Mazalogy · Hebrew letter reference in English

Ayin: Hebrew letter forms and values

Identify Ayin ע, compare standard, ordinal and reduced-letter values, and check עץ in its cited Hebrew source.

Ordinary Ayin

Published 13 October 2026 · Our editorial approach

Ayin remains visible even when a transliteration omits it

Ayin identity: alphabet position 16
Form	Character	Unicode code point	Unicode 17.0 name
Ordinary Ayin	ע	`U+05E2`	HEBREW LETTER AYIN

Ayin / ʿAyin. Reading cue: a guttural consonant in some reading traditions; often not audible in others.

ע is Ayin, the sixteenth letter. The alphabet reference notes differences between communities’ guttural readings. A simplified English word cue may omit a separate Latin consonant for Ayin; that does not remove the written Hebrew letter from the source.

The example עץ begins with Ayin and ends with final Tsadi. Read it from right to left before comparing a romanization such as etz. The Latin spelling is a reading aid; the two Hebrew letters determine the calculation.

One letter, three explicit values

Ayin in Mazalogy’s three methods
Standard	Ordinal	Reduced letters
70	16	7

Ayin contributes standard 70, ordinal 16 and reduced 7. Its reduced value matches Zayin’s, but the two letters differ in both of the other methods. The second letter of עץ keeps Tsadi’s standard 90, ordinal 18 and reduced 9 despite its final shape.

עץ: tree

Pointed source form: עֵץ · reading cue: etz. Genesis 1:11 · Mechon Mamre.

The word occurs in the phrase about a fruit tree. This example counts the cited noun alone, preserving its final Tsadi.

Each actual letter in reading order; pronunciation marks contribute no values
Reading position	Written letter	Base letter	Standard	Ordinal	Reduced letters
1	ע	ע	70	16	7
2	ץ	צ	90	18	9
Word total			160	34	16

Standard: 70 + 90 = 160 · Ordinal: 16 + 18 = 34 · Reduced letters: 7 + 9 = 16

Its group in the Gra version of Sefer Yetzirah

Ayin ע is among the twelve simple letters / elementals listed in Gra 5:1: הוזחטילנסעצק. Keep this textual classification distinct from the alphabet position and the arithmetic columns above.

Study the source in a guided introduction · Read about textual versions

Continue from this letter

Try a word in the free calculator · Print the values chart · All twenty-two letter entries

Sources, dates and conventions

Prepared by Mazalogy with AI assistance. Characters, source-word spellings and calculation rules were checked against the sources and the calculator on 13 October 2026. Reading cues introduce the cited chart; pronunciation varies by community. Source attribution does not imply outside review or endorsement.

English reference edition. Numerical examples retain final forms and actual vowel letters while ignoring pronunciation marks. Final forms keep base-letter values in all three methods. Reduced letters are added without reducing the completed word total again.