Surayt
The Syriac alphabet in Serto
Syriac is written right to left and has 22 base letters. For Turoyo (Surayt), 6 dot variants and 3 modified letters join them, making 31 letterforms in all. Here is the complete reference with names, sounds and example words, in the alphabet's own order.
All 31 letterforms
A dot variant is the same letter with a dot that softens or hardens the sound, like Beṯ (b) and soft Beṯ (v). The three modified letters were created for sounds borrowed into the spoken language, like j and č. Spelling and names follow textbook.surayt.com.
| Letter | Name | Latin | Type | Sound and example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ܐ | Olaf | A | Base letter | Carries a vowel at the start of a word. |
| ܒ | Beṯ | B | Base letter | B sound. |
| ܒ݂ | Mjukt Beṯ | V | Dot variant | V sound. |
| ܓ | Gomal | G | Base letter | G sound. |
| ܓ݂ | Mjukt Gomal | Ġ | Dot variant | Voiced back fricative Ġ, like a French r. |
| ܔ | J | J | Modified | Like English j in jungle. |
| ܕ | Dolaḏ | D | Base letter | D sound. |
| ܕ݂ | Mjukt Dolaḏ | Ḏ | Dot variant | Voiced th, as in English this. |
| ܗ | He | H | Base letter | H sound. |
| ܘ | Waw | W | Base letter | W sound. |
| ܙ | Zay | Z | Base letter | Z sound. |
| ܙ̰ | Modifierat Zay | Ž | Modified | Voiced š, like French j in journal. |
| ܚ | Ḥeṯ | Ḥ | Base letter | Deep voiceless Ḥ in the throat. |
| ܛ | Ṭeṯ | Ṭ | Base letter | Emphatic Ṭ, with the back of the tongue raised. |
| ܝ | Yuḏ | Y | Base letter | Y sound. |
| ܟ | Kof | K | Base letter | K sound. |
| ܟ݂ | Mjukt Kof | X | Dot variant | Like ch in German Buch or Scottish loch. |
| ܠ | Lomaḏ | L | Base letter | L sound. |
| ܡ | Mim | M | Base letter | M sound. |
| ܢ | Nun | N | Base letter | N sound. |
| ܣ | Semkaṯ | S | Base letter | S sound. |
| ܥ | Ce | C | Base letter | Voiced pharyngeal sound, deep in the throat. |
| ܦ | Fe | F | Base letter | F sound. |
| ܦ݁ | Hårt Fe | P | Dot variant | P sound. |
| ܨ | Ṣode | Ṣ | Base letter | Emphatic Ṣ, with the back of the tongue raised. |
| ܩ | Qof | Q | Base letter | K-like sound far back in the throat. |
| ܪ | Riš | R | Base letter | Rolled R. |
| ܫ | Šin | Š | Base letter | Š sound, as sh in English sheep. |
| ܫ̰ | Modifierat Šin | Č | Modified | Č sound, as ch in English church. |
| ܬ | Taw | T | Base letter | T sound. |
| ܬ݂ | Mjukt Taw | Ṯ | Dot variant | Voiceless th, as in English thousand. |
The vowels
Vowels are written as marks above or below the consonants, shown here on the letter Beṯ. The sounds I and U are instead carried by the letters Yuḏ and Waw.
| Sign | Name | Latin | Sound and example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ܒܰ | Ftoḥo | A | A sound; the mark is written above the consonant. |
| ܒܱ | Ftoḥo karyo | Ä | Short Ä/A sound; the mark is written below the consonant. |
| ܒܳ | Zqofo | O | O sound; the mark is written above the consonant. |
| ܒܶ | Rboṣo | E | E sound; the mark is written above the consonant. |
| ܒܷ | Rboṣo karyo | Ë | Short unstressed Ë; the mark is written below the consonant. |
| ܝ | Yuḏ som vokal | I | I is mainly represented by the letter Yuḏ. |
| ܘ | Waw som vokal | U | U is mainly represented by the letter Waw. |
How the letters connect
Most letters connect in both directions and change shape depending on their position in the word. Eight letters, among them Olaf, Dolaḏ, He, Waw, Zay, Ṣode, Riš and Taw, connect only to the right and break the connection after themselves, so the next letter starts in its free-standing form. It sounds harder than it is: after a few days of reading, the eye does it automatically.
Want to actually learn to read? If you read Swedish, the free Surayt app teaches the alphabet with exercises and example words, and carries this whole reference, searchable, in your pocket. Download on the App Store. Otherwise, the free course at textbook.surayt.com teaches the script in six languages. Continue with basic phrases or the beginner's guide.