Mazalogy · Hebrew letter reference in English

Vav: Hebrew letter forms and values

Identify Vav ו, compare standard, ordinal and reduced-letter values, and check יום in its cited Hebrew source.

Ordinary Vav

Published 13 October 2026 · Our editorial approach

A vowel role does not remove the written Vav

Vav identity: alphabet position 6
Form	Character	Unicode code point	Unicode 17.0 name
Ordinary Vav	ו	`U+05D5`	HEBREW LETTER VAV

Vav / Waw. Reading cue: v as a consonant; vowel roles depend on the word and marks.

The alphabet reference shows Vav as a consonant and in pointed vowel combinations. In יוֹם, the dot above the Vav participates in the o reading. The word therefore illustrates why a consonant-name chart alone cannot supply the full pronunciation of every Hebrew spelling.

Compare ו with י and ן in the same font: Vav, Yod and final Nun are different characters. A short or extended vertical stroke is something to check carefully in an image. Do not turn an uncertain stroke into a confident spelling simply because one total looks familiar.

One letter, three explicit values

Vav in Mazalogy’s three methods
Standard	Ordinal	Reduced letters
6	6	6

Vav contributes 6 in standard, ordinal and reduced-letter counting. Deleting the Vav from יום would subtract 6 from every displayed total. Removing its holam point changes none of those totals. These two edits affect different parts of the written input.

יום: day

Pointed source form: יוֹם · reading cue: yom. Genesis 1:5 · Mechon Mamre.

The passage names day and night. Count the Yod, the actual Vav and final Mem; the pronunciation mark is not a fourth alphabet letter.

Each actual letter in reading order; pronunciation marks contribute no values
Reading position	Written letter	Base letter	Standard	Ordinal	Reduced letters
1	י	י	10	10	1
2	ו	ו	6	6	6
3	ם	מ	40	13	4
Word total			56	29	11

Standard: 10 + 6 + 40 = 56 · Ordinal: 10 + 6 + 13 = 29 · Reduced letters: 1 + 6 + 4 = 11

Its group in the Gra version of Sefer Yetzirah

Vav ו 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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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.