive Hebrew Rashi scriptSerif Sans serif Monospacedר ר ר Hebrew spelling ר יש In Hebrew Resh ר יש represents a rhotic consonant that has different realizations for different dialects In Modern Hebrew the most common pronunciation is the voiced uvular fricative ʁ Ashkenazi use sometimes a uvular trill ʀ or an alveolar trill r Native English speakers replace it sometimes with an alveolar approximant ɹ as in English Sephardic and Mizrahi use an alveolar trill r an alveolar flap ɾ or uvular trill ʀ As a general rule Resh along with Ayin Aleph He and Het do not receive a dagesh There are a handful of exceptions to this rule In the Yemenite tradition Resh is treated as most other consonants in that it can receive a dagesh hazak under certain circumstances In the most widely accepted version of the Hebrew Bible there are 17 instances of Resh being marked with a dagesh The list is 1 Samuel 1 6 1 Samuel 10 24 1 Samuel 17 25 2 Kings 6 32 Jeremiah 39 12 Ezekiel 16 4 2 Habakkuk 3 13 Psalms 52 5 Proverbs 3 8 Proverbs 11 21 Proverbs 14 10 Proverbs 15 1 Job 39 9 Song of Songs 5 2 Ezra 9 6 2 Chronicles 26 10 In gematria Resh represents the number 200 As abbreviation Resh as an abbreviation can stand for Rabbi or Rav Rebbe Rabban Rabbenu and other similar constructions Resh may be found after a person s name on a gravestone to indicate that the person had been a Rabbi or to indicate the other use of Rav as a generic term for a teacher or a personal spiritual guide Syriac reshPosition in word Isolated Final Medial InitialGlyph form Help ܪ ـܪ ـܪ ـ ܪ ـ Character encodingsCharacter information Preview ר ر ܪ ࠓUnicode name HEBREW LETTER RESH ARABIC LETTER RA SYRIAC LETTER RISH SAMARITAN LETTER RISHEncodings decimal hex dec hex dec hex dec hexUnicode 1512 U 05E8 1585 U 0631 1834 U 072A 2067 U 0813UTF 8 215 168 D7 A8 216 177 D8 B1 220 170 DC AA 224 160 147 E0 A0 93Numeric character reference amp 1512 wbr amp x5E8 wbr amp 1585 wbr amp x631 wbr amp 1834 wbr amp x72A wbr amp 2067 wbr amp x813 wbr Character information Preview 𐎗 𐡓 𐤓Unicode name UGARITIC LETTER RASHA IMPERIAL ARAMAIC LETTER RESH PHOENICIAN LETTER ROSHEncodings decimal hex dec hex dec hexUnicode 66455 U 10397 67667 U 10853 67859 U 10913UTF 8 240 144 142 151 F0 90 8E 97 240 144 161 147 F0 90 A1 93 240 144 164 147 F0 90 A4 93UTF 16 55296 57239 D800 DF97 55298 56403 D802 DC53 55298 56595 D802 DD13Numeric character reference amp 66455 wbr amp x10397 wbr amp 67667 wbr amp x10853 wbr amp 67859 wbr amp x10913 wbr ReferencesSchenker Alexander M 1995 The Dawn of Slavic An Introduction to Slavic Philology New Haven Yale University Press p 179 ISBN 0 300 05846 2 Hachimi Atiqa 2012 05 23 The urban and the urbane Identities language ideologies and Arabic dialects in Morocco Language in Society 41 3 321 341 doi 10 1017 s0047404512000279 ISSN 0047 4045 S2CID 144607607 Allen Julie D Anderson Deborah et al eds The Unicode Standard Version 6 2 PDF Unicode Consortium p 265 Book Em laMikra haShalem written by Nisan Sharoni In Chapter 14 7 page 62 of the Ashdod ספר אם למקרא הש לם על ידי ניסן ש רוני אש דו ד תש ס א עמוד 62 In the 7 article of the chapter the Rav says that the letters אהחער generally do not take a dagesh ב או תיו ת אהחער ל א י ב א ד ג ש ב ד ר ך כ ל ל מכלול נז In the footnote 6 Not to write it in Hebrew it says Except in a few cases where there is an exception to the rule dagesh can be seen in Alef and Reish See Mesorah haGedolah 43 26 and מכלול נז Minchas Shai 43 26 Unexpected Dagesh in Reish Mi Yodeya Retrieved 2024 01 02 Tanach Simanim Hebrew Only www feldheim com Retrieved 2024 01 02 Tanach Simanim Hebrew Only www feldheim com Retrieved 2024 01 02 External linksWikimedia Commons has media related to Resh letter
