The Syriac alphabet to copy, letter by letter: the 22 letters in order, each with its name and Latin letter, then the vowel marks, the extra letters and the punctuation. Syriac runs from right to left.
Read the full guide
Letters that join
Syriac is cursive: most letters join to the next one within a word, and some change shape with their place in it. Eight never join to the letter after them: Alaph, Dalath, He, Waw, Zain, Sadhe, Rish and Taw. A tile holds one letter standing alone. Paste two side by side and the second lands to the left of the first.
One alphabet, three styles
The letters come in three styles: Estrangela, the oldest, East Syriac and Serto, the West Syriac style. Unicode gives all three the same characters, so the font of your device decides which one the tiles show.
Every letter is also a number: Alaph is 1, Yudh 10, Qaph 100 and Taw 400.
Six letters have a hard and a soft sound: Beth, Gamal, Dalath, Kaph, Pe and Taw. A dot above marks hard, a dot below soft.
Two dots above a letter of a word, the seyame, show that the word is plural.
Questions and answers
How many letters are in the Syriac alphabet?
22, and all of them are consonants. With the marks, the extra letters and the punctuation, the Syriac block of Unicode, U+0700 to U+074F, holds 77 characters. It has been in the standard since version 3.0 of September 1999.
How are vowels written in Syriac?
With marks, which are optional. The Eastern system puts dots above and below a letter; the Western one uses small Greek letters. Some letters can also stand for a vowel: Alaph, He, Waw and Yudh.
Where does the Syriac alphabet come from?
It has been used to write the Syriac language since the 1st century and descends from the Aramaic alphabet through the Palmyrene one. It shares features with the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets: each letter's note gives the letter that matches it in both.
What languages are written in the Syriac alphabet?
Classical Syriac first, and Neo-Aramaic languages from Turoyo to Suret. Arabic written in Syriac letters is called Garshuni, and Sogdian and Malayalam have been written in them too.
All 82 letters
Letters 22
ܐAlaph, ʾU+0710 Syriac letter alaph. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 1 of 22, Alaph; ʾĀlep̄ in scholarly spelling. Sound: [ʔ] or no sound; as a vowel letter [ɑ]. In Latin letters: ʾ or nothing; as a vowel letter ā. As a number it stands for 1. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew א and Arabic ا.
ܒBeth, bU+0712 Syriac letter beth. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 2 of 22, Beth; Bēṯ in scholarly spelling. Sound: hard [b]; soft [v] or [w]. In Latin letters: hard b; soft ḇ. As a number it stands for 2. Matches Hebrew ב and Arabic ب.
ܕDalath, dU+0715 Syriac letter dalath. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 4 of 22, Dalath; Dālaṯ in scholarly spelling. Sound: hard [d]; soft [ð]. In Latin letters: hard d; soft ḏ. As a number it stands for 4. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew ד and Arabic د or ذ.
Show all 82 letters (79 more)
Letters, continued
ܥE, ʿU+0725 Syriac letter e. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 16 of 22, E; ʿĒ in scholarly spelling. Sound: [ʕ]. In Latin letters: ʿ. As a number it stands for 70. Matches Hebrew ע and Arabic ع or غ.
ܓGamal, gU+0713 Syriac letter gamal. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 3 of 22, Gamal; Gāmal in scholarly spelling. Sound: hard [ɡ]; soft [ɣ]. In Latin letters: hard g; soft ḡ. As a number it stands for 3. Matches Hebrew ג and Arabic ج.
ܗHe, hU+0717 Syriac letter he. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 5 of 22, He; Hē in scholarly spelling. Sound: [h]; as a vowel letter [e]. In Latin letters: h; as a vowel letter ē. As a number it stands for 5. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew ה and Arabic ه.
ܚHeth, ḥU+071A Syriac letter heth. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 8 of 22, Heth; Ḥēṯ in scholarly spelling. Sound: [ħ], [x] or [χ]. In Latin letters: ḥ. As a number it stands for 8. Matches Hebrew ח and Arabic ح or خ.
ܟKaph, kU+071F Syriac letter kaph. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 11 of 22, Kaph; Kāp̄ in scholarly spelling. Sound: hard [k]; soft [x]. In Latin letters: hard k; soft ḵ. As a number it stands for 20. Matches Hebrew כ (final form ך) and Arabic ك.
ܠLamadh, lU+0720 Syriac letter lamadh. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 12 of 22, Lamadh; Lāmaḏ in scholarly spelling. Sound: [l]. In Latin letters: l. As a number it stands for 30. Matches Hebrew ל and Arabic ل.
ܡMim, mU+0721 Syriac letter mim. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 13 of 22, Mim; Mīm in scholarly spelling. Sound: [m]. In Latin letters: m. As a number it stands for 40. Matches Hebrew מ (final form ם) and Arabic م.
ܢNun, nU+0722 Syriac letter nun. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 14 of 22, Nun; Nūn in scholarly spelling. Sound: [n]. In Latin letters: n. As a number it stands for 50. Matches Hebrew נ (final form ן) and Arabic ن.
ܦPe, pU+0726 Syriac letter pe. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 17 of 22, Pe; Pē in scholarly spelling. Sound: hard [p]; soft [f] or [w]. In Latin letters: hard p; soft p̄. As a number it stands for 80. Matches Hebrew פ (final form ף) and Arabic ف.
ܩQaph, qU+0729 Syriac letter qaph. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 19 of 22, Qaph; Qōp̄ in scholarly spelling. Sound: [q]. In Latin letters: q. As a number it stands for 100. Matches Hebrew ק and Arabic ق.
ܪRish, rU+072A Syriac letter rish. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 20 of 22, Rish; Rēš in scholarly spelling. Sound: [r]. In Latin letters: r. As a number it stands for 200. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew ר and Arabic ر.
ܨSadhe, ṣU+0728 Syriac letter sadhe. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 18 of 22, Sadhe; Ṣāḏē in scholarly spelling. Sound: [sˤ]. In Latin letters: ṣ. As a number it stands for 90. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew צ (final form ץ) and Arabic ض or ص.
ܣSemkath, sU+0723 Syriac letter semkath. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 15 of 22, Semkath; Semkaṯ in scholarly spelling. Sound: [s]. In Latin letters: s. As a number it stands for 60. Matches Hebrew ס and Arabic س.
ܫShin, šU+072B Syriac letter shin. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 21 of 22, Shin; Šīn in scholarly spelling. Sound: [ʃ]. In Latin letters: š. As a number it stands for 300. Matches Hebrew ש and Arabic ش.
ܬTaw, tU+072C Syriac letter taw. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 22 of 22, Taw. Sound: hard [t]; soft [θ]. In Latin letters: hard t; soft ṯ. As a number it stands for 400. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew ת and Arabic ت or ث.
ܛTeth, ṭU+071B Syriac letter teth. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 9 of 22, Teth; Ṭēṯ in scholarly spelling. Sound: [tˤ]. In Latin letters: ṭ. As a number it stands for 9. Matches Hebrew ט and Arabic ظ or ط.
ܘWaw, wU+0718 Syriac letter waw. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 6 of 22, Waw. Sound: as a consonant [w]; as a vowel letter [u] or [o]. In Latin letters: as a consonant w; as a vowel letter ū or ō. As a number it stands for 6. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew ו and Arabic و.
ܝYudh, yU+071D Syriac letter yudh. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 10 of 22, Yudh; Yōḏ in scholarly spelling. Sound: as a consonant [j]; as a vowel letter [i] or [ɪ]. In Latin letters: as a consonant y; as a vowel letter ī. As a number it stands for 10. Matches Hebrew י and Arabic ي.
ܙZain, zU+0719 Syriac letter zain. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Letter 7 of 22, Zain; Zayn in scholarly spelling. Sound: [z]. In Latin letters: z. As a number it stands for 7. It does not join to the letter after it. Matches Hebrew ז and Arabic ز.
Vowels and marks 34
ܒ݊BarrekhU+074A Syriac barrekh. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small cross used in liturgical texts.
ܒܽEsasa above, ūU+073D Syriac esasa above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written above the letter. ʿṢāṣā, the vowel [u].
ܒܾEsasa below, ūU+073E Syriac esasa below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written below the letter. ʿṢāṣā, the vowel [u].
ܘܼEsasa dotted, ūU+073C Syriac hbasa-esasa dotted. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Waw (U+0718) and copied with it. Dots of the Eastern system. A dot under the letter Waw: the vowel [u].
ܬ݀Feminine dotU+0740 Syriac feminine dot. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Taw (U+072C) and copied with it. A feminine marker used with the Taw of a feminine ending, usually placed to the left of a final Taw.
ܒܺHbasa above, īU+073A Syriac hbasa above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written above the letter. Ḥḇāṣā, the vowel [i].
ܒܻHbasa below, īU+073B Syriac hbasa below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written below the letter. Ḥḇāṣā, the vowel [i].
ܝܼHbasa dotted, īU+073C Syriac hbasa-esasa dotted. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Yudh (U+071D) and copied with it. Dots of the Eastern system. A dot under the letter Yudh: ḥḇāṣā, the vowel [i].
ܢ݇Line aboveU+0747 Syriac oblique line above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Nun (U+0722) and copied with it. Marks a silent letter. In Eastern Syriac the line, mṭalqānā, slants and stands above the silent letter.
ܢ݈Line belowU+0748 Syriac oblique line below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Nun (U+0722) and copied with it. Marks a silent letter; also used to show a number multiplied by a certain constant.
ܫ̃Majliyana on ShinU+0303 Combining tilde. Combining Diacritical Marks block, Unicode 1.1. Shown on Shin (U+072B) and copied with it. A tilde above Shin in the Eastern script, the majlīyānā, changes [ʃ] to [ʒ]. Syriac writes it with this general character.
ܟ̰Majliyana, chU+0330 Combining tilde below. Combining Diacritical Marks block, Unicode 1.1. Shown on Kaph (U+071F) and copied with it. A tilde below Kaph in the Eastern script, the majlīyānā, changes [k] to [t͡ʃ]. Syriac writes it with this general character.
ܓ̰Majliyana, jU+0330 Combining tilde below. Combining Diacritical Marks block, Unicode 1.1. Shown on Gamal (U+0713) and copied with it. A tilde below Gamal in the Eastern script, the majlīyānā, changes [ɡ] to [d͡ʒ]. Syriac writes it with this general character.
ܙ̰Majliyana, zhU+0330 Combining tilde below. Combining Diacritical Marks block, Unicode 1.1. Shown on Zain (U+0719) and copied with it. A tilde above or below Zain in the Eastern script, the majlīyānā, changes [z] to [ʒ]. Syriac writes it with this general character.
ܒ݉Music markU+0749 Syriac music. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A music mark; also used in the Syrian Orthodox Anaphora book to mark the breaking of the Eucharist bread.
ܒܰPthaha above, aU+0730 Syriac pthaha above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written above the letter. Pṯāḥā, the vowel [a].
ܒܱPthaha below, aU+0731 Syriac pthaha below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written below the letter. Pṯāḥā, the vowel [a].
ܒܲPthaha dotted, aU+0732 Syriac pthaha dotted. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. Dots of the Eastern system. A dot above and a dot below the letter: pṯāḥā, the vowel [a].
ܒ݁Qushshaya, hardU+0741 Syriac qushshaya. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A dot above the letter: the hard sound, here [b]. Used only with Beth, Gamal, Dalath, Kaph, Pe and Taw.
ܒܶRbasa above, eU+0736 Syriac rbasa above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written above the letter. Rḇāṣā, the vowels [ɛ] and [e].
ܒܷRbasa below, eU+0737 Syriac rbasa below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written below the letter. Rḇāṣā, the vowels [ɛ] and [e].
ܒ݂Rukkakha, softU+0742 Syriac rukkakha. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A dot below the letter: the soft sound, here [v] or [w]. Used only with Beth, Gamal, Dalath, Kaph, Pe and Taw.
ܘܿRwaha, ōU+073F Syriac rwaha. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Waw (U+0718) and copied with it. Dots of the Eastern system. A dot over the letter Waw: rwāḥā, the vowel [o].
ܟ̈Seyame, pluralU+0308 Combining diaeresis. Combining Diacritical Marks block, Unicode 1.1. Shown on Kaph (U+071F) and copied with it. Two dots above a letter of a word, the syāmē, show that the word is plural: malkā, king, becomes malkē, kings, with these dots on its Kaph. Syriac writes them with this general character.
ܒܑSuperscript alaphU+0711 Syriac letter superscript alaph. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Alaph written above the line, used in East Syriac texts to show an Alaph that belongs to the history of the word.
ܒ݅Three dots aboveU+0745 Syriac three dots above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A diacritic used in Turoyo for letters not found in Syriac.
ܒ݆Three dots belowU+0746 Syriac three dots below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A diacritic used in Turoyo for letters not found in Syriac.
ܒ݃Two dots aboveU+0743 Syriac two vertical dots above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. Two dots one over the other: an accent mark used in ancient manuscripts.
ܒ݄Two dots belowU+0744 Syriac two vertical dots below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. Two dots one over the other: an accent mark used in ancient manuscripts.
ܒܹZlama angular, ēU+0739 Syriac dotted zlama angular. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. Dots of the Eastern system. Two slanting dots below the letter: zlāmā qašyā or rḇāṣā karyā, the vowel [e].
ܒܸZlama horizontal, eU+0738 Syriac dotted zlama horizontal. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. Dots of the Eastern system. Two level dots below the letter: zlāmā pšīqā or rḇāṣā ʾărīḵā, the vowel [ɛ].
ܒܳZqapha above, āU+0733 Syriac zqapha above. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written above the letter. Zqāp̄ā, the vowel [ɑ], said [o] in the West Syriac dialect.
ܒܴZqapha below, āU+0734 Syriac zqapha below. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. A small Greek letter of the Western system, written below the letter. Zqāp̄ā, the vowel [ɑ], said [o] in the West Syriac dialect.
ܒܵZqapha dotted, āU+0735 Syriac zqapha dotted. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Shown on Beth (U+0712) and copied with it. Dots of the Eastern system. Two slanting dots above the letter: zqāp̄ā, the vowel [ɑ].
More letters 12
ܖDalath or RishU+0716 Syriac letter dotless dalath rish. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. An early form with no dot: before pointing, texts did not tell Dalath from Rish, which later took a dot below and a dot above.
ܤFinal SemkathU+0724 Syriac letter final semkath. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. A second form of Semkath. The two are found side by side in the same document.
ܔGamal GarshuniU+0714 Syriac letter gamal Garshuni. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Used in Garshuni documents: Arabic written in the Syriac script.
ܭPersian BhethU+072D Syriac letter Persian bheth. Syriac block, Unicode 4.0. One of six letters for Persian and Sogdian added in Unicode 4.0.
ܯPersian DhalathU+072F Syriac letter Persian dhalath. Syriac block, Unicode 4.0. One of six letters for Persian and Sogdian added in Unicode 4.0.
ܮPersian GhamalU+072E Syriac letter Persian ghamal. Syriac block, Unicode 4.0. One of six letters for Persian and Sogdian added in Unicode 4.0.
ܧReversed PeU+0727 Syriac letter reversed pe. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Used in Christian Palestinian Aramaic.
ݏSogdian FeU+074F Syriac letter Sogdian fe. Syriac block, Unicode 4.0. One of six letters for Persian and Sogdian added in Unicode 4.0.
ݎSogdian KhaphU+074E Syriac letter Sogdian khaph. Syriac block, Unicode 4.0. One of six letters for Persian and Sogdian added in Unicode 4.0.
ݍSogdian ZhainU+074D Syriac letter Sogdian zhain. Syriac block, Unicode 4.0. One of six letters for Persian and Sogdian added in Unicode 4.0.
ܜTeth GarshuniU+071C Syriac letter teth Garshuni. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Used in Garshuni documents: Arabic written in the Syriac script.
ܞYudh HeU+071E Syriac letter yudh he. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Yudh and He as one sign, the only ligature in the block, mostly used in East Syriac texts.
Punctuation 14
܃Colon aboveU+0703 Syriac supralinear colon. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks expressions of wonder and has a distinct pause in Biblical texts.
܄Colon belowU+0704 Syriac sublinear colon. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Used at the end of verses of supplications.
܆Colon skewed leftU+0706 Syriac colon skewed left. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks a dependent clause.
܇Colon skewed rightU+0707 Syriac colon skewed right. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks the end of a subdivision of the latter part of a Biblical verse.
܊ContractionU+070A Syriac contraction. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. A contraction mark, mostly used in East Syriac, placed at the end of an incomplete word.
܀End of paragraphU+0700 Syriac end of paragraph. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks the end of a paragraph.
܁Full stop aboveU+0701 Syriac supralinear full stop. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks questions, commands and pauses, especially in Biblical texts.
܂Full stop belowU+0702 Syriac sublinear full stop. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks subordinate clauses and minor pauses, especially in Biblical texts.
܍Harklean asteriscusU+070D Syriac Harklean asteriscus. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks the beginning of a phrase, word or part of a word that has a note in the margin.
܌Harklean metobelusU+070C Syriac Harklean metobelus. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks the end of a section that has a note in the margin.
܋Harklean obelusU+070B Syriac Harklean obelus. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks the beginning of a phrase, word or part of a word that has a note in the margin.
܈High skewed colonU+0708 Syriac supralinear colon skewed left. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks a minor phrase division.
܅Level colonU+0705 Syriac horizontal colon. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Joins two words closely together where a rising tone is suitable.
܉Low skewed colonU+0709 Syriac sublinear colon skewed right. Syriac block, Unicode 3.0. Marks the end of a real or rhetorical question.
How this list was compiled: Every character was checked against UnicodeData.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/UnicodeData.txt): the code points and the character names in the notes come from that file, names in sentence case. Block names come from Blocks.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/Blocks.txt) and the Unicode version each character arrived in from DerivedAge.txt (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/DerivedAge.txt), both version 18.0.0. The 22 letters, their order, the name of each, its sounds, the Latin letters it is written with, its value as a number, the Hebrew and Arabic letters beside it and which eight letters do not join to the next follow the summary table of Wikipedia's Syriac alphabet article (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Syriac_alphabet). A tile name is the letter's name in the Unicode Standard, which follows the East Syriac way of naming the letters, and the first Latin letter the table gives for it; the note adds the name as the article spells it. What each vowel mark stands for, the dots for hard and soft sounds, the plural dots, the line over a silent letter and the tilde for sounds from other languages follow the same article; which marks are the small Greek letters and which the dots, the feminine dot, the Garshuni, Persian and Sogdian letters, the two forms of Semkath and the undotted Dalath or Rish follow section 9.3 of the Unicode Standard, version 17.0 (https://www.unicode.org/versions/Unicode17.0.0/core-spec/chapter-9/). What each punctuation mark and each of the other marks is used for is its note in NamesList.txt, version 18.0.0 (https://www.unicode.org/Public/18.0.0/ucd/NamesList.txt), in plainer words. The 22 letters are the index letters of the Syriac locale of CLDR (https://github.com/unicode-org/cldr/blob/main/common/main/syr.xml), in the same order, with one more there, the undotted Dalath or Rish. The page holds every character of the Syriac block, U+0700 to U+074F, but one: the abbreviation mark, a control character that draws nothing. A mark is shown on a letter and copied with it. The tile names and the grouping are this site's own. Each tile was drawn on 2026-10-14 before it was kept, and all that are here drew. All sources were read on 2026-10-14. Licence: own work