Mazalogy · Hebrew letter reference in English
Nun: Hebrew letter forms and values
Identify Nun נ and final ן, compare standard, ordinal and reduced-letter values, and check נפש in its cited Hebrew source.
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Ordinary Nun and final Nun are both Nun
| Form | Character | Unicode code point | Unicode 17.0 name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Nun | נ | U+05E0 | HEBREW LETTER NUN |
| Final Nun | ן | U+05DF | HEBREW LETTER FINAL NUN |
Nun. Reading cue: n.
Nun has ordinary נ and final ן forms. The first example, נפש, shows the ordinary Nun at the right edge. The second, גן, shows final Nun at the left edge. Reading direction and word position explain the pair more clearly than memorizing two unrelated shapes.
Compare final Nun with Vav, ו, in the same font. Also distinguish it from the special punctuation character ׆, U+05C6, named NUN HAFUKHA by Unicode. That punctuation is not the ordinary or final alphabet letter used in these calculations.
One letter, three explicit values
| Standard | Ordinal | Reduced letters |
|---|---|---|
| 50 | 14 | 5 |
Nun retains standard 50, ordinal 14 and reduced 5 in both shapes. The first example combines Nun with the higher-value Peh and Shin; the second combines final Nun with Gimel. The different word totals result from those actual letter sets, not from Nun becoming another alphabet position at the word’s end.
נפש: creature, in the phrase living creature
Pointed source form: נֶפֶשׁ · reading cue: nefesh. Genesis 1:20 · Mechon Mamre.
Keep the phrase’s context with this gloss. Nefesh has other uses in other passages; one English cue is not a definition for every occurrence.
| Reading position | Written letter | Base letter | Standard | Ordinal | Reduced letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | נ | נ | 50 | 14 | 5 |
| 2 | פ | פ | 80 | 17 | 8 |
| 3 | ש | ש | 300 | 21 | 3 |
| Word total | 430 | 52 | 16 | ||
Standard: 50 + 80 + 300 = 430 · Ordinal: 14 + 17 + 21 = 52 · Reduced letters: 5 + 8 + 3 = 16
גן: garden
Pointed source form: גַּן · reading cue: gan. Genesis 2:8 · Mechon Mamre.
The word ends with final Nun. Its preceding Gimel supplies a separate contribution of 3 in each method.
| Reading position | Written letter | Base letter | Standard | Ordinal | Reduced letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ג | ג | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| 2 | ן | נ | 50 | 14 | 5 |
| Word total | 53 | 17 | 8 | ||
Standard: 3 + 50 = 53 · Ordinal: 3 + 14 = 17 · Reduced letters: 3 + 5 = 8
Its group in the Gra version of Sefer Yetzirah
Nun נ 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
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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 . Reading cues introduce the cited chart; pronunciation varies by community. Source attribution does not imply outside review or endorsement.
- Unicode 17.0 · Hebrew, section 9.1: direction, points and final forms
- Unicode 17.0 · NamesList: Hebrew character names and code points
- Chabad · The Hebrew Alphabet: letter chart, sounds and values
- GalEinai · Four Methods for Doing Gematria: distinguish counting conventions
- Sefer Yetzirah · Gra version 5:1, the twelve simple letters
- Mechon Mamre · Genesis 1:20, Hebrew text with JPS 1917 English
- Mechon Mamre · Genesis 2:8, Hebrew text with JPS 1917 English
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.