Mazalogy · Hebrew letter reference in English
Zayin: Hebrew letter forms and values
Identify Zayin ז, compare standard, ordinal and reduced-letter values, and check זרע in its cited Hebrew source.
Published · Our editorial approach
Zayin is seventh; Ayin is sixteenth
| Form | Character | Unicode code point | Unicode 17.0 name |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ordinary Zayin | ז | U+05D6 | HEBREW LETTER ZAYIN |
Zayin / Zain. Reading cue: z.
The similar English labels Zayin and Ayin identify different Hebrew letters: ז and ע. Keep the glyph beside the English name in a note. Zayin comes immediately after Vav in the alphabet and is assigned standard value 7.
The example זרע starts with Zayin and ends with Ayin, with Resh between them. This makes the word a useful recognition check: identify both letters before calculating. A reduced-value column will hide part of the distinction between them.
One letter, three explicit values
| Standard | Ordinal | Reduced letters |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | 7 | 7 |
Zayin and Ayin both contribute 7 in the reduced-letter method, although their standard values are 7 and 70 and their ordinal values are 7 and 16. A reduced total cannot uniquely recover the original letters. Keep the actual spelling beside any number you save.
זרע: seed
Pointed source form: זֶרַע · reading cue: zera. Genesis 1:11 · Mechon Mamre.
This word occurs in the account of seed-bearing vegetation. Its ordinary final Ayin has no special sofit form.
| Reading position | Written letter | Base letter | Standard | Ordinal | Reduced letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ז | ז | 7 | 7 | 7 |
| 2 | ר | ר | 200 | 20 | 2 |
| 3 | ע | ע | 70 | 16 | 7 |
| Word total | 277 | 43 | 16 | ||
Standard: 7 + 200 + 70 = 277 · Ordinal: 7 + 20 + 16 = 43 · Reduced letters: 7 + 2 + 7 = 16
Its group in the Gra version of Sefer Yetzirah
Zayin ז 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 1:11, 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.